The focus of the present paper is on the opposition between linguistic phenomena labelled as v¯ acanika 'stated [be it by a rule or, which amounts to the same, through a specific linguistic sub-unit]' and those considered as sv¯ abh¯... more
The focus of the present paper is on the opposition between linguistic phenomena labelled as v¯ acanika 'stated [be it by a rule or, which amounts to the same, through a specific linguistic sub-unit]' and those considered as sv¯ abh¯ avika ('natural'), i.e., independent with respect both to specific rules formulated to account for them and to specific linguistic units expressing them. We owe such an opposition to Patañjali who develops (and twists) hints already present in K¯ aty¯ ayan. a's concept of an 'independent' linguistic phenomenon. The same opposition is also discussed in Bhartr. hari's long commentary in his D¯ ıpik¯ a ad A 1.1.38 taddhita´s c¯ asarvavibha-ktih. , which gives the name avyaya ('indeclinable') to secondary-affixes-ending forms without / not caused by all case endings. In this paper I highlight the evolution in the concept of zero in the earliest grammarians, which switches from being mainly meant, in K¯ aty¯ ayana, to meet the requirements of semantic compositionality to becoming, in Bhartr. hari, a device to identify the specifically linguistic limits of zero-derivation.
In 'Signe zéro' (1939) Jakobson suggests a radical application of the zero notion in analysis of linguistic structure, arguing that 'nothing' is a relevant structural component not only on the expression plane, but also on the content... more
In 'Signe zéro' (1939) Jakobson suggests a radical application of the zero notion in analysis of linguistic structure, arguing that 'nothing' is a relevant structural component not only on the expression plane, but also on the content plane, i.e. zero content as the signifié of a sign. The paper examines how this idea is rooted in the structuralist tradition of analysing difference and significant distinctions and how it is motivated by the pleasure of structural beauty. Focusing on one of Jakobson's examples of zero signs, the analysis of gender in the Russian declension system, the paper criticises the simplification of empirical facts in Jakobson's analysis and the reasoning behind accepting 'nothing' as a kind of content coding. This critical assessment draws on the description of sign distinctions in the structural-functional paradigm model of Nørgård-Sørensen et al. (2011) and Andersen's (2001) critique of Jakobson's conception of markedness.
In ‘Signe zéro’ (1939) Jakobson suggests a radical application of the zero notion in analysis of linguistic structure, arguing that ‘nothing’ is a relevant structural component not only on the expression plane, but also on the content... more
In ‘Signe zéro’ (1939) Jakobson suggests a radical application of the zero notion in analysis of linguistic structure, arguing that ‘nothing’ is a relevant structural component not only on the expression plane, but also on the content plane, i.e. zero content as the signifié of a sign. The paper examines how this idea is rooted in the structuralist tradition of analysing difference and significant distinctions and how it is motivated by the pleasure of structural beauty. Focusing on one of Jakobson’s examples of zero signs, the analysis of gender in the Russian declension system, the paper criticises the simplification of empirical facts in Jakobson’s analysis and the reasoning behind accepting ‘nothing’ as a kind of content coding. This critical assessment draws on the description of sign distinctions in the structural-functional paradigm model of Nørgård-Sørensen et al. (2011) and Andersen’s (2001) critique of Jakobson’s conception of markedness.
The paper presents the concept of the morphological zero sign of second order: semantic specification conveyed by the absence of an entire paradigmatic selection (cf. Nielsen 2016). The case used to illustrate the concept is the... more
The paper presents the concept of the morphological zero sign of second order: semantic specification conveyed by the absence of an entire paradigmatic selection (cf. Nielsen 2016). The case used to illustrate the concept is the morphology of the imperative mood in Danish. It is argued that Danish mood selection is a semantic opposition where the lack of selections for tense and voice provides the expression side of the sign with the content ‘imperative’, while the articulation of the tense and voice paradigms constitutes the expression side of the sign with the content ‘indicative’. Thus the Danish imperative is not just a zero in the sense of meaningful absence of an overt mood desinence expressing indicative, but a second order zero: the meaningful absence of (articulation of) the tense and mood paradigms.
