virus: The Sciences of Communication

Dave K-P (k.p@snet.net)
Sun, 14 Sep 1997 19:26:30 -0400


At 03:18 PM 9/14/97 -0700, Eva-Lise Carlstrom wrote:

>Etymology is the study of word origins. Phonology is the study of sounds.
>Phonemics is the study of sounds as they are used in languages (letters,
>sounds that are considered distinct from one another in a given language).
>Syntactics is the study of grammar. Semantics is the study of meaning.
>All are aspects of linguistics.

What is semiotics the study of? Merriam-Webster defines it as "a general
philosophical theory of signs and symbols that deals especially with their
function in both artificially constructed and natural languages and
comprises syntactics, semantics, and pragmatics". Care to expand on that?

~kp