SYNTAGM AND PARADIGM

Hi Guys, this is a passage from Lev Manovich's book "The language of New Media" and relates to the research matrix you are putting together:

"Elements in the syntagmatic dimension are related in praesentia, while elements in the paradigmatic dimension are related in absentia. For instance, in the case of a written sentance, the words that comprise it materially exist on a piece of paper, while the paradigmatic sets to which these words belong only exist in the writers or readers minds. Similarly, in the case of a fashion outfit, the elements that comprise it, such as a skirt, blouse, and jacket, are present in reality, while pieces of clothing that could have been present instead - different skirt, different blouse, different jacket - exist only in the viewers imagination. Thus, syntagm is explicit and paradigm is implicit; one is real and the other is imagined."