Experiential iconicism in text strategy

Abstract

In today 's text and discourse linguistics we are ready for a return to the old rhetorical observation that certain aspects of linear ordering in texts must be viewed as icons of experience. In many instances, the order of constituents and clauses within the sentence and of sentences within the text can be manipulated to reveal isomorphisms with the order of experiences of, or things in, the world. Correspondingly, when decoding texts we actually tend to maximize their information by interpreting linear order as an exponent of temporal, spatial, causal, or socially conditioned order, whenever such interpretations seem plausible in light of the scripts, scenes, and frames of our experience.

Discourse organization in the comprehension of temporal order in narrative texts

“…For example, introducing three underlying events in the other E-1, then E-2, and then E-3 would be consistent with the isomorphism principle, but introducing the events in reverse order E-3, then E-2, and then B-i would violate the principle. This principle is essentially identical with the principle of "experiential iconicism" proposed by Enkvist (1981) in which "elements of language are ordered to make a text isomorphic with the universe it describes" (p. 98). To apply this principle, one must, of course, have some knowledge about the structure of the information that underlies a particular form of discourse.…”

Literary Translation

“…The question I specifically address is whether and/or to what extent the order of constituents in a clause mirrors perceptual order, the order in which we experience things. This is an issue raised in linguistic research by Enkvist (1981Enkvist ( , 1989, who refers to it as 'experiential iconicism' (see also discussion in Calfoglou 2010a, b), and taken up in a number of discussions on iconicity from both a linguistic and a literary stance (Conradie 2001;Fónagy 1999;Prado-Alonso 2008Tabakowska 1999Tabakowska , 2003Tabakowska , 2009.…”

“…In the case of example (1) in the previous section, for instance, the increased iconicity of the second statement (1b) referred to above may well be due to its increased isomorphism, as compared to (1a): the sentence progresses from the least to the most focal component both in perceptual and in communicative salience terms (cf. Enkvist 1981Enkvist , 1989). I will now examine this isomorphism in two different genres and consider how it may affect translation decisions.…”

“…Put simply, this is what is called 'literary inversion' (see Chen 2003). This order has been referred to by a number of theoreticians (Enkvist 1981(Enkvist , 1989 as unmarked, that is as basic or experientially iconic. Being so, it might well be expected to occur with increased frequency in a genre which, as suggested earlier, may be closer to the raw state of language.…”

Approaching Experiential Discourse Iconicity from the Field

“…This suggests, for example, that the structures of particular experiences can be derived from the structures of corresponding discourses. In Campbell's formulation these structures are networks, which have greater representational power than conventional linear models of experiential iconicity such as that of Enkvist (1981). The experientially iconic nature of practical discourse emerged as an essential resource in studies to support NASA's missions in planetary exploration and aviation safety, leading to development of new search engine technologies called Perilog.…”