On the semiosphere

This article, first published in Russian in 1984 in Sign Systems Studies, introduces the concept of semiosphere and describes its principal attributes. Semiosphere is the semiotic space, outside of which semiosis cannot exist. The ensemble of semiotic formations functionally precedes the singular isolated language and becomes a condition for the existence of the latter. Without the semiosphere, language not only does not function, it does not exist. The division between the core and the periphery is a law of the internal organisation of the semiosphere. There exists boundary between the semiosphere and the nonor extra-semiotic space that surrounds it. The semiotic border is represented by the sum of bilingual translatable “filters”, passing through which the text is translated into another language (or languages), situated outside the given semiosphere. The levels of the semiosphere comprise an inter-connected group of semiospheres, each of them being simultaneously both participant in the dialogue (as part of the semiosphere) and the space of dialogue (the semiosphere as a whole). Contemporary semiotics is undergoing a review of some of its basic concepts. It is a well-known fact that at the heart of semiotics lie two scientific traditions. One of these goes back to Peirce-Morris and begins with an understanding of the sign as the first element of any semiotic system. The second is based on the theses of Saussure and the Prague school and has at its core the antinomy of language and speech (texts). However, despite the differences of these approaches, 1 Translator’s note. This article, regarded as a classic or seminal piece by many who have studied Lotman’s work, was first published in 1984 in Signs Systems Studies (Труды по знаковым системам) 17: 5–23, and includes one of the first mentioning of the term ‘semiosphere’ coined by Lotman. Translated from the original Russian language version, published in Lotman 1992. We are not informed about any earlier English translation of this article. (See also fn. 6.)