Abstract Research on word meaning and semantic change has long been central to both cognitive linguistics and semiotics. While previous studies have largely examined these issues within either a cognitive or a semiotic framework, few have explored how the two can be integrated to account for the mechanisms underlying meaning evolution. This study integrates Peircean semiotics and cognitive linguistics to investigate the dynamic categorization of word meanings, focusing on the diachronic evolution of the Chinese verb jiē (揭). Within a triadic semiotic framework unifying cognitive mechanisms including base/profile, image schema, metonymy, and metaphor, it traces jiē ’s shift from its original sense ‘to lift (an object) high’ through a continuum of extensions from Old Chinese to the present. The findings reveal that jiē ’s meanings have developed through three stages: (1) conservative gradual change within the category; (2) interaction/spanning between categories; and (3) de-categorization. These processes illustrate a continuum of semantic change, underpinned by dynamic cognitive operations and recurrent cycles of infinite semiosis, where stabilized Interpretants become new Representamens. The study can provide reference for future research on word meaning.

Abstract Harnessing a diverse array of iconic, indexical, and symbolic signs – both linguistic and paralinguistic – edusemiotics serves as a comprehensive and multidisciplinary foundation for instructional practices. In this framework, language teachers create engaging spaces for students to construct meaning and discover significance actively. Given the growing popularity of internet memes (IMs) within digital communities and their potential educational benefits, this paper tackles the integration of IMs into foreign language education through the edusemiotic lens. The proposed EduMeme method illustrates the unique advantages of using IMs as multimodal sign systems in language teaching environments and highlights their versatility across disciplines. The paper concludes with suggestions for further exploration into the pedagogical impact of this novel approach in various educational contexts with learners from a wide range of linguistic backgrounds.

Abstract Ernst Cassirer, the founder of the philosophy of culture, defined the human being as a symbolic animal, based on which he interpreted the cultural journey of humanity. Friedrich Dürrenmatt, a Swiss German writer, who is renowned for his grotesque dramatic works, changed the traditional way of writing about animals. In his works, animal imagery no longer favors allegorization or writing from an ecological perspective but is endowed with the symbolic character of the human being, i.e., the complexity of human emotions is counter-viewed through the portrayal of the animal’s native emotions. In other words, the original values, logic, and norms are broken by heterogeneous species. The short story The Dog (1952) employs the perspective of a dog to analyze and deconstruct “fear” and “death,” prompting a reevaluation of the relationship between individuals and the real world for the pursuit of the authenticity and simplicity of emotions – namely, the essence of “love.”

Abstract The evolution of Confucian legal thought, encompassing the contributions of not only Confucius but also Mencius and Xunzi, holds relevance to China’s contemporary rule of law. These philosophical developments have shaped the foundational principles that underpin China’s legal system today. The emphasis on benevolence, rituals, self-cultivation, and moral education resonates with the importance placed on fairness, justice, and social order in China’s legal framework. Furthermore, the recognition of human nature’s innate goodness aligns with the emphasis on protecting individual rights and promoting harmonious societal relationships. By acknowledging the academic history of Confucian legal thought, China’s rule of law can be seen as a product of both traditional wisdom and contemporary legal developments, blending ancient principles with modern legal concepts to ensure a just and harmonious society.

Abstract Peirce’s concept of “community” is a philosophical notion closely intertwined with society. The production of knowledge within a community entails the characteristics of the “knowledge production chain” revealed by Peirce’s pragmatic maxim. Knowledge can only effectively grow within an open community that the dynamism of maxim has implied. The openness of the community essentially consists of two dimensions: internal structural openness and external orientation openness. Internal structural openness refers to the dynamic operation of the knowledge structure within a community. External orientation openness refers to the borderless nature of the community, that is, it can be open to other communities, accommodate the knowledge elements of others, and form its own developmental vitality. The open community relies on signs, where the mediating function sustains its operation. Signs partition and combine elements of experience, thereby carrying concepts and conveying information.

