Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

TAGMEMIC ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA

TAGMEMIC ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA Semiotica l 7:2, pp. 131-151. © Mouton Publishers, 1976. VERN S. POYTHRESS TAGMEMIC ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA 1. INTRODUCTION Considerable work has been done in applying mathematical techniques to the analysis of language, especially the more formal languages associated with various types of automata.1 To my knowledge, however, very little has been done in the opposite direction: applying linguistic techniques to the analysis of mathematics as a specialized language occurring in certain textbooks, journal articles, and classroom situations.2 Yet, since mathematical language is simpler than natural language, one might well expect the direction linguistics-applied-to-mathematics to provide results at least as fruitful as and with less labor than the direction mathematics-applied-to-linguistics. This paper attempts a preliminary linguistic analysis of material from elementary algebra, with particular attention (§§3-6) to the types of structure above the clause level, and to the semiotic interlocking of mathematical language with ordinary language (see especially §7). 2. THE CLAUSE LEVEL AND BELOW Consider the solution to a quadratic equation as it might appear in a book on elementary algebra: 1. Problem: Solution: solve 2 + - 12 = 0. x2 + x - 12 = 0 (x - 3) · (x + 4) = 0 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Semiotica - Journal of the International Association for Semiotic Studies / Revue de l'Association Internationale de Sémiotique de Gruyter

TAGMEMIC ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA

Download PDF
22 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/de-gruyter/tagmemic-analysis-of-elementary-algebra-9ISQoEpA60

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Walter de Gruyter
ISSN
0037-1998
eISSN
1613-3692
DOI
10.1515/semi.1976.17.2.131
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Semiotica l 7:2, pp. 131-151. © Mouton Publishers, 1976. VERN S. POYTHRESS TAGMEMIC ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA 1. INTRODUCTION Considerable work has been done in applying mathematical techniques to the analysis of language, especially the more formal languages associated with various types of automata.1 To my knowledge, however, very little has been done in the opposite direction: applying linguistic techniques to the analysis of mathematics as a specialized language occurring in certain textbooks, journal articles, and classroom situations.2 Yet, since mathematical language is simpler than natural language, one might well expect the direction linguistics-applied-to-mathematics to provide results at least as fruitful as and with less labor than the direction mathematics-applied-to-linguistics. This paper attempts a preliminary linguistic analysis of material from elementary algebra, with particular attention (§§3-6) to the types of structure above the clause level, and to the semiotic interlocking of mathematical language with ordinary language (see especially §7). 2. THE CLAUSE LEVEL AND BELOW Consider the solution to a quadratic equation as it might appear in a book on elementary algebra: 1. Problem: Solution: solve 2 + - 12 = 0. x2 + x - 12 = 0 (x - 3) · (x + 4) = 0

Journal

Semiotica - Journal of the International Association for Semiotic Studies / Revue de l'Association Internationale de Sémiotique – de Gruyter

Published: Jan 1, 1976

There are no references for this article.