Corpus Analysis and Lexical Pragmatics: An Overview

Lexical pragmatics studies the processes by which lexically encoded meanings are modified in use; well-studied examples include lexical narrowing, approximation and metaphorical extension. Relevance theorists have been trying to develop a unitary account on which narrowing, approximation and metaphorical extension are all explained in the same way. While there have been several corpus-based studies of metaphor and a few of hyperbole or approximation, there has been no attempt so far to test the unitary account using corpus data. This paper reports the results of a corpus-based investigation of lexical-pragmatic processes, and discusses the theoretical issues and challenges it raises

The limits of expression: language, poetry, thought

The following analysis takes as its starting point a divergence in views on what philosophers and linguists call ‘effability’ or ‘expressibility’ (the extent to which it is possible, through the use of a public language, to make one’s thoughts available to others). While philosophers and linguists (Searle, Katz, Recanati) defend stronger or weaker forms of effability, the ‘struggle of the poet to defeat the ineffable’ is a recurring motif in most 20th century critical thinking. In trying to explain this apparent divergence, I reconsider a wide range of interdisciplinary issues of particular interest to linguists, psychologists, literary theorists and philosophers of art; these include the limits of linguistic expression, the role of perceptual representations in our mental tapestry, the existence or otherwise of a property of literariness or essence of art, the distinctiveness of the poetic/ artistic mind and the nature of aesthetic experience. In due course, my discussion brings to light a novel account of the possible evolutionary origins of art and sketches an empirically tractable model of aesthetic experience that lend us significant insight on the actual mental goings-on behind the poet’s discontent with language. In view of the distinct ways in which, as it will be argued, an artistic mind is creative and the psycho-cognitive particularities of the kind of action art is, the ‘struggle of the poet to defeat the ineffable’ is soon ranked as a problem of an entirely different order than had been previously thought. The thesis takes the thread from the empirical observation that the limitations of speaking out the contents of the mind are so much more intensely felt in the literary mentality, in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of this very mentality, of the kind of action art is and the mind that brings it to light

Insights into the innate immunity of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sessile bivalves of the genus <it>Mytilus </it>are suspension feeders relatively tolerant to a wide range of environmental changes, used as sentinels in ecotoxicological investigations and marketed worldwide as seafood. Mortality events caused by infective agents and parasites apparently occur less in mussels than in other bivalves but the molecular basis of such evidence is unknown. The arrangement of Mytibase, interactive catalogue of 7,112 transcripts of <it>M. galloprovincialis</it>, offered us the opportunity to look for gene sequences relevant to the host defences, in particular the innate immunity related genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have explored and described the Mytibase sequence clusters and singletons having a putative role in recognition, intracellular signalling, and neutralization of potential pathogens in <it>M. galloprovincialis</it>. Automatically assisted searches of protein signatures and manually cured sequence analysis confirmed the molecular diversity of recognition/effector molecules such as the antimicrobial peptides and many carbohydrate binding proteins. Molecular motifs identifying complement C1q, C-type lectins and fibrinogen-like transcripts emerged as the most abundant in the Mytibase collection whereas, conversely, sequence motifs denoting the regulatory cytokine MIF and cytokine-related transcripts represent singular and unexpected findings. Using a cross-search strategy, 1,820 putatively immune-related sequences were selected to design oligonucleotide probes and define a species-specific Immunochip (DNA microarray). The Immunochip performance was tested with hemolymph RNAs from mussels injected with <it>Vibrio splendidus </it>at 3 and 48 hours post-treatment. A total of 143 and 262 differentially expressed genes exemplify the early and late hemocyte response of the <it>Vibrio</it>-challenged mussels, respectively, with AMP trends confirmed by qPCR and clear modulation of interrelated signalling pathways.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The Mytibase collection is rich in gene transcripts modulated in response to antigenic stimuli and represents an interesting window for looking at the mussel immunome (transcriptomes mediating the mussel response to non-self or abnormal antigens). On this basis, we have defined a new microarray platform, a mussel Immunochip, as a flexible tool for the experimental validation of immune-candidate sequences, and tested its performance on <it>Vibrio</it>-activated mussel hemocytes. The microarray platform and related expression data can be regarded as a step forward in the study of the adaptive response of the <it>Mytilus </it>species to an evolving microbial world.</p

The limits of expression: language, poetry, thought.

