From Protolanguage to Stratification: 2 Semantics Takes Shape

In Part 1, we saw how the combinatorial pressures of protolanguage drove a differentiation of form and meaning. Signals began to stabilise into patterns, sequences became partially predictable, and meaning started to abstract away from individual forms. This was the first step toward stratification.

The next stage is the emergence of a semantic system: a structured stratum of meaning that guides selection across sequences, enabling flexible, coherent, and socially coordinated interaction.

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Abstraction within protolanguage sequences

Early protolanguage sequences were holistic: every sequence simultaneously conveyed affect, reference, and social function. As the repertoire grew, participants implicitly began abstracting away the common relational patterns underlying sequences:

• Certain sequences reliably represented entities and events, regardless of the exact signal forms.

• Others consistently conveyed interpersonal relations (e.g., dominance, affiliation, cooperation).

• Recurrent patterns revealed textual organisation—how sequences relate to one another in interaction.

These abstractions are the first hints of semantic stratification: meaning begins to exist independently of the particular forms used to realise it.

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Systematisation of ideational, interpersonal, and textual relations

Drawing on the relational potential of protolanguage, the emerging semantic stratum organises meaning along three proto-functions:

1. Ideational – representing the world, actions, and participants.

2. Interpersonal – representing social relations and interactional roles.

3. Textual – organising sequences across time and discourse.

Even at this early stage, the semantic stratum functions as a meta-system: it constrains how instances (sequences of signals) can be used and interpreted. Participants select forms to realise structured meanings, not just arbitrary sequences.

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Proto-semantic fields guiding selection

Within the semantic stratum, meaning is no longer ad hoc:

• Participants can anticipate the effect of selecting one sequence over another.

• Distinctions among entities, events, and relations are systematised.

• Interpretive possibilities become relationally constrained, supporting consistency and shared understanding across participants and contexts.

In relational-ontology terms, the semantic stratum is a theory of potential construals: it encodes the relational differences that make selection meaningful.

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Preparing for lexicogrammar

With the semantic stratum in place, the system is ready to develop lexicogrammar:

• Forms are now systematically constrained to realise particular semantic selections.

• Morphosyntactic patterns emerge to encode relational distinctions.

• Phonological or gestural structures stabilise to ensure reliable transmission.

The result is a fully stratified semiotic system: semantics guides selection, lexicogrammar guides realisation, and phonology encodes form.