0000000001331086
AUTHOR
Francesco La Mantia
CHE SENSO HA? POLISEMIA E ATTIVITA' DI LINGUAGGIO
I fenomeni di polisemia lessicale costituiscono un ingrediente essenziale dell'attività umana di linguaggio. Semiotici, linguisti e studiosi di scienze cognitive esaminano questi fenomeni da prospettive differenti. I saggi raccolti in questo volume provano a tener conto di alcuni importanti risultati derivanti dall'analisi di tali prospettive. L'immagine complessiva che emerge è di straordinaria ricchezza e di grande impatto. Non vi è aspetto dell'attività umana di linguaggio che non possa essere in qualche modo ripensato a a partire dai fenomeni di polisemia lessicale. Il libro, attraverso un confronto sistematico delle principali strategie impiegate nello studio di tali fenomeni prova ad …
QUANDO IL GESTO SI FA LINGUA
Gesto e vocalità formano una complessa unità significativa su cui si basano le operazioni fondamentali dell'attività di linguaggio. Nel saggio, esamino alcuni aspetti di questa unità alla luce di alcune categorie metalinguistiche introdotte nel contesto delle teorie dell'enunciazione
PROTOTIPI O FORME SCHEMATICHE? PER UNA FORMA ENUNCIATIVA DI CATEGORIZZAZIONE
The paper aims at explaining the notion of lexical polysemy by means of some theoretical metalinguistic construction.
Semiotica e Matematiche: un'introduzione
The foundations of Peircean's and Saussurean's Semiotics itself is centered on two mathematical ideas coming from differential calculus and theory of continuity. Other mathematical ideas can be founded in some of the most important ideas in Semiotics. The papers investigates the relationships between Mathematics and Semiotics in both a historical and theoretical way.
Perdersi. Note sul Labirinto
The paper is inspired by a conversation of its author with Sandro Man- cini. Through a series of self-biographical notes, it tries to examine the topological gure of the labyrinth in some of its main mythical- symbolic, mathematical and conceptual articulations. Starting from a famous essay by Italo Calvino, i.e. La s da al labirinto, it seeks in par- ticular to discuss the works of Pierre Rosenstiehl, mathematician and philosopher to whom we owe some of the most re ned analyses on the subject of labyrinth. In the conclusions, after some other short intro- spective remarks, one aims at raising the necessity of more systematic and deepened investigations about this subject.
Topological Space
We introduce some formal definition of Topological Space in the the framework of the so-called classical mathematics.
CREATURA COLLETTIVA. NOTE SUL CONCETTO DI COGNIZIONE DISTRIBUITA
In this paper, I will examine some aspects of a research program called “Distributed Cognition”. My goal is twofold: a) to clarify the many meanings of the word “distribution” in the context of cognitive science; b) to analyze the relationship between “Distributed co- gnition”andthreedistincttopicsi.e:1)“ComputationalTheoryofMind”;2)“SocialCognition”;3)“PersonalMind”.Inthe conclusions,I will try to fomulate some questions that remain open in the debate on Distributed Cognition.
Lingue, invarianti e altri strani oggetti
The paper aims to analyze the concept of linguistic invariant introduced by several research programs in linguistics: from the typological linguistics to the theory of enunciative and predicative operations until some branches of the so-called Minimalist program. As we will shows, it is necessary to distinguish between «universals of language» and «linguistic invariant».
Come un’immagine. Sull’enunciazione visiva secondo Maria Giulia Dondero.
The paper aims at explaining some pivotal points of Maria Giulia Dondero’s last book.
QUANDO TRADURRE E' DEFORMARE: A PROPOSITO DI ANTOINE CULIOLI
Institutions, Symbolic Networks and Transindividual.
The paper introduces a fundamental topic of actual debate in philosophy of institutions: the linguistic dimension of political praxis. In order to analyze such topic, we mention some theoretical points of this debate: a) the actual status of the concept of institution; b) the notion of social imaginary; 3) the notion of semogenesis.
