Understanding Periphrasis: Manners, Communication, and Signs
Periphrasis: Manners, Contributions, and Communication
Periphrasis contributions are similar to particular obligations and opportunities. Actions are taken with a perfective aspect. Forms of the simple past tense indicate a perfective aspect (e.g., John studied). Imperfective actions are considered in their unfoldment with no indication of termination. Simple forms indicate an imperfective aspect (e.g., John is studying).
Communication
Communication involves the transmission of specific information from one point to another. It implies the transmission of specific information.
Elements of Communication
Sender: Develops and transmits the message. In human communication, the sender has a communicative intention.
Receiver: Receives and interprets the message.
Channel: The hardware that transmits the message, including the medium through which it circulates.
Code: The set of signs and rules for combining them.
Context: The circumstances that affect the sender and receiver, influencing the interpretation of the message. It is useful to distinguish between:
- Linguistic Context: What was said before and after a statement, conditioning its interpretation (e.g., the verb “give” in “I gave the book”).
- Situational Context: External circumstances surrounding the communicative act (e.g., “What time is it?”).
- Sociohistorical Context: Knowledge related to the time when the message occurs, fundamental for understanding ancient texts.
- Literary Context: Knowledge of an author or literary movement for adequate interpretation.
The entire communication process is inevitably affected by noise, which disturbs the transmission signal, hindering perfect reception (e.g., ghosting on a TV).
Redundancy: Counteracts the effects of noise by encoding the message to ensure perfect reception (e.g., an explanatory drawing with a description).
Classes and Sources of Signs
Emissions Covered:
- Artificial: Emitted to communicate something.
- Natural: Originating from nature.
Intentionality and Consciousness of the Sender:
- Communicative: Emitted intentionally.
- Expressive: Emitted spontaneously, unintentionally communicating a disposition.
Receptor Apparatus: Olfactory, tactile, gustatory, visual, auditory.
Referent Connections:
- Icons: Refer to the object by resemblance.
- Symbols: Maintain social contacts with the object through convention; arbitrary signs.
- Signs: Keep physical contiguity or causal connection.
Systems of Signs
Kinesics: Studies gestures, manners, and postures.
Prosemics: Analyzes the significance of space in conversation and how structuring space affects social relations.
Paralinguistics: Covers all phonic elements accompanying speech.
Zoosemiotics: Studies animal communication systems.
Features of the Linguistic Sign
Arbitrariness: Refers back to a symbol, something conventional and motivated by the reality expressed through the sign.
Linearity of the Signifier: Unfolds in time, constituting a temporal line. Visual signifiers (e.g., a photograph) differ from acoustic ones in time.
Immutability and Mutability: The linguistic sign is fixed in time by the community that uses it. This ensures the continuity of a language, seemingly contradictory.