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concerning the communication situations, the communication partners,
and their possible reactions; (7) speakers' and hearers' intentions,
and so on".
("Current Trends in Textlinguistics", edited by W U Dressler, 1977
pp52.)
3. THE SEMIOTIC COMPONENT
The third component in our analysis of translation theory is the
semiotic component, which is conceived within the framework of a
theory of language as a system of signs. Signs are divided into three
subclasses: indexical, ionic, and conventional. In his book 'Elements
of Symbolic Logic' (1947). Reichenbach deals with each type of sign in
detail. Indexical signs may be human (eg. screams) or non-human (eg.
smoke) which signal fear and fire respectively. Iconic signs such as
onomatopoeic expressions are self-explanatory; they recall the sound of
the objects they signal. Conventional signs, generally called symbols,
are ficeefrom the "formal contamination with the objects to which they
refer". (Nida, 1965, p31) Most of the linguistic signs are
conventional. However, some conventional signs inhere an iconic
quality. Onomatopoeic words, for instance, project the sounds of
their referents. Similarly, Bloomfield (1933, p156) notes that some
sign combinations carry a specific 'sound symbolism' such as 'fl' in
flip, flap, flutter, flare and flicker; and 'gl' in glitter, glimmer,
glare and glisten. Both sign combinations are associated with swift
and shining objects respectively. Onomatopoeia or sound symbolism,
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