Abstract In this study, we apply the methodology of semiotic or interpretive grammar, based on the Peircean ontological Categories and developed in previous work with respect to Mandarin Chinese, to Vedic Sanskrit, a language whose grammar we have previously shown to be constrained by Peircean Thirdness or [+3]. We show the Peircean Category of Thirdness, with all of the paradigmatic and syntagmatic configurations implied thereby, to be richly exemplified throughout Sanskrit grammar, at the morphosyntactic, lexical, and phonological levels. In particular, the Peircean Triad implied by [+3] is found to permeate the syntagmatic structuring not only of clauses, but also of the morphology within both nouns and finite verbs, and even the ordering of phonemes. We also describe the operation of the constraint [+3] paradigmatically in noun declension, verb conjugation, lexical variation, and consonant classification. We conclude that, while “interpretive grammar,” as with all other forms of grammatical description, can never be framed in a way that excludes all exceptions and “messiness,” a semiotic approach to a systematic description has a significant advantage over conventional “descriptive” grammars in furnishing a unified account of different levels of language, from morphosyntax all the way down to phonology, and of both syntagmatic and paradigmatic structures.

Abstract Although scientific research usually emphasizes objectivity unaffected by any form of subjectivity, semiotic inquiries have to consider the role of subjectivity. In fact, social development, art, and literature always follow certain rules of objectivity, but these rules seem to be inescapably linked to the subjectivity of human beings. How can we avoid the subjectivity of research, or research biases caused by subjectivity, to ensure the objectivity of scientific research to the greatest possible extent? This paper answers the question through the cultural semiotics of jingshen, which is grounded in Chinese cultural traditions, especially the philosophies of Lao Tseu and Chuang Tzu. This line of inquiry seeks to identify objectivity in the constant transformation between the subject’s states of self and selflessness, while striving to avoid inductive and deductive biases caused by the “conceit” of rationality and to eliminate the constraints of specific concepts and images formed by existing knowledge as well as possible consequential “Verborgenheit.” The purpose is to achieve a state of “rational intuition,” returning to the natural mode of human existence and forging for semiotics a rationality-based path to the intuitive understanding of meaning.

Abstract The sociolinguistics of mobility is one of Jan Blommaert’s significant theoretical legacies vis-à-vis language interactions in the age of globalization. This paper investigates the mobilization of English as a semiotic resource in the public space of Chinese cities to reveal how the process of linguistic landscaping rescales English in China’s layered language regime. In the three investigated cities in eastern China, the English language has been conceptualized as a symbol of internationalization, and the affective potentials of English signs turn the cities into spaces of friendliness. I argue that the visual bilingualism for internationalization purposes is loaded with state ideologies, and English semiotization in the urban space demonstrates the state’s keenness for international recognition and integration into the global world. Inherent in this linguistic landscaping process are Englishization as internationalization ideology, standard language ideology, and linguistic purism ideology. While the translocal status of English in the world language system serves to upscale the cities to a higher scale level, the valorization of English in the official domain also reinforces the hegemonic power of English in the indexicality order, marginalizing social groups with limited English literacy. Thus, a critical, dialectical lens is needed to analyze the role of English in top-down linguistic landscaping.

Abstract This brief text introduces the main themes and topics of this collection of articles on “The visage as text: physiognomy, semiotics, and face reading from antiquity to artificial intelligence,” emphasizing the historical continuity of interest in the face as a surface to be scrutinized, investigated, and studied in order to know the individual’s intimacy or future. It points out the intertwining of semeiotic knowledge, which aims at capturing clues in the face to determine a patient’s state of health, and semiotics, which systematizes these inferences within the framework of the circumstantial paradigm. The introduction concludes by pointing out how the new digital technologies of the face are reviving and problematizing anew the semiotic interest in physiognomy understood not as a scientific discipline but as a field of sign attention directed at the face.

Abstract Filial piety is a basic value in Chinese culture and has been a prominent theme in China’s televised public service advertisements (PSAs). This study takes a multimodal discourse analysis approach to study such PSAs promoting filial piety. We consider filial values as represented through characters’ emotions and attributes, which are realized by linguistic and visual resources on the one hand and shaped by the broader sociocultural context on the other. An explicit framework based on the attitude schema is developed to systemically describe the realization of social values in multimodal discourse. Analysis shows that filial values are mainly realized through verbal and visual representation of reciprocal love between the parent and the son/daughter, as well as filial behaviors of the latter. Our contextual analysis conceptualizes the filial piety PSAs as a form of discursive governance and finds that PSAs resort to two main persuasive strategies, namely emotionalization and moralization, which are results of media marketization and internationalization. We find that promoting filial piety serves China’s governance by addressing two needs of the authority: the practical need of supporting the elderly and the spiritual need of moral reconstruction and reinforcing cultural identity in contemporary China.