Note de synthèse sur l'aspectualité spatiale

Aspectuality has been brought to the semiotic discussion in various ways. Its first use regarded the application of grammatical aspects to non–linguistic actions such as gestures. It later lost its strict ties to the grammar of actions and was extended to the notions of space and objects, since the appearance of space and objects also changes in time. In the end, it was found that it is not only time that changes the appearance of space and objects but, more generally, what matters is the relationship between these and the perceiver’s views and sensitive body. This contribution to a semiotics of space is about building a theoretical model of the category of aspectuality applied to space. Taking into account previous work on the subject, the essay identifies three main aspectual subcategories, that is, direction, position, and impetus. It argues that each of these subcategories defines a specific relationship between space and the perceiver, thus building a system. I also suggest that the category of aspectuality may be linked to the category of space, and I identify four subcategories of space on the basis of the number of dimensions defining space. Hence, a structure of twelve spatial aspects emerges. Finally, in order to test the eYciency of these spatial aspects, they are briefly applied to the analysis of paintings.