The Connotations of Non-linguistic Signs in Communication

The silent communication of non-linguistic signs occurs in human cognition.This can be proved from four points of view:to introduce the definitions of linguistics,non-linguistic signs and meaning;all of them can communicate in human cognition through their comparison;the connotations of many kinds of non-linguistic signs in daily life;the position of non-linguistic signs in linguistic fields;from the above the conclusion can be reached.

Linguistic Cultural Signs in College English Teaching

This paper explores the relationship of language and culture in College English teaching, taking further discussion about the current linguistic cultural issues. Therefore, English culture should be introduced in college English teaching to help students better understand the English language as well as the English society. Due to the close relationship between culture and language and the great difference between Chinese and English

A Review of Linguistic Landscape Studies in China

Linguistic landscape,as an emerging discipline in the sociolinguistics,has gained the extensive attention of the scholars in China and also made great achievements.Linguistic landscape is not a kind of simple,static language usage,but symbolizes the multilingual usage,the implementation of language policy and the culture degree of this city.This paper provides a comprehensive overview of its research object,topics,methods,theoretical frame and perspectives and also points out some problems in the research.In the end,the paper gives some suggestion about the further study.

Understanding IT Artefacts with Language

Every day we experience relationships with artefacts, which describe material objects made by humans in order to reach a goal and exploit the human feature to plan ahead. Artefacts bring together cognitive evolution and technical enhancement. Although artefacts are conceived as technical, we are now facing a relationship with Information Technology （IT） artefacts. IT artefacts include both hardware and software, as a two-sided entity. The definition of IT artefact corresponds with the Saussurean linguistic sign： a two-sided entity constituted by the signifier （hardware） and the signified （software）. I claim that IT artefacts share this ontological trait with the linguistic sign. I will show that IT artefacts are the result of design and planning, while language--which is an institution--is not the fabrication of one human but linked to collective human activity.

Literary Signs:A Social Practice

This paper argues that literature is a social practical mode of production, as Marx argued.Besides, the paper continues to demonstrate that the tools of literary production, namely linguistic signs, are actually reflections of social life, which distinguish literature from other spiritual productions.Finally, the paper presents some further thoughts about the practice of literary signs, looking into the understandings of literature by Croce and Stolovich.

Sign and indexicality:a case study of enhancing alignment of situation models in SCWT

The story continuationwriting task(SCWT)is anewly emerging proficiency test of National Matriculation English Test(NMET)in three provinces in China.Nevertheless,little is known with respect to how test-takers enhance their alignment of situation models in SCWT.This paper reports on a case study of the development of situational alignment of one L2(second language)learner in a senior high school in Jiangsu Province,China,drawing on qualitative data collected via individual faceto-face interviews,and supplemented by face-to-face conversations and email exchanges,over a period of one year.This study investigates how the test-taker enhances her alignment of situation models,and what factors contribute to her development of situational alignment under the framework of a new semiotic research finding,a pan-indexicality model.This paper concludes that test-takers possess the capacity of developing their alignment of situation models,and that a pan-indexicality model,affording opportunities for test-takers to accurately decode the meaning of a linguistic sign at the overall sense level,plays a decisive role in identifying and integrating key dimensions of situation models and eventually enhancing test-takers’situational alignment.This study suggests that a pan-indexicality model can be employed by test-takers to understand the meaning of a linguistic sign at the overall sense level,and test-takers’encyclopedic knowledge,contextual information,and personal emotions regarding a linguistic sign should be highlighted in classroom instruction to help test-takers construct aligned situation models in SCWT.

Arbitrariness and Rationality

The arbitrariness of the linguistic sign is a key semiological concept.Saussure’s Course in General Linguistics presented it,particularly in the context of the opposition between absolute and relative arbitrariness,as an irrational principle.The paper is an attempt to answer the questions of how exactly the differentiation between absolute and relative arbitrariness in Saussurean semiology relates to the systemic nature of language,what constitutes the irrationality of arbitrariness,and what could be considered its rational counterpart.