Semiotic Praxis: Studies in Pertinence and in the Means of Expression and Communication

Catherine Tihanyi Georges Mounin, an important figure in contemporary French intellec- tual life, has made significant and original contributions in semiotics, I semantics, poetics, the linguistic theory and practice of translation, and the study of the history of linguistics. He is noted as well for several dec- ades of literary criticism in support of poets who were often unknown at the time. Though some of his work has been translated into German, Ital- ian, and Spanish, only a few articles have been available so far in English (Mounin 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981); thus the present collection is the first full-length volume of Mounins works to be translated into English. The contents of Semiotic Praxis reflect Mounins life-long concern to apply semiotic theory to concrete objects. In so doing, he has attempted to demonstrate the usefulness of semiotics, to test and clarify its theoretical constructs and modify them accordingly, and to help lay down its scientific foundations and map its boundaries as a discipline.