Hidden Iconicity : A Peircean Perspective on the Chinese Picto-Phonetic Sign
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Semiotica
Publication Date
7-1-2005
Volume
154
First Page
273
Last Page
285
Publisher
De Gruyter Mouton
Abstract
According to Peirce, iconic interpretation is an associative inference on the basis of similarity. In that sense, nearly all Chinese characters are icons. The more obvious support for this claim comes from the pictorial nature of Chinese characters, which are either "pictographic" or "indicative". A better adjective for both is "ideographic" because they share the same interpretive movement from "graphs" to "ideas" that are similar. There is another direction in which a graph can be turned into an icon. Apart from the semantic connection to the referent, a graph is also related through convention to a particular sequence of sounds which constitute its pronunciation. This has resulted in characters that are "picto-phonetic" in nature.
DOI
10.1515/semi.2005.2005.154-1-4.273
Print ISSN
00371998
Publisher Statement
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
DING, E. (2005).Hidden Iconicity: A Peircean Perspective on the Chinese Picto-Phonetic Sign. Semiotica, 154, 173-285.