Meaning and Sense of the Case Form in the Systemic-Linguistic Perspective

Abstract

The question of the relationship between meaning and sense has repeatedly become the subject of both - linguistic and philosophical discussions, because of the difference in conceptual approaches, and as a typical in the history of science result of the synonymous use of these terms in some works and differentiated use in others. The systemic linguistics has drawn attention to the accuracy of linguistic terminology and the value of precisely differentiated use of synonymous terms. The relevance of the undertaken study is determined by the significance of this problem for the further development of the linguistic theory, semiotics, and semantics. The problem of meaning and sense in relation to the sign was generally discussed in the works of G. Frege and representatives of the analytical philosophy of the 20th century (R. Carnap, G. Ryle, W. Quine). The issue of the meaning of a sign as an element of a linguistic (or any other semiotic) system was firstly brought to the fore by F. de Saussure. It was the subject of active discussion in Russian linguistics - in the 19th century in the works of A.A. Potebnya, I.A. Baudouin de Courtenay, in the 20th century - in the works of V.A. Zvegintsev, A.F. Losev, Ju.M. Lotman, V.M. Solntsev, Ju.S. Stepanov. In relation to grammar, the issue of meaning and sense was posed much less frequently; its detailed analysis is available in the systemic linguistics of G.P. Melnikov, and the functional grammar of A.V. Bondarko. The purpose is to study the possibilities of using the terms “meaning” and “sense”, consistently distinguished in systemic linguistics referring to the linguistic sign, for a particular case - the analysis of the semantics of case forms as a specific type of grammatical signs.