I would like to discuss first
chapter entitled "Three Functions of a Text" from the book Universe
of the Mind: A Semiotic Theory of Culture. The book is originally written
in Russian by Yuri Lotman.
1. About the Author
Yuri Lotman (also Spelled as Juri Lotman, 28 February 1922 – 28 October 1993) was a prominent Russian-Estonian literary scholar, semiotician, and historian of Russian culture, who worked at the University of Tartu. He was a founder of the Tartu–Moscow Semiotic School. The present book from which the chapter is being discussed is one of the key works on his ideas of signs, semiotics, and culture.
2. What is this Chapter about?
The central argument of the chapter is that semiotic
systems, particularly language and the texts they produce, have functions that
extend far beyond the adequate transmission of a pre-existing message. The text
identifies and elaborates on two additional, crucial functions: the generation
of new meanings, identified as the creative function and the condensation of
cultural memory.
2.1 Saussurean Model and its Limitations
The analysis begins by critiquing the traditional
Saussurean linguistic model, which prioritizes the study of language defined
as the abstract system, or code over speech its concrete
manifestation, the text. Saussure identifies them as Langue and Parole
respectively.
2.1.1 The "Packaging" Metaphor
Here, a text is treated as a disposable
"packaging" for a message or content. The primary goal of
communication is for the receiver to de-code the text and receive a message
identical to the one sent. The text itself holds no intrinsic value beyond
being a vehicle for this content.
2.1.2 The Ideal of Adequacy
The system is considered to work "well" if
the received message is wholly identical to the despatched one. Any differences
are classified as "errors" to be prevented by mechanisms like
redundancy.
2.1.3 The Paradox of Natural Language
If perfect, adequate transmission is the primary
criterion for success, then natural languages must be considered inefficient.
Achieving absolute identity between transmitted and received messages requires
the addresser and addressee to have wholly identical codes—a condition that is
practically unobtainable. Differences in linguistic experience, memory,
cultural tradition, and individual perspective ensure that the identity of
transmitted and received texts is always relative.
2.1.4 Artificial Languages as the Model
To guarantee perfect adequacy, one would need an
artificial, simplified language used by artificially simplified communicators
with limited memory and no cultural background. While such systems perfectly
model the function of adequate transmission, they lose the other essential
functions inherent to natural language, most notably its universalism.
2.2 Generating New Meanings or The Creative Function
In direct contrast to the transmission model, the
creative function posits that semiotic systems are also generators of new
messages.
2.2.1 Defining a "New Message"
A "new message" is not one produced by a
simple, symmetrical transformation where the original input can be perfectly
recovered (e.g., solving a math problem). A new message arises from an asymmetrical
transformation, where a reverse operation would not produce the original
text but a third, different text.
2.2.2 Translation as a Creative Act
The translation of artistic texts is the primary
example. The translation of a poem from one language to another is not a one-to-one
transfer.
Example: Translating a Japanese Haiku into Gujarati may sometimes require a completely different poetic form, not a direct symmetrical transfer. The fact that multiple translations of the same poem can exist demonstrates that there is a "space" of possible interpretations rather than a single correct correspondence.
2.2.3 Accretion of Meaning
In creative transformations, meaning is not just an
invariant element that is preserved; it is also what is altered. This process
results in an accretion of meaning.
2.2.4 The Inseparability of Language and Content
In complex meaning-generation, language is inseparable
from the content it expresses. The message becomes not just a message in a
language, but also a message about the language. Roman
Jakobson termed this phenomenon the "set to the code," a fundamental
feature of literary texts.
2.3. Condensing Cultural Memory or the Memory Function
The text's third identified function is its capacity
to act as a condenser of cultural memory.
2.3.1 The Text's Intrinsic Memory
A text is not a static object; it has the capacity to
preserve the memory of its previous contexts. The sum of the contexts in which
a text acquires interpretation can be termed the text's memory.
2.3.2 Accumulation of Information
Instead of fading over time, texts that remain
culturally active demonstrate a capacity to accumulate information. They gain
new meanings through their interactions with new contexts and new audiences.
Example: The novella Devdas today is not just Saratbabu's original Bengali work. It is also the memory of all its subsequent interpretations on stage and screen and in criticism. A modern audience cannot forget what has been learned since Saratbabu's time, and this knowledge gives the text new layers of meaning.
2.4. The Spectrum of Language: From Artificial to Artistic
The text proposes that all languages and texts can be
situated along an axis defined by two abstract poles: The Artificial Pole, i.e.
the pole characterized by the primary function of transmitting invariant
messages. And the Artistic or Poetic Pole, the pole characterized by the
dominance of the creative function.
2.4.1 A Moveable Position
These poles are theoretical abstractions. No actual
language is purely one or the other. Natural languages contain
"poetic" elements like synonymity, and even the most individualistic
artistic languages must contain metalingual elements, such as self-reflection
on the code. Furthermore, a text's position on this axis is not fixed; it can
be shifted by the perspective of the reader.
3. Key Terms
Accretion of Meaning:
The process by which a text gains new meaning through
creative transformations, rather than simply preserving an invariant message.
Artificial Languages:
Simplified semiotic systems designed to fulfill one
function to perfection: the adequate transmission of a message. They lack the
universalism of natural language.
Artistic (Poetic) Languages:
Semiotic systems in which the creative function is
strongest. They are characterized by asymmetrical transformations and the
inseparability of language and content. For examples, the language of poetry,
where a reverse translation would not produce the original text.
Asymmetrical Transformation:
A transformation of a text where a reverse operation
does not lead back to the original input text, but rather to a new, third text.
This is characteristic of creative acts. For example, the adaptation of a novel
into a film.
Code:
The abstract system of rules for encoding and decoding
a message. In Saussurean thought, this is analogous to language as
opposed to speech or text. For example, the code for English
includes its grammar and vocabulary, but also linguistic experience, memory,
norms, and cultural traditions.
Creative Function:
The capacity of a semiotic system not only to transmit
ready-made messages but also to serve as a generator of new ones through
asymmetrical transformations. For examples, translating a poem, where the act
creates a new text that is an interpretation of the original rather than an
identical copy.
Iconism:
The presence of a non-arbitrary, motivated connection
between the signifier (the sign's form) and the signified (the sign's concept).
Jakobson identified this as a key feature of language, particularly its
artistic aspect.
Memory Function:
The capacity of a text to act as a condenser of
cultural memory, preserving the memory of its previous contexts and
accumulating new information and meanings over time.
Set to the Code:
A term from Roman Jakobson describing a message in
which the interest is shifted onto its own language, making the message not
just in a language but also about that
language. This is a fundamental feature of literary texts.
Symmetrical Transformation:
A transformation of a text that is fully reversible,
where an inverse operation can perfectly restore the original input. This does
not create a "new message."
Text:
The concrete, articulated manifestation of language
(or a code), as opposed to the abstract system itself. The material object of
semiotic analysis. Examples include poems, novels, advertisements, films, etc.
Text's Memory:
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