Question of Jakobson's "Linguistics and Poetics."

[Amanda Ewington]

Hello SEELANGers,

I have a question for the linguists out there or anyone who knows their 
Jakobson.

I am sitting in on a Semiotics class, taught by a colleague of mine 
from the French department.  When reading Jakobson's "Linguistics and 
Poetics" we had a disagreement over the following passage:

"Language must be investigated in all the variety of its functions. 
Before discussing the poetic function we must define its place among 
the other functions of language. An outline of these functions demands 
a concise survey of the constitutive factors in any speech event, in 
any act of verbal communication. The ADDRESSER sends a MESSAGE to the 
ADDRESSEE. To be operative the message requires a CONTEXT referred to 
(‘referent’ in another, somewhat ambiguous, nomenclature), seizable by 
the addressee, and either verbal or capable of being verbalized; a CODE 
fully, or at least partially, common to the addresser and addressee (or 
in other words, to the encoder and decoder of the message); and, 
finally, a CONTACT, a physical channel and psychological connection 
between the addresser and the addressee, enabling both of them to enter 
and stay in communication."

I thought this passage quite clearly indicated Jakobson's contention  
that ANY speech event must have these six factors (with an explanation, 
later in the essay,  that the emphasis on one particular element in a 
given speech act can make the message, "phatic" or "poetic," etc).  My 
colleague insists that Jakobson is trying to say only that any speech 
act  MAY have any of these 6 elements, but need not contain all six.

I am certainly prepared to eat humble pie, but would like some outside 
input on the question.

Thanks so much!

Amanda Ewington
-----------------------------------------------
Amanda Ewington, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Russian
Davidson College
Department of German and Russian
Box 6936
Davidson, NC 28035-6936
tel:  (704)894-2397
fax: (704)894-2782
amewington at davidson.edu
http://www.davidson.edu/russian/index.htm

Courier:
209 Ridge Road
Davidson, NC 28036
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