Potentiality of the concept of isotopy in visual language studies

Abstract

The study of visual language manifestations is usually based on the study of similar phenomena manifested in the verbal language, since there is a larger tradition of research and greater academic production in this area. The Discursive Semiotics field developed by A. J. Greimas and his collaborators has originated several concepts that, although initially conceived considering only the verbal language, were lately extended in order to also contribute to the study of other language systems. One of the semiotic concepts that has been examined mainly in verbal texts is that of “isotopy”, which, in its initial definitions, concerned the recurrence of semic categories throughout a text. This essay consists of a compilation of definitions, principles and general characteristics of the concept of isotopy, based on the bibliographic examination of its successive definitions proposed by semioticians over time. The main goal is to understand just to what extent these formulations already contemplate or not the possibility of studying isotopies in multiple languages, thus leading to the use of this concept in the research of visuality and intertextual readings, especially regarding the teaching of visual arts.