This is the first book of its kind that explains the basic concepts, theoretical foundations and systematic research of linguistic semiotics, so as to establish a well-founded framework for linguistic semiotics as an independent discipline. While examining the major claims of different schools of semiotics, it also addresses 12 central issues concerning linguistic semiotics, and outlines semiotic studies in China focusing on the multiple research areas and accomplishments. In addition to illustrations and tables, the book offers an “Index of References in Linguistic Semiotics” consisting of 1,063 entries, including monographs, journal papers, conference proceedings, etc. in Chinese, English and Russian.

"Eco wittily and enchantingly develops themes often touched on in his previous works, but he delves deeper into their complex nature . . . this collection can be read with pleasure by those unversed in semiotic theory." —Times Literary Supplement

This handbook for advanced students explains the various applications to music of methods derived from linguistics and semiotics. The book is aimed at musicians familiar with the ordinary range of aesthetic and theoretical ideas in music; no specialized knowledge of linguistic or semiotic terminology is necessary. In the two introductory chapters, semiotics is related to the tradition of music aesthetics and to well-known works like Deryck Cooke's The Language of Music, and the methods of linguistics are explained in language intelligible to musicians. There is no limitation to one school or tradition; linguistic applications not avowedly semiotic, and semiotic theories not connected with linguistics, are all included. The book gives clear and simple descriptions with ample diagrams and music examples of the 'neutral level', 'semiotic analysis', transformation and generation, structural semantics and narrative grammar, intonation theory, the ideas of C.S. Peirce, and applications in ethnomusicology.

This volume derives from a symposium held in March 1982, to celebrate the inauguration of the Department of Linguistics at Rice University. The focus of the symposium was the state of linguistics and semiotics in its recent past, the current status, and directions to be explored in the immediate future.

This is the first book of its kind that explains the basic concepts, theoretical foundations and systematic research of linguistic semiotics, so as to establish a well-founded framework for linguistic semiotics as an independent discipline. While examining the major claims of different schools of semiotics, it also addresses 12 central issues concerning linguistic semiotics, and outlines semiotic studies in China focusing on the multiple research areas and accomplishments. In addition to illustrations and tables, the book offers an “Index of References in Linguistic Semiotics” consisting of 1,063 entries, including monographs, journal papers, conference proceedings, etc. in Chinese, English and Russian.

Crystal Downing brings the postmodern theory of semiotics within reach for today's evangelists. Following the idea of the sign through Scripture, church history and the academy, Downing shows you how signs work and how sensitivity to their dynamics can make or break an attempt to communicate truth.

History and Classics of Modern Semiotics -- Sign and Meaning -- Semiotics, Code, and the Semiotic Field -- Language and Language-Based Codes -- From Structuralism to Text Semiotics: Schools and Major Figures -- Text Semiotics: The Field -- Nonverbal Communication -- Aesthetics and Visual Communication.

"As a glimpse onto U.S. American semiotics through the mind's eye of a witness, participant-observer, architect, and midwife, this slim but rich book fulfills its title." --Journal of Linguistic Anthropology "This book is an invaluable historical, conceptual, and anecdotal account of the rise of semiotics in the United States." --Review of Metaphysics Sebeok, who has done more to establish the field of semiotics in the United States than any other single scholar, here draws upon his personal experiences of half a century to present the achievement and current status of semiotics in this country. He focuses on salient individuals and intellectual issues, including theatre, television, folklore, sociology, tourism, and graphic design. He also examines semiotic applications to architecture, marketing and advertising, jurisprudence, and medicine.

In this book I try to give a coherent and consistent overview of what an ecological approach to language learning might look like. This is not a fully fledged grand theory that aims to provide an explanation of everything, but an attempt to provide a rationale for taking an ecological world view and applying it to language education, which I regard as one of the most important of all human activities. Goethe once said that everything has been thought of before, but that the difficulty is to think of it again. The same certainly is true of the present effort. If it has any innovative ideas to offer, these lie in a novel combination of thoughts and ideas that have been around for a long, long time. The reader will encounter influences that range from Spinoza to Bakhtin and from Vygotsky to Halliday. The scope of the work is intentionally broad, covering all major themes that are part of the language learning process and the language teaching profession. These themes include language, perception and action, self, learning, critical pedagogy and research. At the same time I have attempted to look at both the macro and the micro sides of the ecological coin, and address issues from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. This, then, aims to be a book that can be read by practitioners and theoreticians alike, and the main idea is that it should be readable and challenging at the same time.