Language is both a socially distributed system, unknowable to any
one individual, and an individually embodied biological system. As
such it is subject to recursive biological and societal pressures
which enable it to function and change. The Language Dynamic
identifies a number of mechanisms that enable the meaning potential
of language from the phoneme through grammar and discourse and onto
ideological systems. These core mechanisms are: (i) articulation
and stratality, by which meaningful units combine in context to
form higher-order meanings which are greater than the sum of their
parts; (ii) redundancy, as the mutually re-enforcing yet unstable
relation between strata which allows for creativity and change;
(iii) prospection, as the means by which speakers effectively and
automatically recycle the syntagmatic patterns that emerge from
language as a contextualised system. In providing an integrated
account of the interconnections between these core mechanisms, the
book allow us to conceptualise the dynamics of language change and
growth as at once a motivated and agentless process. The book,
which underpins functional theories of language with concepts from
biological and cultural evolution, social semiotics and systems
theory, will be relevant to all who are interested in how and why
we can mean and what it means for us as humans to be semiotic
agents.
General
Imprint: |
Equinox Publishing Ltd
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
November 2023 |
Authors: |
Tom Bartlett
• Garard O'Grady
|
Dimensions: |
234 x 155mm (L x W) |
Pages: |
240 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-80050-333-5 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-80050-333-4 |
Barcode: |
9781800503335 |
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