66
M. Victoria RĂŠbori
We cannot deny the objection that the circumscription of both principies to the argumentative "levei" constitutes a reduction. The cause ofthis reduction could be explained in the following terrns: in this case we have considered a very short period o f time involving the situations discussed. Thus, time has a secondary relevance while the 'penumbra' notion has a primary one. In a short-term perspective, the low density of the principies is a consequence o f the high density of the 'penumbra' . However, there is another paradoxical consequence. The low density of the principies acquires the definition of a style in a long-term perspective. Very probably, this style concept is useful to rejoin the relevant features that serve to define, through identity and contiouity, the unity oftradition and personality. These final words are also very Firthian. 9 Bibliography
Crombie, A. C. 1994. Styles of Scientific Thinking in lhe European tradition. London: Duckworth. Firth, J. R. 1957. Papers in Linguistics (1934-1951). London: Oxford University Press. - . 1964. The Tongues ofMen and Speech. Oxford University Press. Granger, G.-G. 1988. Essai d'une phi/osophy du style. 2nd Edition. Paris: Odiie Jacob. Gross, P.; Levitt, N.; Lewis, M. 1996. The Flightfrom Science to Reason. New York: The New York Academy of Sciences. Langendoen, T. 1968. The London School ofLinguistics. Cambridge, Mass.: The M.I.T. Press. Lyons, J. 1995. Linguistics Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Malinowski, B. 1923. "The problem ofmeaning in primitive languages." In Ogden & Richards 1923, pp. 296- 336. Nerlich, B. 1995. "The 1930's - at the Birth of a Pragmatic Conception ofLanguage." Historiographia Lingvistica 22(3): 311 - 34.