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Concept
Glossematics
Summary
Glossematics is a structuralist linguistic theory proposed by Louis Hjelmslev and Hans Jørgen Uldall although the two ultimately went separate ways each with their own approach. Hjelmslev’s theory, most notably, is an early mathematical methodology for the analysis of language which was subsequently incorporated into the analytical foundation of current models of functional—structural grammar such as Danish Functional Grammar, Functional Discourse Grammar and Systemic Functional Linguistics. Hjelmslev’s theory likewise remains fundamental for modern semiotics.
Glossematics defines the glosseme as the most basic unit or component of language. The glosseme is defined as the smallest irreducible unit of both the content and expression planes of language; in the expression plane, the glosseme is nearly identical to the phoneme. In the content plane, it is the smallest unit of meaning which underlies a concept. A ewe, for example, consists of the taxemes sheep and female which may eventually be divided into even smaller units – glossemes – of meaning. The analysis is gradually expanded to the study of functions, more commonly known as dependencies, between elements on the level of discourse (which is called process), and between meaning and form in the linguistic system.
The term glosseme was coined by Louis Hjelmslev and Hans Jørgen Uldall in the 1930s. It derives from the Greek word glossa (meaning here "language") and the -eme suffix. A similar idea was used by Leonard Bloomfield in describing his system of basic linguistic units (see tagmeme) although glossematics is more far-reaching in each direction.
Glossematics is an expansion of Saussure’s concept of language as a dual system of meaning and form. This is in contrast to a contemporary American tendency of placing semantics outside the core of linguistics. Hjelmslev was also influenced by the Prague Linguistic Circle to the extent that he considered full texts as the material for analysis rather than ‘utterances’ as was commonplace in American structuralism.
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