Isotopy (semiotics)
Encyclopedia
In a story
, we detect an isotopy when there is a repetition of a basic meaning trait (seme
); such repetition, establishing some level of familiarity within the story, allows for a uniform reading/interpretation of it. An example of a sentence containing an isotopy is I drink some water. The two words drink and water share a seme (a reference to liquids), and this gives homogeneity to the sentence.
This concept, introduced by Greimas in 1966, had a major impact on the field of semiotics
, and was redefined multiple times. Catherine Kerbrat-Orecchioni extended the concept to denote the repetition of not only semes, but also other semiotic units (like phonemes for isotopies as rhyme
s, rhythm for prosody
, etc.). Umberto Eco
showed the flaws of using the concept of "repetition", and replaced it with the concept of "direction", redefining isotopy as "the direction taken by an interpretation of the text".
, the Groupe µ
, and others.
Greimas initial definition was based on the concept of repetition (also termed recurrence or redundancy), was focused on semantics as it only regarded the repetition semes, and it stressed the role of isotopy of making possible a uniform reading of a story and resolving ambiguities. To quote his first 1966 formulation: "a redundant set of semantic categories which make possible the uniform reading of the story."
In 1980 Umberto Eco
showed a flaw of using the concept of "repetition". He noted that there are cases in which an isotopy is not a repetition of a seme, like in the French sentence l'ami des simples = l'erbalist, in which ami (meaning lover, friend or fan) and simples does not appear to share a seme; to also embrace cases like this, Eco replaced the concept of "repetition" with the concept of "direction", defining isotopy more generally as "a constancy in going in a direction that a text exhibits when submitted to rules of intepretative coherence."
A semantic isotopy, the narrower and most common type of isotopy, the one of Greimas's original definition, is the recurrence of semes. A phonetic isotopy is the recurrence of phonomenes, like in rhyme
, assonance
and alliteration
. A prosodic isotopy is the recurrence of the same rhythm
.
Reviewing the many uses of the term isotopy, Eco concluded that although they all have something in common, isotopy is more of an "umbrella term" that cover all these different phenomena. Semantic isotopies alone can denote at times contextual disambiguation, subcategorization and selection restriction, anaphoric antecedent attribution, morphological agreement, or even other phenomena.
In the 1970s, the Belgian semioticians known under the name Groupe µ
, introduced the concept of allotopy
, conceived as the opposite of an isotopy. An allotopy is when two basic meaning traits (semes) contradict each other, as in the sentence I drink some concrete.
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
, we detect an isotopy when there is a repetition of a basic meaning trait (seme
Seme (semantics)
Seme, the smallest unit of meaning recognized in semantics, refers to a single characteristic of a sememe. These characteristics are defined according to the differences between sememes. The term was introduced by Eric Buyssens in the 1930s and developed by Bernard Pottier in the 1960s...
); such repetition, establishing some level of familiarity within the story, allows for a uniform reading/interpretation of it. An example of a sentence containing an isotopy is I drink some water. The two words drink and water share a seme (a reference to liquids), and this gives homogeneity to the sentence.
This concept, introduced by Greimas in 1966, had a major impact on the field of semiotics
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
, and was redefined multiple times. Catherine Kerbrat-Orecchioni extended the concept to denote the repetition of not only semes, but also other semiotic units (like phonemes for isotopies as rhyme
Rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs. The word "rhyme" may also refer to a short poem, such as a rhyming couplet or other brief rhyming poem such as nursery rhymes.-Etymology:...
s, rhythm for prosody
Prosody (linguistics)
In linguistics, prosody is the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech. Prosody may reflect various features of the speaker or the utterance: the emotional state of the speaker; the form of the utterance ; the presence of irony or sarcasm; emphasis, contrast, and focus; or other elements of...
, etc.). Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
showed the flaws of using the concept of "repetition", and replaced it with the concept of "direction", redefining isotopy as "the direction taken by an interpretation of the text".
