Paradigmatic and syntagmatic
analysis
Paradigmatic analysis
vertical
metaphor
selective/associative
bipolar oppositions
meaning by context (media, genre)
Syntagmatic analysis
horizontal
metonymy
combinative
composed of paradigms
narrative
Vertical / horizontal
P
A
R
A
D
I
G
M
S
NARRATIVE
SYNTAGMS
P
A
R
A
D
I
G
M
S
Paradigmatic and syntagmatic
• Paradigmatic
– A dissimilar thing that can be exchanged for
the thing of which the value is to be
determined
• Syntagmatic
– Similar things that can be compared with the
thing of which the value is to be determined
Paradigmatic analysis
• Paradigmatic analysis is the analysis of
paradigms embedded in the text rather
than of the surface structure (syntax) of
the text which is termed syntagmatic
analysis. Paradigmatic analysis often uses
commutation tests, i.e. analysis by
substituting words of the same type or
class to calibrate shifts in connotation.
Syntagmatic analysis, syntax
• In semiotics syntagmatic analysis is analysis of syntax
or surface structure (Syntagmatic structure), rather than
paradigms as in paradigmatic analysis. This is often
done through commutation tests.
• Syntax, originating from the Greek words συν (syn,
meaning "co-" or "together") and τάξις (táxis, meaning
"sequence, order, arrangement"), can in linguistics be
described as the study of the rules, or "patterned
relations" that govern the way the words in a sentence
come together. It concerns how different words (which,
going back to Dionysios Thrax, are categorized as
nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc.) are combined into
clauses, which, in turn, are combined into sentences.
Commutation test
• According to Daniel Chandler, the commutation
test may involve any of four basic
transformations which, to a greater or lesser
extent, involve modification of the syntagm:
• Paradigmatic transformations
– substitution;
– transposition;
• Syntagmatic transformations
– addition;
– deletion.
Syntagms and paradigms
• Syntagms defined as a coherent sequence
of signs
– A sentence (Jack jumped over the
candlestick.)
– Whole story lines as in sit coms
• Paradigmatic analysis looks at sets of
signs and how they come to stand for
something else
Paradigmatic and syntagmatic
(semiotic) analysis
• The value of a term within a text depends on the
contrasts with alternative terms that have not
been chosen (paradigmatic or associative
relations)
• The value of a term depends on the relations
with the other terms that precede and follow it
(syntagmatic relations).
• A paradigm, or associative set, is a group of
terms that are related or similar, and different.
Observations taken from Gemma Penn, “Semiotic Analysis of Still
Images” in Bauer, Martin W. and Gaskell, George, Eds. Qualitative
Researching with Text, image and Sound: A practical Handbook.
Sage: London, 2000, p. 227ff
Paradigmatic and syntagmatic
(semiotic) analysis
• The meaning of a term is delimited by the set
of unchosen terms and by the way in which the
chosen terms are combined with each other to
create a meaningful whole.
Observations taken from Gemma Penn, “Semiotic Analysis of Still
Images” in Bauer, Martin W. and Gaskell, George, Eds. Qualitative
Researching with Text, image and Sound: A practical Handbook.
Sage: London, 2000, p. 227ff
Example: Alice’s hat is green.
Paradigm
Syntagm
People
Clothing
Color
Alice’s
hat
My
coat
The vicar’s pyjamas
to be
is
isn’t
were
green.
yellow.
pink.
The value of each term is determined by its place in the
syntagm--by the other terms in the sentence that precede and
follow it.
Also by the set of alternative terms that might replace it.
Syntagmatic and Associative Relations
•
•
•
•
“In discourse, on the one hand, words acquire relations based
on the linear nature of language because they are chained
together. [...]
Combinations supported by linearity are syntagms. The
syntagm is always composed of two or more consecutive
units [...]. In the syntagm a term acquires its value only
because it stands in opposition to everything that precedes or
follows it, or to both.
Outside discourse, on the other hand, words acquire relations
of a different kind. Those that have something in common
are associated in memory, resulting groups are marked by
diverse relations. [...]
We see that the co-ordinations formed outside discourse
differ strikingly from those formed inside discourse. Those
formed outside discourse are not supported by linearity. Their
seat is in the brain; they are a part of the inner storehouse
that makes up the language of each speaker. They are
associative relations.” (p. 123).
Syntagmatic and Associative Relations
Associative (Paradigmatic) Axis
C’’’
C’’
C’
A
B
C
D
E
Syntagmatic
Axis
Linguistic Values
• Values are composed of
– A dissimilar thing that can be exchanged for
the thing of which the value is to be
determined
– Similar things that can be compared with the
thing of which the value is to be determined
Signified
Signified
Signified
Signifier
Signifier
Signifier