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GLOSSARY
the opposite meaning (although understatement and overstatement
can also be ironic). See also metaphor, metonymy,
synecdoche, trope.
isomorphism The term is used to refer to correspondences, parallels,
or similarities in the properties, patterns or relations of (a)
two different structures; (b) structural elements in two different
structures and (c) structural elements at different levels within
the same structure. Some theorists use the term homology in
much the same way. See also iconic, transformation, rules of.
langue and parole These are Saussure’s terms. Langue refers to the
abstract system of rules and conventions of a signifying system
– it is independent of, and pre-exists, individual users. Parole
refers to concrete instances of its use. See also diachronic
analysis, synchronic analysis.
literalism The fallacy that the meaning of a text is contained within
it and is completely determined by it so that all the reader must
do is to ‘extract’ this meaning from the signs within it. This
stance ignores the importance of ‘going beyond the information
given’ and limits comprehension to the decoding (in the
narrowest sense) of textual properties (without even reference
to codes). See also decoding, meaning.
logocentrism Derrida used this term to refer to the ‘metaphysics of
presence’ in Western culture – in particular its phonocentrism,
and its foundation on a mythical ‘transcendent signified’.
Logocentrism can also refer to a typically unconscious interpretive
bias which privileges linguistic communication over the
revealingly named ‘non-verbal’ forms of communication and
expression. See also channel, phonocentrism.
markedness The concept of markedness introduced by Jakobson
can be applied to the poles of a paradigmatic opposition. Paired
signifiers (such as male–female) consist of an unmarked form
and a ‘marked’ form distinguished by some special semiotic
feature. A marked or unmarked status applies not only to signifiers
but also to their signifieds. The marked form (typically
the second term) is presented as ‘different’ and is (implicitly)
negative. The unmarked form is typically dominant (e.g. statistically
within a text or corpus) and therefore seems to be