Jacques Lacan's Registers of the Psychoanalytic Field, Applied using Geometric Data Analysis to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Purloined Letter"
In a first investigation, a Lacan-motivated template of the Poe story is fitted to the data. A segmentation of the storyline is used in order to map out the diachrony. Based on this, it will be shown how synchronous aspects, potentially related to Lacanian registers, can be sought. This demonstrates the effectiveness of an approach based on a model template of the storyline narrative. In a second and more comprehensive investigation, we develop an approach for revealing, that is, uncovering, Lacanian register relationships. Objectives of this work include the wide and general application of our methodology. This methodology is strongly based on the "letting the data speak" Correspondence Analysis analytics platform of Jean-Paul Benz\'ecri, that is also the geometric data analysis, both qualitative and quantitative analytics, developed by Pierre Bourdieu.
Rhetorical Strategy in Forensic Speeches: Multidimensional Statistics-Based Methodology
Rhetorical strategy is relevant in the law domain, where language is a vital instrument. Textual statistics have much to offer for uncovering such a strategy. We propose a methodology that starts from a non-structured text; first, the breakpoints are automatically detected and lexically homogeneous parts are identified; then, the shape of the text through the trajectory of these parts and their hierarchical structure are uncovered; finally, the argument flow is tracked along. Several methods are combined. Chronological clustering of multidimensional count series detects the breakpoints; the shape of the text is revealed by applying correspondence analysis to the parts×words table while the progression of the argument is described by labelled time-constrained hierarchical clustering. This methodology is illustrated on a rhetoric forensic application, concretely a closing speech delivered by a prosecutor at Barcelona Criminal Court. This approach could also be useful in politics, communication and professional writing.
Searching for meaning in language: A memoir
Dans le cadre de cet article a caractere autobiographique, l'A. retrace son parcours linguistique et le met en parallele avec l'evolution de l'etude des sciences du langage, depuis ses etudes a Yale dans les annees 1950 jusque dans les annees 2000. Son but est de mieux faire comprendre la nature meme du langage et comment celui-ci est en rapport avec la totalite de l'experience humaine. Il fait aussi l'etat des recherches qui seraient interessantes a poursuivre dans les annees a venir.