Interaction of linear and pictorial writing in English language games

Abstract

The article deals with the interaction of linear and pictorial elements of English language games from semiotic perspective. Language puzzles as a form of intellectual leisure are of semiotic interest since they reflect the experience of a naïve linguist in a message composing and the techniques of its interpretation. The methodology of research refers to the theory of signs and the concept of multimodal communication. The combination of writing systems constitutes the semiotic principle of language games construction. They are based on the universal communicative principle of multimodality. The semantic analysis reveals that linear and pictorial elements of puzzles are integral. The inseparability of components is manifested in iconic, ideographic and rebus relations of a symbol and its reference. The types of semiotic relations correspond to descriptive-representational, identifying-mnemonic, and phonetic approaches to the sign interpretation. Textual language games imitating the experimental movement of concrete poetry disclose that the interweaving of nonlinear elements into the text structure forms an emblem. The emblematic organization of a text affects the visual perception and provides additional information on the author’s idea. The article is concluded with the notion that no special linguistic knowledge is required to solve puzzles. The puzzle-solving mechanism is based on the code and mode switch. The imitation of archaic writing corresponds to the postulate of linguistics on the unity of synchrony and diachrony, confirms the hypothesis of nonvanishing categories, coincides with the aesthetic-semiotic law of communication. Finally, the multimodal use of language reveals the naïve linguist’s perception of language as a substance that conveys the meaning.