Allotopy

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In a story, an allotopy is when two basic meaning traits (semes) contradict each other; that is, when they trace two incompatible interpretations. It was conceived as being the opposite of an isotopy, which is the homogeneity resulting from repetition of the same seme. [1] The concept was coined in the 1970s by the Belgian semioticians known as Groupe μ .

Contents

History

In the 1970, the Belgian semioticians known under the name Groupe μ , introduced the concept of Allotopy. [2] They first discussed the concept in publications like Isotopie et allotopie, [3] Isotopie, allotopie et polytopie (1976), [4] and A Rhetoric of Poetry (1977). [5]

Allotopy and humor

Groupe μ discussed the relation of allotopy to jokes and humor.[ citation needed ] Salvatore Attardo, despite not using the term allotopy, formulated a theory of humor based on the idea of the "incompatible interpretations", called the isotopy-disjunction model. [6] [7] This is part of the broader idea of defining humor as based on contradiction/incongruity.

See also

Notes

  1. Jean-Marie Klinkenberg (1996) Précis de sémiotique générale, De Boeck, p. 118 Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Définition de : l'allotopie". Archived from the original on 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
  3. DUBOIS J. ; EDELINE F. ; KLINKENBERG J.-M. ; MINGUET P. (1976) Isotopie et allotopie: le fonctionnement rhétorique du texte , no14, pp. 41-65 (2 p.)
  4. Groupe μ (1976) Isotopie, allotopie et polytopie : le texte rhétorique, Versus, 14, 1 976
  5. Groupe μ (1977)
  6. Salvatore Attardo (2001) Humorous texts: a semantic and pragmatic analysis, sect.5.3.2, p.83
  7. Salvatore Attardo (1994) Linguistic theories of humor, chap.2
  8. The sign in Paris semiotics [ permanent dead link ], Semiotica. Volume 111, Issue 1-2, Pages 1–34, ISSN (Online) 1613-3692, ISSN (Print) 0037-1998, doi : 10.1515/semi.1996.111.1-2.1, //1996

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References

Further reading