Les mots entre forme et substance : la dimension relationnelle du lexique

This paper aims at exploring the relationship between conceptual purport and linguistic form in lexical meanings on two levels. On the one hand, the structure of each lexical meaning depends on a changing balance between the shaping power of formal lexical structures and the pressure of shared systems of concepts. On the other, the meaning of lexemes, both punctual and relational, has an inherently relational structure that can be observed in consistent model sentences. The relational dimension of lexical meanings sheds light on the relationship both between lexicon and syntax and between the use in a narrow sense, within model sentences, and in a broad sense, within contingent texts or communicative interactions, and therefore in an indexical dimension.