Work · Structuralism & Poststructuralism
On the Semiosphere
Introduces the semiosphere: the whole space of sign systems in a culture, with a centre, a periphery and boundaries that translate the foreign.
Introduction
Lotman published the essay “On the Semiosphere” in 1984 in volume 17 of the Tartu series “Trudy po znakovym sistemam”. Instead of starting from single sign systems that combine into culture, he starts from the whole: just as Vladimir Vernadsky’s biosphere is the condition of life, the semiosphere is the semiotic space that precedes and makes possible every single act of communication. It is heterogeneous and asymmetrical; its centre is strongly regulated and describes itself, while its periphery is mobile and productive. Its boundary works like a membrane of bilingual filters that translate what comes from outside into its own language. The concept became central to Lotman’s late work and to cultural semiotics; critics find it suggestive but hard to apply with precision.
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