Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Language

Properties of Linguistic Signs

Linguistic signs possess several key properties:

• Arbitrariness: The relationship between the signifier (the form of the sign) and the signified (the concept it represents) is conventional, not natural.
• Discontinuity: Linguistic signs are distinct units, separate from one another.
• Linearity: In spoken language, sounds are produced sequentially, one after another, forming a chain in time as they reach the receiver.
• Immutability: From an individual speaker's perspective at a given time, the link between signifier and signified is fixed and cannot be easily changed by the individual. (Note: Language itself is mutable and changes over time within the community).

The Linguistic Sign and Its Components

A sign consists of distinct... Continue reading "Linguistic Signs, Literary Terms, and Medieval Spanish Poetics" »

Key Metaphors in The House of Bernarda Alba

The Liberating Power of Water

The metaphor used in this work is water as a liberator. In the same way that a thirsty person leaves their current place to search for water, we hope that Bernarda's daughters will be released from the prison in which they are held and can be free. This simile is found mainly in the words of Adela – the youngest and most dreaming of the five sisters – repeatedly.

Shooting Stars: A Fleeting Escape

We also find the desire for freedom symbolized by the shooting stars that appear at the end of the play. Tired of spending all eternity held in the same place, they decide to move, even if it means burning out. It is again Adela who introduces us to this dream of escape.

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