Barth’s Call for a ‘Biblical Attitude’ and Miskotte’s ‘Alphabetization’ of Theology

This article is an English translation of an essay originally published in the journal Zeitschrift für dialektische Theologie in 1989. In it, Friedrich-Wilhelm Marquardt revisits Karl Barth’s proposal in § 23 of Church Dogmatics that ‘biblical attitude’ is the first among several norms for Christian dogmatics. The article compares Barth’s emphasis on the ‘biblical formfulness’ of theology with the program of the Dutch Reformed theologian K.H. Miskotte, which seeks to educate Christians in the ‘iconic language’ of Scripture. It argues that Miskotte is concerned with hermeneutics in such a way that “Rudolf Bultmann’s name belongs—maybe before Barth’s—in proximity to Miskotte’s.” In contrast to Bultmann, however, Miskotte aims at teaching a language and generating speech rather than catalyzing self-understanding.

Pictorial meaning, language, tradition: notes on image semantic analyses by Kristóf Nyíri

The iconic revolution changing the routine of everyday communication is gradually leading to the creation of a linguistic structure that combines visual and verbal tools in both formal and semantic aspects. Computer and mobile applications today enable high-tech imaging that ensures the spread of iconic communication in mundane interactions and the possibility of a creative combination of verbal and iconic codes for language users who navigate in a world of images in an increasingly confident manner. The iconic revolution that accompanies this expansion of new communication technologies thus leads to serious changes in language use, thereby enhancing the transmission of verbal and iconic language to become a key element of mundane communication. This article argues that this turn in communication technology guided the attention of Kristóf Nyíri, an eminent figure in contemporary Hungarian philosophy, to the problem of the relationship between icon, language, and tradition. The aim of the present essay is twofold: to shed light on the relevance of Nyíri’s analysis and thoughts on the relationship between tradition and language in the history of communication, and to identify, using Nyíri’s model of pictorial meaning as a starting point, the relevant aspects of the conception of technological determinism in answering questions from the philosophy of language and mind.

An investigation of iconic language development in four datasets

Iconic words imitate their meanings. Previous work has demonstrated that iconic words are more common in infants’ early speech, and in adults’ child-directed speech (e.g., Perry et al., 2015; 2018). This is consistent with the proposal that iconicity provides a benefit to word learning. Here we explored iconicity in four diverse language development datasets: a production corpus for infants and preschoolers (MacWhinney, 2000), comprehension data for school-aged children to young adults (Dale & O'Rourke, 1981), word frequency norms from educational texts for school aged children to young adults (Zeno et al., 1995), and a database of parent-reported infant word production (Frank et al., 2017). In all four analyses, we found that iconic words were more common at younger ages. We also explored how this relationship differed by syntactic class, finding only modest evidence for differences. Overall, the results suggest that, beyond infancy, iconicity is an important factor in language acquisition.

When Gesture “Takes Over”: Speech-Embedded Nonverbal Depictions in Multimodal Interaction

The framework of depicting put forward byClark (2016)offers a schematic vantage point from which to examine iconic language use. Confronting the framework with empirical data, we consider some of its key theoretical notions. Crucially, by reconceptualizing the typology of depictions, we identify an overlooked domain in the literature: “speech-embedded nonverbal depictions,” namely cases where meaning is communicated iconically, nonverbally, and without simultaneously co-occurring speech. In addition to contextualizing the phenomenon in relation to existing research, we demonstrate, with examples from American TV talk shows, how such depictions function in real-life language use, offering a brief sketch of their complexities and arguing also for their theoretical significance.

An Investigation of Iconic Language Development in Four Datasets

Iconic words imitate their meanings. Previous work has demonstrated that iconic words are more common in infants’ early speech, and in adults’ child-directed speech (e.g., Perry et al., 2015; 2018). This is consistent with the proposal that iconicity provides a benefit to word learning. Here we explored iconicity in four diverse language development datasets: a production corpus for infants and preschoolers (MacWhinney, 2000), comprehension data for school-aged children to young adults (Dale & O’Rourke, 1981), word frequency norms from educational texts for school aged children to young adults (Zeno et al., 1995), and a database of parent-reported infant word production (Frank et al., 2017). In all four analyses, we found that iconic words were more common at younger ages. We also explored how this relationship differed by syntactic class, finding only modest evidence for differences. Overall, the results suggest that beyond infancy, iconicity is an important factor in language acquisition.

