In March 2025, The New York Times published a list of more than 200 words and phrases, whose use is now strongly discouraged in the U.S.A’s public policy documents, drawn up by the current US administration. This list serves, among other things, as a guide for ongoing budget cuts and layoffs. Attack against language is…

Paul Cobley and Kristian Bankov Dear delegates of the 15th World Congress of the IASS, It is a matter of mere days until we will be meeting in Thessaloniki. After a period in international history during which many people have experienced separation and isolation, as well as the stress related to a life-threatening virus, the…

Eero Tarasti:  Presidential Address on the Eve of the 12th World Congress of IASS/AIS in Sofia “Semiotics harms no one”, once wrote our British, or rather Scotch, colleague Raymond Monelle.  Someone also said that semiotics never dies. But how can it survive in the contemporary world under many kinds of threats?  One threat in those…

Eero Tarasti On the Eve of the World Congress in Nanjing: Presidential Address Dear Semioticians: Our next world congress approaches, to be held at Nanjing Normal University in Nanjing. Our Chinese colleagues have been working very hard to assure its success. I think this is indeed an historical event, as seen from here in northern…

Eero Tarasti: Opening speech Imatra ISI Summer congresses, Finland, June 5, 2011 It is a particular joy and honour for me to wish you all welcome to our traditional gathering in Imatra, in fact at our 26th International Summer School for Semiotic and Structural Studies. For most of you this is not your first time…

PRESIDENTIAL ADRESS OF THE IASS/AIS Helsinki, Feb 1st, 2011 English – Française – Español – Deutsch Dear semioticians, As you may know, the IASS/AIS was established over 40 years ago in Paris as a result of the work some leading semioticians of the time: Benveniste, Sebeok, Lévi-Strauss, Jakobson, Greimas, Eco, Kristeva and others. From the…

PRESIDENTIAL ADRESS OF THE IASS/AIS Helsinki, Feb 1st, 2011 English – Française – Español – Deutsch Sehr geehrte Semiotiker, wie Sie vielleicht wissen wurde die IASS/AIS vor über 40 Jahren in Paris als Ergebnis der Arbeit von einigen der zu jener Zeit führenden Semiotikern gegründet: Benveniste, Sebeok, Lévi-Strauss, Jakobson, Greimas, Eco, Kristeva und anderen. Zu…

PRESIDENTIAL ADRESS OF THE IASS/AIS Helsinki, Feb 1st, 2011 English – Française – Español – Deutsch Chers sémioticiens, chères sémioticiennes, Comme vous le savez déjà, l’IASS/AIS a été fondée il y a plus de 40 ans à Paris, suite au travail d’éminents sémioticiens tels que Benveniste, Sebeok, Lévi-Strauss, Jakobson, Greimas, Eco, Kristeva et bien d’autres….

PRESIDENTIAL ADRESS OF THE IASS/AIS Helsinki, Feb 1st, 2011 English – Française – Español – Deutsch Estimados semióticos, Como saben, el IASS/AIS fue establecido hace 40 años en París como resultado del trabajo de algunos semióticos destacados de aquel tiempo: Benveniste, Sebeok, Lévi-Strauss, Jakobson, Greimas, Eco y Kristeva, entre otros. Desde el inicio, se pretendió…

Towards the IASS11 in China Eero Tarasti Semiotics lives in historical times.  Namely, what Thomas A. Sebeok envisioned when he entitled his last book Global Semiotics, is no longer a utopia, challenge or prophecy; it is the reality in which we dwell in the contemporary world.  One would even call it a ‘technosemiotic’ stage of…