ABSTRACT
In this chapter I will continue the development ofa means for representing the conceptual structure of utterances. The emphasis now shifts to what were termed symbols in Chapter 3. A symbol, according to Peirce (1931-1958), refers to its referent by means of a "law" or rule. The connection of a sign vehicle to the object of a symbolic sign is conventional. Within conceptual structures, such conventional signs can be seen in the output of the various syntactic and morphological devices that construct parts of the conceptual structure. These devices are conventional rules for relating concepts to each other. They are the productants in the case of symbolic signs. A syntactic device will be regarded as a collection of standardized steps that the speaker can take as a whole. Using a computer analogy, a syntactic device is like a subroutine, an action that may be labeled with a single name and that has a standardized effect on the conceptual structure.
