Conceptual transfer and the emergence of the sign

Abstract

Within a semiogenetic theory of the conditions of emergence and evolution of the sign, I claim that the phonological invariance displayed by the Proto-Indo-European roots *ĝenu- ‘jawbone, chin’ and *ĝenu- ‘knee’ is the surface trace of a deep-level notional invariance. In addition to its linguistic and sublinguistic dimensions, this claim encompasses a number of extralinguistic dimensions such as neuroscience, cognition, and mythology. I conclude that the hypothesis of the existence of an unconscious, somatotopically grounded body-naming strategy based on principles of self-referentiality and conceptual transfer provides a plausible explanation not only for the identity of form displayed by these two roots, but also for their possible links with *ĝenh1- ‘to beget a child, be born’, *ĝneh3- ‘to know, recognize’ and *gwénha- ‘woman’.

Keywords

• conceptual transfer
• Proto-Indo-European
• self-referentiality
• semiogenetics
• simulation
• somatotopy