Geometrie della natura. Matematica ed epistemologia
Fractal
The term fractal was first coined by the Polish-born, French-American mathe- matician Benoît Mandelbrot in the mid 1970s (cf. at least Mandelbrot 1975; Stewart 2010). It comes from the Latin word fractus “which has the same root of fraction and fragment and means “irregular or fragmented” (cf. Mandelbrot 1982: 3, in Emmer 2012: 7). Furthermore “it is related to frangere which means to break" (cf. Mandel- brot 1982: 4, in Emmer 2012: 7). Loosely speaking, a fractal is a mathematical object, such as a curve, or, more generally, as a set, “that displays exact or approx- imate self-similarity on different scales” (cf. at least Birken and Coon 2008: 134). Put in more technical terms, a fractal i…
SAUSSURE ET LA PHILOSOPHIE DU LANGAGE AUJOURD'HUI
“Un atteggiamento irenico”. Su alcune pagine culioliane di Tullio De Mauro
The paper aims to analyze the culiolian background of Minisemantica (henceforth, MS). It is one of the most important theoretical work of Tullio De Mauro. As we will show, MS adopted two distinct but related concepts of the metalinguistic culiolian repertoire: a) the concept of «epilinguistic activity»; b) the concept of «enunciative space». The paper is divided into three parts. The first one is devoted to analyze the general architecture of MS. The second part is about the culiolian concepts. Finally, the third one seeks to identify some significant traces of the culiolian linguistics in more recent De Mauro’s works.
Senti chi parla. Su un aspetto dell’attività di parola a partire da Lacan.
Algebre, Gettoni, Enunciati
The paper aims at describing some differences between the formal languages of Mathematics and the features of Natural Language
Preso alla lettera. Il significato letterale come problema normativo.
La nozione di significato letterale ha uno strano destino: per un verso, sembra costituire un ingrediente costitutivo dei nostri commerci linguistici; per un altro, nessuno sa bene cosa sia. Nel saggio esaminiamo ipotesi di lavoro sull'argomento mettendo a fuoco incertezze e punti di riflessione problematici.
Interno, Esterno, Frontiera. Note sulla Topologia dei Domini Nozionali
This article examines a fundamental metalinguistic construction of the theory of enunciative operations: the Notional Domain. In particular, we try to explain some particular topological concepts on which this construction is based and we try to show the key role they play in the description of some basic linguistic operations: "fragmentation" and "construction of existence"
Invarianti topologici e grammatiche universali
Le nozioni di "invariante linguistico" e "universale di linguaggio" sono all'origine di numerose tensioni irrisolte nella riflessione epistemologica di tanti linguisti e filosofi della linguistica. Le ragioni principali di queste tensioni sono principalmente riconducibili ad alcuni rilievi critici così formulabili: 1)la nozione di invariante linguistico non è automaticamente riducibile alla nozione di universale di linguaggio. Gli invarianti con cui il linguista lavora sono solitamente invarianti "locali" ossia schemi operativi esclusivamente generalizzabili a gruppi specifici di lingue storico-naturali; 2) vi sono senz'altro degli invarianti che sono universali, ma si tratta di identità pr…
Prese di parola. Sulla nozione di voce in Oswald Ducrot
The paper aims at providing an overview of the main meanings that the term “voice” unfolds in the framework of the Ducrotian Polyphonic Linguistics.
Tra norme e convenzioni. Ipotesi sul senso letterale
La nozione di signifcato letterale è al centro di un dibattito che coinvolge fgure disciplinari eterogenee: teorici del diritto, studiosi di semiotica e flosof del linguaggio sono tra i principali protagonisti di un continuo lavoro di revisione teorica che ha come oggetto d’indagine questa nozione. I lavori di François Récanati, tra cui le ricerche confuite nel fondamentale Literal Meaning (2004), hanno contribuito ad accrescere e valorizzare l’importanza di molte questioni correlate. Il rapporto tra signifcato letterale e convenzioni è divenuto, in particolare, una tappa di rifessione obbligata: è frequente, infatti, presentare i signifcati letterali come signifcati stabilmente convenziona…
Antoine Culioli. L'arco e la freccia. Scritti scelti. Con il saggio di Francesco La Mantia Sul lessico della linguistica di Culioli. Prefazione di Tullio De Mauro.
The text aims at explaining the pivotal point of the Theory of Enunciative Operations of Antoine Culioli
Sempre uguale sempre diverso. Riflessioni sulla nozione di invariante linguistico
The paper aims to analyze the concept of linguistic invariant. It is a theoretical tool that plays a pivotal role in several research programs: from the typological linguistics to the theory of enunciative and predicative operations, until some branches of the so-called Minimalist program. As we will show, it is necessary to distinguish between «universal of language» and «linguistic invariant».
