Abstract
Asserting that nonverbal signs are the deep structure of language and meaning is the event of an association of nonverbal and linguistic signs, Ruthrof (linguistics, Murdoch U., Australia) sets out an argument for a body-oriented theory of language by way of a review of how language has been viewed in the 20th century, an elaboration of the meaning of language, and discussion of a number of theorists including Vico, Peirce, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Derrida, Cixous, Irigaray, Banting, and Grosz.