The semiotic properties of music: a perspective from functional-cognitive semantics

The question of what meaning music conveys is an ancient and unresolved
issue. Central to discussions have been the relation between meaning in
language and meaning in music: In spite of obvious differences, the challenge
remains of providing an account that could place the two areas as elements of the
same overall picture. This paper suggests an approach based on advances in
functional-cognitive linguistics on the one hand and cognitive semiotics on the
other. From functional-cognitive linguistics it draws on two key elements: (1) a
division between three sites of meaning, rather than a monolithic approach,
recognizing that meaning in actual usage events, in individual brains, and in
society cannot be reduced to one thing. (2) A division in actual usage events
between ‘input’ and ‘meaning construction’, stressing the constitutive role of the
recipient in understanding the nature of meaning. From cognitive semiotics it
draws on the concept of the semiotic hierarchy. The key point is the understanding
of the nature ofmeaning as a broader andmore fundamental property than found
in the linguistic tradition.