History of semiotics Ed. by Achim Eschbach and Jürgen Trabant (review)

Abstract

232 LANGUAGE, VOLUME 62, NUMBER 1 (1986) süverware, matching and association in shopping , and vocabulary buUding (Do you know what this is?) This last can also be very timeeffective , since parents can demonstrate whüe doing (e.g. mowing the lawn). It may be difficult for parents to find the time; but once it is found, results can and will be forthcoming. G&G might have discussed further motivational strategies for the chüd, since that topic has had Uttle treatment. Ch. 5 offers tips for the preschool teacher. In the case of our son, it was fortunate that early detection by several preschool teachers helped to prevent greater difficulties later on. More research is needed here; however, chüdren who need speech/language therapy cannotjust be left to outgrow their problems by themselves. Of course, there is no rigorous set of techniques which can be recommended for the chüd who is easüy distracted. As in ESL teaching, if it works, use it; ii not, discard it. Of course, time—along with therapy, which promotes healing—is the great healer. With this in mind, G&G have produced a book which is of great use to speech and language pathologists. [Alan S. Kaye, California State University, Fullerton.] History of semiotics. Ed. by Achim Eschbach and Jürgen Trabant. (Foundations of semiotics, 7.) Amsterdam & Philadelphia: Benjamins, 1983. Pp. xvi, 386. $50.00. Even though its roots date back to antiquity, semiotics is a relative newcomer to the coterie of recognized scholarly disciplines; some might even question whether it has arrived. Thus the curious reader who takes up this volume in hope of finding a definitive treatise wiU, unfortunately , be disappointed; what he wiU find instead might be better called 'Prolegomena to a history of semiotics'. This is not to deny the obvious value ofthe coUection, but only to clarify its objectives. The book consists of 18 articles in EngUsh, German, and French, and is divided into three parts. Part I, 'Historiography ofsemiotics', contains two studies. In a paper with the provocative title 'Plädoyer gegen die Geschichte der Semiotik', P. Schmitter does not actuaUy deny the possibüity ofthis undertaking, but rather the existence of a single, 'true' history of the field; he notes that the historian's own preconceived ideas and bias will shape the story he writes. In opposition to this view, A. Eschbach argues for a consensus approach, but points out the difficulty of combining historical facts. Part II, 'History of semiotics', comprises 14 contributions arranged in chronological order: the first section deals with ancient and medieval semiotics, while the second treats the rise of modern semiotics, seen as stemming from the emancipation of philosophy from theology through the Erdightenment. This portion is not intended as a series of vignettes sketching the history ofsemiotic thought through the ages; but it does go overmuch ofthe terrain, from ancient phüosophers such as Hippocrates, HeracUtus, and Plato to modern thinkers Uke Peirce, Frege, and Saussure. Here E. Baer outlines a semiotic history of symptomatology; S. Ebbesen traces the circular development of semantics from the Stoics to Buridan; and C. Stetter looks at Peirce's semiotic schemata. Investigating the logic ofPort Royal, L. Marin considers the doctrine of the Eucharist to be a model of semiotic theory. K. Koerner's study of the sources of Saussure's 'sémiologie' sees the strongest and most immediate influence not in the often-cited contemporarysociologicaltheorizingofE. Durkheim , but in the linguistic thought of the American Sanskritist W. D. Whitney. L. Kazmarek examines significatio in Occam's sign theory, and E. Holenstein discusses Frege's use ofBedeutung in the sense ofreference. In anice piece of philological work, Holenstein demonstrates that Frege's use of the term was not as unusual as is normaUy claimed, if viewed against the semantic spectrum of the word in his time. The growing Ust of 'neglected figures' usually overlooked in the context of a semiotic historiography is expanded by several contributors. Topics dealt with in this connection include Roger Swyneshed's theory of the insolubiUa in medieval semantics (P. Spade), signs and cognitive processes in the phüosophy of Marie-Joseph Degérando (M. Dascal), and the semiotics of Denis Diderot's...