Towards a dynamic model of the sign

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Semiotica

Publication Date

9-2017

Volume

2017

Issue

218

First Page

137

Last Page

144

Publisher

De Gruyter Mouton

Keywords

Saussure, Peirce, Eco, sign model, metaphorization, metonymization

Abstract

This paper argues that a linguistic or any other type of sign should not be viewed as a static unit in a synchronic system, but rather as a dynamic entity that appears in real communicative events. As discrete entries in a dictionary, words are given definitions as their meanings, but these definitions may lead to interpretations that have not been sanctioned by a language community and yet are totally reasonable and understandable. In this way, “old” words can be used to stand for “new” segments of our life experience through which some meanings are born and others modified. It is through our inferential use of this living sign that we keep adapting to an ever expanding world.

DOI

10.1515/sem-2016-0140

Print ISSN

00371998

E-ISSN

16133692

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Ding, E. (2017). Towards a dynamic model of the sign. Semiotica, 2017(218), 137–144. doi: 10.1515/sem-2016-0140

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