Jakobson's reading

on Saussure and Peirce

Abstract

This study focuses on the epistemological obstacles for the relationship between Peircean semiotics (communication) and Saussurean semiology (linguistics). This relationship was suggested by Roman Jakobson based on the principle that a sign is translated by another more explicit one. However, there are four epistemological obstacles that must be overcome to obtain such a merging: a) The attachment to the author function, which defines the terminology; b) The epistemological program of the work, which presupposes a metaphysical position. c) The differentiation of the sign by numerical criteria, which assigns 2 to Saussure and 3 to Peirce. d) The predominance of the language as the main regime of signs, which states that every regime must be translated by it. For this final obstacle, photojournalism works as an example, since it is accepted that news photography requires translation between two different regimes of signs, which is replaced by the notion of transitioning between them.