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A Semiotic Theory of Language

by Sebastian Shaumyan

Taking issue with Transformational Grammar Theory, which has dominated language study since Noam Chomsky introduced it more than thirty years ago, Sebastian Shaumyan separates language from psychology, arguing that language occupies a different world, that of the semiotic. The author develops a unique theory based on an analysis of the semiotic properties of language, which he names applicative grammar. This theory is then used to distinguish two levels of grammar and outline a comprehensive semiotic theory of language.

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Table of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • Contents
  • Preface
  • I. The Aim and Structure of the Semiotic Theory of Language
    • 1. A Semiotic Definition of Language
    • 2. The Principle of Semiotic Relevance and Homonymy
    • 3. Saussure’s Notion of the Sign
    • 4. Linguistics as a Part of Semiotics
    • 5. The Goals of Linguistic Theory and the Semiotic Basis of Abstraction
    • 6. Synchronic Linguistics and Diachronic Linguistics
    • 7. Language Variation
    • 8. The Semiotic versus Generativist Notion of Language
  • II. Phonology
    • 1. The Phoneme and Distinctive Features
    • 2. Physical and Functional Segmentation of the Speech Flow
    • 3. Further Problems of Functional Identity
    • 4. Distinctive Features and Experimental Phonetics
    • 5. Phonological Antinomies
    • 6. Some Misconceptions about the Phonological Antinomies
    • 7. Remarks on Bohr’s Complementarity Principle and Dialectics
    • 8. An Illustration: How the Functional View of Speech Sounds Gave Birth to One of the Greatest Discoveries in the History of Linguistics
    • 9. Alternative Theories of the Phoneme and the Distinctive Features
    • 10. Phonological Syntagmatics
    • 10.1 Phonological Units
    • 10.2 Are Monovocalic Phonological Systems Possible?
    • 10.3 Phonological Structure of the Syllable
    • 10.4 The Primary and Secondary Functions of Vowels and Consonants in the Syllable
    • 10.5 Comments on the Notion ‘Extrasyllabic Consonant’
    • 10.6 Prosodic Features
    • 11. On Generative Phonology
  • III. Genotype Grammar
    • 1. Two Levels of Grammar: Genotype Grammar and Phenotype Grammar
    • 2. The Basic Notions of Genotype Grammar
    • 3. Constituency
    • 4. Dependency
    • 5. Constituency and Dependency as Complementary Notions
    • 6. The Structure of the Sentence
    • 6.1 The Notion of Syntaxeme
    • 6.2 Predicate Frames
    • 6.3 Functional Transposition and Superposition
    • 7. Valence and Voice
    • 8. The Typology of Sentence Constructions
    • 9. The Paradox of Ergativity and Functional Superposition
    • 10. Some Implications of the Integrated Theory of Ergativity for Linguistic Typology
    • 10.1 Ergativity as a Grammatical Category
    • 10.2 Accessibility to Relative Clause Formation
    • 10.3 Voices in Ergative Languages
    • 10.4 Split Ergativity
    • 10.5 The Class of Ergative Languages
    • 10.6 The Practical Results Anticipated
    • 11. An Informal Theory of Passivization
    • 11.1 The Basic Structure of Passive
    • 11.2 Impersonal Passive Constructions
    • 11.3 Passive and Antipassive
    • 12. Alternative Theories of Passivization
    • 12.1 Generative-Transformational Grammar
    • 12.2 Relational Grammar
    • 12.3 The Demotion Theory of Passivization
    • 13. The Formalism of Applicative Grammar
    • 13.1 The Formal System of Applicative Grammar
    • 13.2 Superposition of Types
    • 13.3 Combinators in Applicative Grammar
    • 13.4 Assignment of Types to Combinators
    • 13.5 Construction Rules, Replacement Rules, and Structure-Changing Rules
    • 13.6 Deductive Processes: Reduction and Expansion
    • 13.7 Sample Formalization: A Formal Theory of Passive and Antipassive
    • 13.7.1 Short and Long Passive Constructions
    • 13.7.2 Formal Reduction from the Long Passive Construction
    • 13.7.3 Impersonal Passive Constructions
    • 13.7.4 Impersonal Passive Constructions with Transitive Predicates
    • 13.7.5 Passivization of the Tertiary Term
    • 13.7.6 Passive and Antipassive Predicates and Constructions
    • 13.8 Sample Formalization: Reflexive Constructions
    • 13.9 Sample Formalization: Causative Constructions
    • 13.10 Sample Formalization: Sentence Nests
    • 14. A Comparison of Applicative Grammar and Montague Grammar
    • 15. A Comparison of Applicative Grammar and Generative-Transformational Grammar
    • 16. A Comparison of Applicative Grammar and Relational Grammar
    • 17. A Comparison of Applicative Grammar and the Lexical-Functional Grammar of Bresnan
    • 18. The Place of Applicative Grammar among Other Semiotic Systems
  • IV. Phenotype Grammar
    • 1. The Task of Phenotype Grammar
    • 2. The Word
    • 3. The Structure of the Word and Morphological Formatives
    • 4. Agglutination and Fusion
    • 5. Syntagmatic Formatives
    • 6. Concord and Government
    • 7. Linguistic Categories
    • 8. The Category of Case
    • a) The Active System
    • b) The Ergative System
    • c) The Accusative System
  • V. Linguistic Methodology
    • 1. Empirical and Conceptual Problems in Linguistics
    • 2. The Analytical-Deductive Method and Imaginary Experiments
    • 3. The Special Role of Linguistic Anomalies
    • 4. The Complementarity Principle and the Centaur Concepts
    • 5. Static and Dynamic Meta-languages
    • 6. The Role of Analogies in the Semiotic Theory of Language
    • 7. The Use and Abuse of Mathematical Formalism
    • 8. The Notion of Semiotic Reality
  • Notes
  • References
  • Subject Index
  • Language Index
  • Name Index

Metadata

  • isbn
    978-0-253-05566-8
  • publisher
    Indiana University Press
  • publisher place
    Bloomington, Indiana USA
  • restrictions
    CC-BY-NC-ND
  • rights
    Copyright © Trustees of Indiana University
  • rights holder
    Indiana University Press
  • rights territory
    World
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