The notion that language is a system of signs is explored in the context of Mandarin Chinese.We use the Peircean Sign,derived from the Peircean ontological categories Firstness,Secondness,and Thirdness,as an interpret...The notion that language is a system of signs is explored in the context of Mandarin Chinese.We use the Peircean Sign,derived from the Peircean ontological categories Firstness,Secondness,and Thirdness,as an interpretive framework.Because Mandarin Chinese is both well-documented and comparatively opaque to foreign influences,it presents an ideal case study for the formation of semiotic structures based on the operation of a single Peircean Category-sign(in contrast to English,which,with much higher levels of foreign contact-induced change,would be expected to involve a broad mixture of various semiotic influences).We examine semiotic structures in Chinese at the featural/phonological,lexical,and morphosyntactic levels,as well as the inventory of written characters.We conclude that the primary constraint that conditions semiotic structures in Chinese is the Peircean category Firstness of Secondness/[12].We also show how this conditioning constraint imposes a semiotic and structural consistency across different levels of language,and how it helps to explain certain evolutionary characteristics of Chinese.展开更多
Semiotics uncovers signs and objects in narrative accounts and vivid descriptions in the larger body of texts through the power of an interpretant.A sign is an idea that stands for something bigger while an object is ...Semiotics uncovers signs and objects in narrative accounts and vivid descriptions in the larger body of texts through the power of an interpretant.A sign is an idea that stands for something bigger while an object is a possible interpretation or meaning of that idea.An interpretant is best thought of as the understanding that we have of the sign-object relation.In this study,we attempted to answer two research questions:(1)What signs do descriptive accounts of loneliness signify,and what objects do these significations suggest?(2)How do these sign-object relations accomplish awareness and understanding of loneliness as a deep human emotion?By thematically analysing 30 opinion articles on loneliness published in the US and Singapore newspapers,we were able to decipher the signs that op-ed articles on loneliness suggest,and we seemed to have unravelled the meanings of these signs.We seemed to have found two signs in our interpretation and meaning making:(1)In the US,loneliness exists due to the rapid deterioration of deep and meaningful human connections,and(2)In Singapore,loneliness that is made overt is a sign of human weakness.What object does the first sign suggest?We surmise that our material body has enormous power to connect with other human beings in the physical world in which we live.Fundamentally realizing the power of our lived body and our lived mind can allow us to sustain meaningful human connections that matter to our mental health.For the second sign,we argue that Singaporeans in general tend to create a binary self of which they are ensnared into a double identity that somehow explains who they are.However,this rise of embodying a binary self or a double identity in the Asian context seems to conceal difficult,heavy,and pervasive emotions such as loneliness bringing a debilitating impact on mental health.Theoretical and cultural implications invite Singaporeans to embrace vulnerability and human frailty as a way of dealing with loneliness as a dangerous emotion.Practical implications also draw into the power of embracing vulnerability and human frailty so that individuals can manage and overcome difficult emotions such as loneliness that has bearing on the kind of life they want to live.展开更多
Based on previous published work on(Mandarin)Chinese,and following a discussion of the properties of the Peircean ontological Categories Firstness,Secondness,and Thirdness(as well as their"degenerate"or deri...Based on previous published work on(Mandarin)Chinese,and following a discussion of the properties of the Peircean ontological Categories Firstness,Secondness,and Thirdness(as well as their"degenerate"or derivative versions)and their applicability to sign systems,in general,I examine evidence for paradigmatic and syntagmatic structuring,conditioned by these Categories,in Mandarin Chinese,Sora,Tamil,and Sanskrit,languages chosen because of the typological divergence amongst them,and because of the author's familiarity with them and with their respective cultural milieus.The paradigmatic and syntagmatic structures identified arise in the presence of what I term positive and negative conditioning constraints arising from the Categories themselves,and which are shown to operate at three different levels in language,the morphosyntactic,the lexical,and the phonological.Because of this,a methodology grounded in Peircean semiotic structures is shown to have the explanatory potential to allow for a unified model of language structure,in general.展开更多
文摘The notion that language is a system of signs is explored in the context of Mandarin Chinese.We use the Peircean Sign,derived from the Peircean ontological categories Firstness,Secondness,and Thirdness,as an interpretive framework.Because Mandarin Chinese is both well-documented and comparatively opaque to foreign influences,it presents an ideal case study for the formation of semiotic structures based on the operation of a single Peircean Category-sign(in contrast to English,which,with much higher levels of foreign contact-induced change,would be expected to involve a broad mixture of various semiotic influences).We examine semiotic structures in Chinese at the featural/phonological,lexical,and morphosyntactic levels,as well as the inventory of written characters.We conclude that the primary constraint that conditions semiotic structures in Chinese is the Peircean category Firstness of Secondness/[12].We also show how this conditioning constraint imposes a semiotic and structural consistency across different levels of language,and how it helps to explain certain evolutionary characteristics of Chinese.
基金This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF-2021S1A5C2A02086852)。
文摘Semiotics uncovers signs and objects in narrative accounts and vivid descriptions in the larger body of texts through the power of an interpretant.A sign is an idea that stands for something bigger while an object is a possible interpretation or meaning of that idea.An interpretant is best thought of as the understanding that we have of the sign-object relation.In this study,we attempted to answer two research questions:(1)What signs do descriptive accounts of loneliness signify,and what objects do these significations suggest?(2)How do these sign-object relations accomplish awareness and understanding of loneliness as a deep human emotion?By thematically analysing 30 opinion articles on loneliness published in the US and Singapore newspapers,we were able to decipher the signs that op-ed articles on loneliness suggest,and we seemed to have unravelled the meanings of these signs.We seemed to have found two signs in our interpretation and meaning making:(1)In the US,loneliness exists due to the rapid deterioration of deep and meaningful human connections,and(2)In Singapore,loneliness that is made overt is a sign of human weakness.What object does the first sign suggest?We surmise that our material body has enormous power to connect with other human beings in the physical world in which we live.Fundamentally realizing the power of our lived body and our lived mind can allow us to sustain meaningful human connections that matter to our mental health.For the second sign,we argue that Singaporeans in general tend to create a binary self of which they are ensnared into a double identity that somehow explains who they are.However,this rise of embodying a binary self or a double identity in the Asian context seems to conceal difficult,heavy,and pervasive emotions such as loneliness bringing a debilitating impact on mental health.Theoretical and cultural implications invite Singaporeans to embrace vulnerability and human frailty as a way of dealing with loneliness as a dangerous emotion.Practical implications also draw into the power of embracing vulnerability and human frailty so that individuals can manage and overcome difficult emotions such as loneliness that has bearing on the kind of life they want to live.
文摘Based on previous published work on(Mandarin)Chinese,and following a discussion of the properties of the Peircean ontological Categories Firstness,Secondness,and Thirdness(as well as their"degenerate"or derivative versions)and their applicability to sign systems,in general,I examine evidence for paradigmatic and syntagmatic structuring,conditioned by these Categories,in Mandarin Chinese,Sora,Tamil,and Sanskrit,languages chosen because of the typological divergence amongst them,and because of the author's familiarity with them and with their respective cultural milieus.The paradigmatic and syntagmatic structures identified arise in the presence of what I term positive and negative conditioning constraints arising from the Categories themselves,and which are shown to operate at three different levels in language,the morphosyntactic,the lexical,and the phonological.Because of this,a methodology grounded in Peircean semiotic structures is shown to have the explanatory potential to allow for a unified model of language structure,in general.
