Essay on a Trans-Theoretical Reflection on the Systematicity of Meaning in Linguistics

The current systematicity of the study of linguistic meaning marks the end of a historyincepted since the time of comparative grammars. That history can even be traced back bygoing beyond the period of comparative linguistics. It is actually that very history that thispaper aims to retrieve and briefly reconstruct partially by laying an emphasis upon some ofthe major steps of the process which led to the systematic study of meaning andsignifications. Throughout an analysis which claims to be trans-theoretical, that is coveringseveral theories, this cursory investigation intends to go over some of the major linguistictheories, schools and concepts to know of their approaches to the phenomenon of meaning.As a result of the study, it came out that semantics was formed out of prelinguistic ideas andconcepts combined with the contribution of several theories of structural linguistics. To thosetheories of structural linguistics, it could be added the contribution of several theories ofsyntax on the one hand and diverse discourse theories on the other hand.