ISBN-13: 9780415063586 / Angielski / Twarda / 1993 / 272 str.
ISBN-13: 9780415063586 / Angielski / Twarda / 1993 / 272 str.
Richard Harland argues that the focus on single words in the structuralist theory of language is its key weakness and that the next advance beyond post-structuralism depends upon replacing word-based with syntagma-based theories. Harland develops a new syntagmatic theory which shows that the effect of combining words grammatically can transform the very nature of meaning. The wide breadth of coverage in the book covers both post-Chomsky linguistics and Derrida, and sets up an opposition to analytic and speech-act theories of language. By presenting a systematic critique and counter-proposal, Harland challenges the foundation of recent literary and linguistic theory.