Milczenie wobec lingwistyki (nie tylko) XIX wieku
Milczenie vis-à-vis (not only) 19th-century linguistic

Summary/Abstract: The article offers an interpretation of one of Norwid’s most non-obvious linguistic theses, namely his statement in Milczenie [Silence] that silence is a part of speech. According to the proposed reading, the poet’s aim was not at all to recognise silence as a separate class of expressions with specific semantic and grammatical properties, but to emphasise the dynamic, event-driven nature of language and communication, which are not reducible solely to the grammatical principles, as well as to recognise that non-explicitly communicated content is also present in speech. The latter observation already appeared in the 17th-century Port-Royal Grammar by Arnaud and Lancelot. The final section of the article discusses the parallels between this work and the concept outlined in Milczenie, while pointing out where Norwid’s thought diverged from Enlightenment ideas.

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