Indexicality, meaning, use

Abstract

The article presents two concepts of indexicality. The first, more standard and narrow, identifies indexicality with systematic (meaning controlled) context-sensitivity. The second, broader (derived from the work of Jerzy Pelc), conceives indexicality in terms of the potential variability of the general semiotic characteristics expressions (with respect to the context of use). The text introduces the concept of a pragmatic matrix that serves for a schematic representation of contextual variation. I also recapitulate briefly the views of Jerzy Pelc on the meaning (manner of use) and use of expressions, and briefly indicate its relationship approaches with contemporary debates around contextualism and status of non-sentential speech acts. Finally, the relationship between the broader notion of indexicality and the directival theory of meaning is analyzed.

Semiotics 2021: The year in review

“…He authored numerous articles during his long and prestigious career at the University of Warsaw. Ciecierski (2021a: 3; see also Ciecierski 2021b) notes that in some of his studies, Pelc formulated what he labelled "a functional approach to logical semiotics of natural language", which meant that "the study of linguistic expressions should always take into account the manner in which such expressions are used". The special issue contains seventeen research articles by twenty prominent scholars of language and meaning from the Czech Republic, France, Israel, Italy, Poland, Spain, Turkey, and USA.…”