Lecture Focus: Diagrams and semiotics; influence of Russian formalists and Ferdinand de Saussure's semiotic theory will be discussed in more detail next week.
Saussure and Semiotics
Semiotics: Study of existing conventional communicative systems (languages, gestures, stoplights, etc.).
Relevance to Literature: Though not a literary theory itself, semiotics has influenced many literary theories (structuralism, deconstruction, Lacanian psychoanalysis, etc.).
Saussure's Influence: Foundational figure in semiotics; course in general linguistics compiled by his students, not written by Saussure himself.
Concepts in Saussure's Semiotics
Language vs. Speech
Language (Langue): Aggregate of the lexicon and grammatical rules, a system existing in space (synchronically).
Speech (Parole): Unfolding of language in time, how language is used in communication.
Sign: Comprised of a concept (signified) and a sound image (signifier).
Arbitrary Nature of Signs: No inherent link between the signifier and the signified.
Differential Nature of Signs: Defined by differences from other signs, not by their own positive content.
Examples and Implications
Red Light: Illustrates the arbitrary and differential nature of signs in semiotic systems (stoplights, Rudolph's nose, street doors, etc.).
Conventional Nature: Signs are intelligible within their specific systems of conventions; changes in language require community acquiescence.
Language as a System of Signs
Sign Clusters: Signs exist in associational networks, clustering in ways that make them contextually appropriate.
Tagmeme: Basic unit in systematizing language, can vary (phoneme, word, phrase, etc.).
Synchrony and Diachrony
Synchrony: Study of language as a simultaneous system.
Diachrony: Study of language over time, sequence of synchronic cross-sections.
Linguistic Convention & Change: Requires community acceptance; individual agency alone can't alter language conventions.
Conclusion
Importance of Conventionality: Language and signs function effectively due to being conventional and intelligible within systems of signs.
Implications for Future Discussions: Synchrony and diachrony will remain key coordinates in understanding literary theory and semiot.