Redefinitions
The concept was highly influential and has been revisited and redefined by multiple authors, starting from Greimas, to his epigons of the Paris school, Umberto EcoUmberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
, the Groupe µ
Groupe µ
Groupe µ is the collective pseudonym under which a group of Belgian 20th-century semioticians wrote a series of books, presenting an exposition of modern semiotics....
, and others.
Greimas initial definition was based on the concept of repetition (also termed recurrence or redundancy), was focused on semantics as it only regarded the repetition semes, and it stressed the role of isotopy of making possible a uniform reading of a story and resolving ambiguities. To quote his first 1966 formulation: "a redundant set of semantic categories which make possible the uniform reading of the story."
In 1980 Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
showed a flaw of using the concept of "repetition". He noted that there are cases in which an isotopy is not a repetition of a seme, like in the French sentence l'ami des simples = l'erbalist, in which ami (meaning lover, friend or fan) and simples does not appear to share a seme; to also embrace cases like this, Eco replaced the concept of "repetition" with the concept of "direction", defining isotopy more generally as "a constancy in going in a direction that a text exhibits when submitted to rules of intepretative coherence."
Beyond semantic isotopy
Catherine Kerbrat-Orecchioni systematically extended the concept of isotopy to denote the repetition of any semiotic unit. She identified semantic, phonetic, prosodic, stylistic, enunciative, rhetorical, presuppositional, syntactic, phonetic, and narrative isotopies.A semantic isotopy, the narrower and most common type of isotopy, the one of Greimas's original definition, is the recurrence of semes. A phonetic isotopy is the recurrence of phonomenes, like in rhyme
Rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs. The word "rhyme" may also refer to a short poem, such as a rhyming couplet or other brief rhyming poem such as nursery rhymes.-Etymology:...
, assonance
Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences, and together with alliteration and consonance serves as one of the building blocks of verse. For example, in the phrase "Do you like blue?", the is repeated within the sentence and is...
and alliteration
Alliteration
In language, alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of Three or more words or phrases. Alliteration has historically developed largely through poetry, in which it more narrowly refers to the repetition of a consonant in any syllables that, according to...
. A prosodic isotopy is the recurrence of the same rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
.
Reviewing the many uses of the term isotopy, Eco concluded that although they all have something in common, isotopy is more of an "umbrella term" that cover all these different phenomena. Semantic isotopies alone can denote at times contextual disambiguation, subcategorization and selection restriction, anaphoric antecedent attribution, morphological agreement, or even other phenomena.
Derived terms and prefixes
Many derivative terms of isotopy have been defined, often with an added prefix, like bi-isotopy, which could be used to define an ambiguous expression that has two possible interpretations.In the 1970s, the Belgian semioticians known under the name Groupe µ
Groupe µ
Groupe µ is the collective pseudonym under which a group of Belgian 20th-century semioticians wrote a series of books, presenting an exposition of modern semiotics....
, introduced the concept of allotopy
Allotopy
In a story, we detect an allotopy when two basic meaning traits contradict each other, that is when they trace two incompatible interpretations. It was conceived as being the opposite of an isotopy, which is the homogeinity resulting from repetition of the same seme...
, conceived as the opposite of an isotopy. An allotopy is when two basic meaning traits (semes) contradict each other, as in the sentence I drink some concrete.
Further reading
- Umberto EcoUmberto EcoUmberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
(1984) Semiotics and philosophy of language, Indiana University Press - Isotopy at The Internet Semiotics Encyclopedia
- Paul Bouissac Isotopy, in branch Semiotics - Signs Symbols, and Communication of Psychology Encyclopedia, hosted at JRank
- Isotopie, pluri-isotopy and poly-isotopy
- Anne Herschberg Pierrot (1979) Clichés, Stéréotypie et stratégie discursive dans le discours de Lieuvain, Madame Bovary II, 8,Littérature, n° 36, décembre 1979, pp. 88–103