Umberto Eco recognizes in Roman Jakobson a central role in clarifying and disseminating the notions of code and message, extending them from the field of information theory to the whole of semiotics. The adoption of these categories made it possible to unify the analysis of linguistic and non-linguistic systems, providing a coherent methodological framework for describing the production and transmission of meaning.
Jakobson takes from Saussure the idea of the “code of langue,” but develops it into a general notion applicable to every semiotic system. However, as Eco notes, in Jakobson’s thought the term code has a dual sense. In some cases, it refers to a syntactic system of purely differential units, devoid of intrinsic meaning—such as the distinctive features and phonemes in phonology. In others, it designates a structured correlation between two series of elements, in which the members of the first stand for those of the second: this is the case of the relation between signifier and signified.
Eco emphasizes that this oscillation is not the result of conceptual imprecision but of a precise methodological choice. For Jakobson, the phonological system is never an end in itself: it is always conceived in relation to signification. Phonemes are not invented for their own sake, but to form meaningful words, and are therefore governed by a code in the full sense of the term. The sign function is what defines a phoneme.
This perspective leads Jakobson to reject any overly rigid distinction between purely differential systems and codes in the strict sense, preferring to preserve the unity of language “in action.” Eco observes that, in other authors influenced by Jakobson, this concreteness has sometimes been lost, leaving only a vague terminological oscillation.
Among Jakobson’s most significant contributions to the understanding of code, Eco identifies three:
- The notion of subcodes: every language or system can generate partial codes related to specific contexts, communities, or functions.
- The distinction between “coded words” and “coded matrices of sentences”: this extends the concept of code to generative grammar and textuality, allowing the analysis of the rules for constructing complex discourses.
- Attention to different types of codes: each semiotic system has its own modes of operation, and their comparative analysis reveals constants and differences in processes of signification.
For Eco, Jakobson’s work on code and message marked a decisive turning point: it transformed semiotics into a theory capable of treating meaningful systems within a unified framework, without losing sight of their specific features. In this sense, Jakobson’s reflection has influenced both linguistics and the analysis of nonverbal languages—from poetry to cinema, from music to scientific communication.
Bibliographic reference: Umberto Eco, Il pensiero semiotico di Jakobson, 1976.