The following analysis takes as its starting point a divergence in views on what philosophers and linguists call ‘effability’ or ‘expressibility’ (the extent to which it is possible, through the use of a public language, to make one’s thoughts available to others). While philosophers and linguists (Searle, Katz, Recanati) defend stronger or weaker forms of effability, the ‘struggle of the poet to defeat the ineffable’ is a recurring motif in most 20th century critical thinking. In trying to explain this apparent divergence, I reconsider a wide range of interdisciplinary issues of particular interest to linguists, psychologists, literary theorists and philosophers of art; these include the limits of linguistic expression, the role of perceptual representations in our mental tapestry, the existence or otherwise of a property of literariness or essence of art, the distinctiveness of the poetic/ artistic mind and the nature of aesthetic experience. In due course, my discussion brings to light a novel account of the possible evolutionary origins of art and sketches an empirically tractable model of aesthetic experience that lend us significant insight on the actual mental goings-on behind the poet’s discontent with language. In view of the distinct ways in which, as it will be argued, an artistic mind is creative and the psycho-cognitive particularities of the kind of action art is, the ‘struggle of the poet to defeat the ineffable’ is soon ranked as a problem of an entirely different order than had been previously thought. The thesis takes the thread from the empirical observation that the limitations of speaking out the contents of the mind are so much more intensely felt in the literary mentality, in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of this very mentality, of the kind of action art is and the mind that brings it to light.

Géoarchéologie des îles de la Méditerranée

Parmi les dix mille îles et îlots de Méditerranée, moins de trois cents seraient habités et seulement deux cents mesureraient plus de 5 km2. Ces îles sont des entités géologiques et géographiques complexes où coexistent des formations de roches très anciennes et d'autres créées très récemment (îles volcaniques). A la fois ouvertes sur l'horizon et les côtes continentales voisines, elles restent, paradoxalement, relativement fermées de par leur isolement, créant ainsi des spécificités quant à leur biodiversité et leur colonisation par les sociétés humaines. Les îles de Méditerranée forment ainsi un objet d'étude privilégié pour la géoarchéologie. Celte dernière emprunte les concepts, les méthodes et les techniques de disciplines relevant des sciences humaines et environnementales (l'archéologie, l'épigraphie, la philologie, la géographie. la paléoécologie, la paléontologie...). Cet ouvrage établit un premier état des connaissances dans le domaine de la géoarchéologie des îles de Méditerranée. L'éclatement géographique de ces dernières, ainsi qu'une histoire de l'occupation propre à chacune, démontrent toute la difficulté de globaliser ces espaces géographiques, progressivement transformés en territoires sous l'action répétée des sociétés humaines. Des spécialistes dressent ici les relations complexes entre les dynamiques et les processus paysagers et les logiques d'occupation humaine depuis la fin du Pléistocène. Le présent ouvrage recueille vingt-quatre contributions regroupées dans cinq parties intitulées « Anthropisation et mutations paysagères à la transition Paléolithique/Néolithique » ; « Mobilité et reconstitution des anciens niveaux marins depuis la fin de la dernière grande glaciation quaternaire » ; « Adaptation aux mutations paysagères à l'échelle intra-site : la nécessaire prise en compte des paramètres environnementaux » ; « Deltas, lagunes et marais : des interfaces propices à l'implantation des sociétés humaines » et « Matières premières ; exploitation et interactions ». Cet ouvrage s'adresse principalement à des spécialistes de géographie, d'archéologie et de paléoécologie mais aussi à un public plus large : étudiants des niveaux L-M-D, enseignants et simples néophytes souhaitant s'initier aux concepts, méthodes et techniques de la géoarchéologie