The point of departure is that the traditional linguistic «components» or subsystems like phonology, semantics, lexicon and grammar are based on the linguistic sign (or symbol), and the article discusses the relation between these components: Are they independent and supplementary, or are some systems part of others? And what is their relation to the sign and its two parts, expression and content (meaning)? First, the linguistic sign is presented and discussed, and defined 1) as a general unit with any expression, not limited to speech, 2) non-mentalistically, in a manner compatible with a usage-based approach to language, namely as a social or conventional product that also comprises physical entities like sounds or letters. Then some problems concerning the relation between the sign and the subsystems are pointed out and discussed in the following sections. The main conclusions are: 1) Lexicon and grammar include (e.g. phonological) expressions, phonology deals with the expression system. 2) There is no semantic system – meaning is part of lexicon and grammar. 3) Grammar is not «autonomous», but consists of (complex) signs and includes meaning. 4) Lexicon and grammar are neither expression nor content, but represent the sign or lexicogrammatical level. 5) Languages and texts are not signs and do not consist of expression and content, but of subsystems and parts. 6) Words are the basic part of language, presupposed by grammar.
| Published in | International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 13, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijll.20251301.13 |
| Page(s) | 11-18 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Sign, Expression, Content, Phonology, Semantics, Lexicon, Grammar
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APA Style
Papazian, E. (2025). The Linguistic Sign and the Subsystems of Language. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 13(1), 11-18. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251301.13
ACS Style
Papazian, E. The Linguistic Sign and the Subsystems of Language. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2025, 13(1), 11-18. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20251301.13
AMA Style
Papazian E. The Linguistic Sign and the Subsystems of Language. Int J Lang Linguist. 2025;13(1):11-18. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20251301.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20251301.13,
author = {Eric Papazian},
title = {The Linguistic Sign and the Subsystems of Language},
journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {11-18},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20251301.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251301.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20251301.13},
abstract = {The point of departure is that the traditional linguistic «components» or subsystems like phonology, semantics, lexicon and grammar are based on the linguistic sign (or symbol), and the article discusses the relation between these components: Are they independent and supplementary, or are some systems part of others? And what is their relation to the sign and its two parts, expression and content (meaning)? First, the linguistic sign is presented and discussed, and defined 1) as a general unit with any expression, not limited to speech, 2) non-mentalistically, in a manner compatible with a usage-based approach to language, namely as a social or conventional product that also comprises physical entities like sounds or letters. Then some problems concerning the relation between the sign and the subsystems are pointed out and discussed in the following sections. The main conclusions are: 1) Lexicon and grammar include (e.g. phonological) expressions, phonology deals with the expression system. 2) There is no semantic system – meaning is part of lexicon and grammar. 3) Grammar is not «autonomous», but consists of (complex) signs and includes meaning. 4) Lexicon and grammar are neither expression nor content, but represent the sign or lexicogrammatical level. 5) Languages and texts are not signs and do not consist of expression and content, but of subsystems and parts. 6) Words are the basic part of language, presupposed by grammar.},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - The Linguistic Sign and the Subsystems of Language AU - Eric Papazian Y1 - 2025/01/22 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251301.13 DO - 10.11648/j.ijll.20251301.13 T2 - International Journal of Language and Linguistics JF - International Journal of Language and Linguistics JO - International Journal of Language and Linguistics SP - 11 EP - 18 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-0221 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20251301.13 AB - The point of departure is that the traditional linguistic «components» or subsystems like phonology, semantics, lexicon and grammar are based on the linguistic sign (or symbol), and the article discusses the relation between these components: Are they independent and supplementary, or are some systems part of others? And what is their relation to the sign and its two parts, expression and content (meaning)? First, the linguistic sign is presented and discussed, and defined 1) as a general unit with any expression, not limited to speech, 2) non-mentalistically, in a manner compatible with a usage-based approach to language, namely as a social or conventional product that also comprises physical entities like sounds or letters. Then some problems concerning the relation between the sign and the subsystems are pointed out and discussed in the following sections. The main conclusions are: 1) Lexicon and grammar include (e.g. phonological) expressions, phonology deals with the expression system. 2) There is no semantic system – meaning is part of lexicon and grammar. 3) Grammar is not «autonomous», but consists of (complex) signs and includes meaning. 4) Lexicon and grammar are neither expression nor content, but represent the sign or lexicogrammatical level. 5) Languages and texts are not signs and do not consist of expression and content, but of subsystems and parts. 6) Words are the basic part of language, presupposed by grammar. VL - 13 IS - 1 ER -
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