Introduction
The book is devoted to three key questions concerning the relationship between complexity and natural language. Briefly, such questions are: (a) What kind of complexity for natural language? (b) Which theory of language in the perspective of complexity? (c) What sorts of methods and models in the analysis of the observed phenomena? All the essays in this volume show the reference to complexity as a constant element. However, the use of the singular may not be entirely appropriate.
Structural Stability
The notion of structural stability was first introduced by the Russian math- ematicians Alexandr Andronov and Lev Pontryagin (cf. Andronov and Potryangin 1937). However, there are traces of such a concept in the work of the French math- ematician Henry Poincaré (cf. Poincaré 1880). In more recent years, interesting developments about structural stability included writings of important math- ematicians like Mauricìo Peixoto (cf. at least Peixoto 1960), Stephen Smale (cf. at least Smale 1971) and René Thom (1972, 1980) (see structural morpho- dynamics). From an intuitive point of view, structural stability refers to a particular systemic property known as robustness. Put in general terms, a s…
Micro-macro. Note su un'idea di Douglas Hofstadter
The paper aims to explain the theoretical meaning of the so-called down-ward causation. It is a fundamental property of the emergent systems.
La Strategia del Ventriloquo. Sul Portavoce
This paper examines the activity of the spokesperson by means of an analogy with the art of ventriloquism. It is composed of three parts: in the first one we introduce some definitions of «spokesperson» in order to explain in what consists his activity. The second part is devoted to the analysis of the linguistic aspects of the spokesperson’s activity with particular reference to some language operations: a) self-effacement; b) attribution of agentivity. Finally, in the last part we discuss some questions that remain open in the debate on spokesperson’s activity.
L’altro e le sue immagini. Note sul soliloquio
The paper examines the soliloquy activity by means of some conceptual artifacts borrowed from three research programs: 1) the Enunciative Narratology of René Rivara; 2) the Theory of Predicative and Enunciative Operations of Antoine Culioli; 3) the Dialogical Syntax of John Du Bois. It is composed by three parts. In the first one, we discuss some definitions of soliloquy. The second part is devoted to the analysis of some aspects of such activity with particular reference to some language operations: a) laminations of voice; b) construction of the (interior) co-enunciator. Finally, in the last part we examine some questions that remain open in the debate on soliloquy activity.
Where is meaning going? Semantic Potentials and Enactive Grammars
The paper tries to explicate the relationship between two fundamental concepts of the theoretical research in cognitive linguistics: semantic potentials and enactive grammars. It is divided into three parts. The first one introduces the notion of semantic potential. In the second part, we examine the notion of enaction with particular reference to its applications in the theoretical framework of linguistic reflexion. In the last one, you can find a detailed analysis of some theoretical topics that are at the center of the actual debate.
Emergence, Life, and Complexity
This paper aims at explaining some pivotal features of the concept of emergence: a) downward causation; b) process-ontology; c) configurational metaphysics.
Esseri di discorso. Su tre attori dell’enunciazione.
The paper aims at explaining the metalinguistic role of three enunciative figures: 1) the speaker (or “sujet parlant”); 2) the locutor; 3) the enunciator.
Parlare per ascoltarsi. Note su alcuni aspetti dell'interlocuzione.
This paper considers the nature of interlocution from the point of view of three different research programs: the theory of enunciative operations of Antoine Culioli (or toe), the psychoanalysis of Jacques Lacan (or pla) and the enactive grammar of Didier Bottineau (or ge). It is composed of three parts: in the first part, we introduce some definitions of interlocution in order to distinguish between terms and empirical supports of interlocution. The second part is devoted to the analysis of some sensorial operations that are at work in the context of verbal inter- action – with particular reference to the cases of acoustic feedback. Finally, in the last part we discuss in which sense and u…
Pour se faire langage. Lexique élémentaire de la Théorie des opérations prédicatives et énonciatives d’Antoine Culioli. Préface de Dominique Ducard
The text aims at introducing the basic ideas underlying to the so-called Theory of Enunciative Operations of Antoine Culioli.
Linguaggio Tempo Narrazione
La natura del segno linguistico è esaminata attraverso le nozioni matematiche di linearità e non-linearità. The paper aims to explain two distinct but related aspects of the linguistic sign. That is to say: linearity and non-linearity. In order to satisfy this theoretical purpose, we will seek to analyze the conceptual background of saussurean linguistics in the light of some insights of the so-called emergentist epistemologies. As we will show, the concept of downward causation play a pivotal role in such a theoretical framework.
