Sign Systems Studies 

About: Sign Systems Studies is an academic journal published by University of Tartu Press. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Semiotics & Eastern european. It has an ISSN identifier of 1406-4243. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 511 publications have been published receiving 3854 citations. The journal is also known as: Trudy po znakovym sistemam & Труды по знаковым системам.

On the semiosphere

Abstract: This article, first published in Russian in 1984 in Sign Systems Studies, introduces the concept of semiosphere and describes its principal attributes. Semiosphere is the semiotic space, outside of which semiosis cannot exist. The ensemble of semiotic formations functionally precedes the singular isolated language and becomes a condition for the existence of the latter. Without the semiosphere, language not only does not function, it does not exist. The division between the core and the periphery is a law of the internal organisation of the semiosphere. There exists boundary between the semiosphere and the nonor extra-semiotic space that surrounds it. The semiotic border is represented by the sum of bilingual translatable “filters”, passing through which the text is translated into another language (or languages), situated outside the given semiosphere. The levels of the semiosphere comprise an inter-connected group of semiospheres, each of them being simultaneously both participant in the dialogue (as part of the semiosphere) and the space of dialogue (the semiosphere as a whole). Contemporary semiotics is undergoing a review of some of its basic concepts. It is a well-known fact that at the heart of semiotics lie two scientific traditions. One of these goes back to Peirce-Morris and begins with an understanding of the sign as the first element of any semiotic system. The second is based on the theses of Saussure and the Prague school and has at its core the antinomy of language and speech (texts). However, despite the differences of these approaches, 1 [Translator’s note.] This article, regarded as a classic or seminal piece by many who have studied Lotman’s work, was first published in 1984 in Signs Systems Studies (Труды по знаковым системам) 17: 5–23, and includes one of the first mentioning of the term ‘semiosphere’ coined by Lotman. Translated from the original Russian language version, published in Lotman 1992. We are not informed about any earlier English translation of this article. (See also fn. 6.)

Cross-modal iconicity: A cognitive semiotic approach to sound symbolism

Abstract: It is being increasingly recognized that the Saussurean dictum of "the arbitrariness of the linguistic sign" is in conflict with the pervasiveness of the phenomenon commonly known as "sound symbolism". After first presenting a historical overview of the debate, however, we conclude that both positions have been exaggerated, and that an adequate explanation of sound symbolism is still lacking. How can there, for example, be (perceived) similarity between expressions and contents across different sensory modalities? We offer an answer, based on the Peircian notion of iconic ground, and G. Sonesson's distinction between primary and secondary iconicity. Furthermore, we describe an experimental study, in a paradigm first pioneered by W. Kohler, and recently popularized by V. Ramachandran, in which we varied vowels and consonants in fictive word-forms, and conclude that both types of sounds play a role in perceiving an iconic ground between the word-forms and visual figures. The combination of historical conceptual analysis, semiotic explication and psychological experimentation presented in this article is characteristic of the emerging paradigm of cognitive semiotics.

Translation as translating as culture

Abstract: The most common difficulty in translation studies has traditionally been the dilemma between the historical and synchronic approaches in the analysis and description of the culture of translation. On the one hand the culture of translation might be presented as the sum of various kinds of translated texts (repertoire of culture), on the other hand it might be described as the hierarchy of the various types of translations themselves. The first approach assumes plenty of languages for such description, in the latter one suggests only one language for the same representation. A cultural critic faces the same problems. In these perspectives the translation reveals important mechanisms of the performance of culture. First of all it is the semiotic interpretation of the theory of translation, introduced by the number of scientists beginning with R. Jakobson and including U. Eco who put together interlinguistic, intra-linguistic, and inter-semiotic translations, so crucial for the further understanding of culture. As a result, the general notion of culture might be described as the process of total translation. And secondly, the other valuable contribution to the theory of translation has been made by both M. Bakhtin and J. Lotman in terms of the synthesis of two traditions in semiotics of culture resulted in juxtaposing such notions as dialogism and autonomy — creolization, polyphony, counterword, and translation. Translating as an activity and translation as the result of this activity are inseparable from the concept of culture. The translational capacity of culture is an important criterion of culture’s specificity. Culture operates largely through translational activity, since only by the inclusion of new texts into culture can the culture undergo innovation as well as perceive its specificity. After the expansion of the paradigm of postcolonial and the related field of gender studies into translation studies, the borderline between culture studies and translation studies has become fuzzier, yet at the same time, there has emerged a visible

Internet memes as internet signs: A semiotic view of digital culture

Abstract: This article argues for a clearer framework of internet-based “memes”. The science of memes, dubbed ‘memetics’, presumes that memes remain “copying units” following the popularisation of the concept in Richard Dawkins’ celebrated work, The Selfish Gene (1976). Yet Peircean semiotics and biosemiotics can challenge this doctrine of information transmission. While supporting a precise and discursive framework for internet memes, semiotic readings reconfigure contemporary formulations to the – now-established – conception of memes. Internet memes can and should be conceived, then, as habit-inducing sign systems incorporating processes involving asymmetrical variation. So, drawing on biosemiotics, Tartu-Moscow semiotics, and Peircean semiotic principles, and through a close reading of the celebrated 2011 Internet meme Rebecca Black’s Friday , this article proposes a working outline for the definition of internet memes and its applicability for the semiotic analysis of texts in new media communication.