Eradicating Illiteracy in the Rural Masses during the Great War

This study analyses a unique Italian publication linked to a wider project aimed at eradicating the illiteracy of the rural masses. Il Piccolissimo (1917–1919), a magazine written for children in the agricultural area around Rome, informed them about the Great War and educated them about better values and the importance of making savings. This cultural project, conceived and edited by Giovanni Cena and other intellectuals of the time, also envisaged the establishment and management of rural schools and infirmaries to provide children with a better and healthier life. In Italy, during those years, the magazine Il Corriere dei Piccoli was published to entertain and educate children of the middle and upper classes, while Il Piccolissimo sought to develop an awareness of social responsibility in the poor and hardworking children of the countryside. By examining its contents, graphic layout, iconic language, and educational aims we intend to highlight how the type of childhood it targeted acquired unprecedented social visibility in Italy.

The Role of Phonology in Iconicity Effects: Evidence from Individual Differences

Growing evidence suggests that, along with arbitrariness, non-arbitrariness exists in language. An example of this is iconicity, in which a word’s form resembles its meaning. We investigated whether phonological processing plays a key role in the facilitated processing of iconic language (i.e., in some studies the meanings of iconic words are retrieved more quickly and more accurately). First, we reanalyzed the phonological lexical decision task (PLDT) data from Experiment 2 in Sidhu, Vigliocco, and Pexman (2020), and used accuracy on pseudohomophone trials to gauge extent of phonological processing. Participants with greater pseudohomophone accuracy were found to show larger iconic facilitation. We further tested this relationship with a new PLDT experiment, and collected imitativeness ratings for 522 words in order to manipulate the imitativeness of the iconic stimuli used. We found again that individual differences in phonological processing interacted with iconic facilitation. Further, these effects were found only for imitative iconic words (i.e., onomatopoeia and ideophones), suggesting that direct imitativeness is important to iconic facilitation. These findings suggest phonology plays a key role in iconic facilitation, and that the extent to which an individual engages in phonological processing may affect the strength of observed iconicity effects.

“The archetype of the pathetic man, between objectivation and objectification”

The study follows the archetype - prototype - stereotype path in the evolution of the plastic model, in order to capture the organic connection between these notions specific to iconic language. The chronology is reversed to capture a contemporary stereotype of advertising images, as a result of an apparent form of expression of female emancipation: the erotic objectification of man. Far from being just „trendy”, the visual motif has a whole history that deserves to be pointed out as the different approaches always reflect the spirit of that era.

Asyndeton, Immersion, and Hypokrisis in Ancient Greek Rhetoric

In the ancient Greek rhetorical tradition asyndeton is often discussed in connection with vivid and emotional language. The primary effects of this figure of speech are those of multiplication and rapidity in the first place. Both effects stem from the iconic character of paratactic sequences and from the cognitive effects that the absence of connectives determines in the comprehension of such linguistic constructions. These properties of asyndeton make it a suitable ‘ingredient’ to be combined with other rhetorical devices in order to induce a variety of psychological effects in the audience or readership of a text. Asyndeton is often presented as a ‘catalyst’ that merely enhances the effects of other figures, but in some cases its very presence is recognized as central to the rhetorical characterization of a passage. The rhetorical effectiveness of asyndeton is boosted by appropriate ‘dramatic’ recitation (hypokrisis), as Aristotle and Ps.-Demetrius observe, and could be lost in plain oral delivery or solitary reading. Unsurprisingly, Greek rhetoricians preferentially draw examples of asyndeton from performing genres. In such contexts, iconic language may effectively produce an immersive experience and, as a consequence, be a powerful instrument of persuasion.

Iconiciteit als taalkundig anker

One of the central precepts in classical rhetorical theory is that form should match content. In many places, classical rhetoricians encourage their readers to use iconic language, which means that the speech or written discourse resembles the conceptual content in its form (for example, through sound effects, rhythmic patterns, clause length). This presupposes that the processing of the formal properties of the discourse (mainly a perceptual operation) interferes with the processing of the linguistic meaning it conveys (a conceptual operation). The question is how this interaction between the two types of operation can be described in linguistic terms. I argue that a meaningful answer to these questions can be given within the framework of Cognitive Linguistics. In this paradigm, iconicity can be understood as a communicative strategy whereby the depictive aspects of the discourse facilitate the processing of its conceptual meaning.