Semantics
There are many different ways of defining the word “semantics”. For instance, according to Eco (2017: 550–551), it is possible to distinguish at least five senses of semantics. That is to say: a. Semantics as the study of the meaning of terms removed from any context [...]; b. Semantics as the study of content systems or structural semantics [...]; c. Semantics as the study of the relation between term (or sentence) and referent, or as the study of reference [...]; d. Semantics as the study of the truth conditions of propositions expressed by sentences; e. Semantics as the study of the particular meaning that terms or sentences assume in context or in the text as a whole [...]; With particu…
L’altro e l’uncino. Su un aspetto del pronome “Tu” in Lacan
The paper aims to analyse a singular aspect of the grammatical pronoun “you” in the theoretical framework of the lacanian psychoanalysis.
Rappresentare, referenziare e regolare. Su tre invarianti costitutivi della natura umana
The paper aims to analyze three distinct but related language operations: representation, referentiation, regulation.
Chreod.
The concept of chreod was introduced in 1957 by the English theoretical biologist Conrad Hal Waddington (cf. Waddington: 1957; Galperin: 2008). From a linguistic point of view, the word “chreod” is a neologism, or, more precisely, a compound formed by the combination of two Greek words: the verb chre- (“it is necessary, must”) and the substantive -hodos (“way, road”). Therefore, it means literally “obliged pathway” (cf. Fabris 2018: 252, n. 6). Of course, such an etymology covers only a little bit of the semantic repertoire deployed by chreod. But, it is however true that some aspects of the biology of living systems can be described in these terms. Indeed, at the most general level, the id…
Linguistics, semiotics and cognition. Some notes on the book Signifier. Essai sur la mise en signification
What is particularly striking about Robert Nicolaï’s new book is the extraordinary richness of its theoretical background. For, the analysis of the Author covers several research fields belonging both to “human” and “cognitive” sciences: from linguistics to ethnometodology, from semiotics to sociology until experimental psychology and theoretical biology. In order to have some idea of such a disciplinary variety, it is sufficient to describe the general structure of the essay. It is divided into ten chapters, each of which is devoted to a particular subject. More precisely, chapter 1 (27-33) concerns processes of knowledge construction and its articulations in the theoretical framework of l…
Pattern
The word “pattern” is a very complex term. Generally, it refers to “an arrange- ment that reveals an order, or design, which is meaningful” (cf. Thaker 1999: 427). But a quick look at many of its different domains of application (e.g. theoretical biology, mathematics, aesthetics, linguistics, etc., etc.) proves that “pattern” has a semantic potential richer than one usually expressed by such a definition. For instance, in the framework of the so-called combinatorics on words (cf. at least Lothaire 2012), a pattern is “a word over an alphabet of variables and is meant to describe some kind of repetitive structures” (cf. Rampersard 2017: 98). Therefore, in this first theoretical approach, “th…
Saggezza dei patterns e nuove strategie cooperative
The paper aims to analyze the concept of downward causation and the role that it plays in the theoretical frameworks of biology and cognitive science.
Se l’enunciatore non parla. Note sulla nozione ducrotiana di punto di vista.
«Voice» and «Point of view» have been two of the most debated topics in some fields of linguistics and semiotics. Generally, DUCROT (1984) is considered like one of the first essays which introduced these concepts in the theoretical framework of the analysis of enunciation. As for the first one, the Author limits himself to suggest that it is connected with the notion of «discourse». In fact, by examining some topics of SPERBER & WILSON (1978), he seems to assimilate «voice» to «discourse». Indeed, you can read «j’ai substitué l’expression “faire entendre une voix” à leur expression “mentionner un discours”». As for the second concept, He seems to assimilate «point of view» to intuitive not…
Verbal, linguistique et langagier. Enunciazione e antropologia del gesto mentale.
The paper aims to explain the metalinguistic value of three distinct but related concepts of the Theory of Predicative and Enunciative Operations (henceforth, TOPE). This research program, conceived by the french linguist Antoine Culioli, introduced a fundamental theoretical distinction between the concepts of “verbal” “linguistique” et “langagier”. The first concept refer to the complementary processes of phonation and audition that characterize every interlocutory exchange. The second one refer to the rules that characterize the formal system of a specific natural language. The third and last concept refer to the language operations viewed as processes of construction of meaning. With par…