Polyphony and dialogism: the relationship between concepts in linguistics

This article examines the relationship between the concepts of polyphony and dialogism in modern linguistics. The relevance of the study is determined by the lack of an unambiguous interpretation of these terms, as well as their active use in text analysis. The article aims to identify the specific features of the phenomena of polyphony and dialogism and determine the nature of their relationships. The work provides a comparative analysis of Bakhtin's concept of polyphony and dialogism, as well as its subsequent reinterpretation in the works of French and Scandinavian researchers, in particular, in the theory of O. Ducrot and the Scandinavian theory of ScaPoLine. Particular attention is paid to the delineation of these concepts, their functions, and their role in the formation of textual meaning. It is shown that, despite their close relationship, polyphony and dialogism are not synonymous: polyphony is viewed as a generic concept reflecting the structural and semantic organization of a text with multiple points of view, while dialogism is viewed as a specific concept describing the principle of interaction between these points of view. It is concluded that these concepts exist in a hypo-hypernymous relationship and complement each other, creating a methodological basis for a comprehensive analysis of texts belonging to different types of discourse.

1. Alimbekova Yu. M. (2024). Dialogue in the Verbal Texts of Musicals and Musical Cartoons: Intertextuality, Polyphony, and Hybridity. Russian Linguistic Bulletin. 6(54). DOI 10.60797/RULB.2024.54.4. (In Russian).

2. Bakhtin M. M. (1929). Problems of Dostoevsky's Work. Available at: http://az.lib.ru/b/bahtin_m_m/text_1929_problemy_tvorchestva_dostoevskogo.shtml (accessed 07 January 2026). (In Russian).

3. Bakhtin M. M. (1986). The Aesthetics of Verbal Creativity. 2d edition. Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1986. 445 p. (In Russian).

4. Bakhtin M. M. (2000). Collected Works in 7 Volumes: Volume 2: Problems of Dostoevsky's Work (1929). Articles on Tolstoy (1929). Notes on a Home Oral Course on Russian History. Moscow: Russian Dictionaries; Languages of Slavic Culture, 2000. 798 p. (In Russian).

5. Bakhtin M. M. (2002). Collected Works in 7 Volumes: Volume 6: Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics (1963). Works from the 1960s-1970s. Moscow: Russian Dictionaries; Languages of Slavic Culture, 2002. 800 p. (In Russian).

6. Korneeva V. A. (2015). Pragmalinguistic Features of the Phenomenon of Polyphony in the French Press. Bulletin of Moscow State Linguistic University. 12(723): 91-100. (In Russian).

7. Korneeva V. A. (2016). Types of Polyphony in the French Press. Bulletin of Moscow State Linguistic University. Humanities. 12 (751): 61-68. (In Russian)

8. Kristeva Yu. (2013). Semiotics: Studies in Self-Analysis / transl. by E. A. Orlova. Moscow: Academichesky Proekt, 2013. 285 p. (In Russian).

9. Kuzmina N. A. (1999). Intertext and its Role in the Evolution of Poetic Text: monograph. Yekaterinburg: Ural State University Publishing House. Omsk: Omsk State University, 1999. 268 p. (In Russian).

10. Lapunova O. V. (2014). The Polyphony of French News Discourse in a Functional Aspect: abstract of a thesis, Cand. Sc. {Philology}. Minsk, 2014. 27 p. (In Russian).

11. Moskvin V. P. (2013). Intertextuality: Conceptual Apparatus, Figures, Genres, Styles. Moscow: Librokom, 2013. 168 p. ISBN 978-5-397-03334-3. (In Russian).

12. Authier-Revue J. (1999). Explicit and Constitutive Heterogeneity: On the Problem of the Other in Discourse. The Quadrature of Meaning: The French School of Discourse Analysis. P. 54-94. (In Russian).

13. Faktorovich A. L. (2016). The Correlation of “Voices” in Polyphony in Non-Media Political Communication. Vestnik of Vologda State University. 1: 82-87. (In Russian).

14. Fateeva N. A. (2012). Intertext in the World of Texts: A Counterpoint of Intertextuality. Moscow: Librokom, 2012. 282 p. (In Russian).

15. Chernyavskaya V. E. (2009). Text Linguistics: Polycode, Intertextuality, Interdiscursivity. Moscow: Librokom, 2009. 248 p. (In Russian).

16. Anscombre J.-C. (2006). The Objects of Polyphony. Modern French. 74: 30-61.

17. Authier-Revuz J. (1982). Demonstrated Heterogeneity and Constitutive Heterogeneity: Elements for an Approach to the Other in Discourse. DRLAV. Documentation and Research in Linguistics. 26: 91-151.

18. Bally C. (1965). General Linguistics and French Linguistics. Bern: A. Francke. 448 p. (In French).

19. Birkelund M. (2017). French Negation as a Marker of (external/internal) Polyphony. The pragmatics of negation. P. 167-184. DOI 10.1075/pbns.283.07bir.

20. Bres J. (2005). Knowing What We're Talking About: Dialogue, Dialogal, Dialogic, Dialogism, Polyphony… Dialogism, Polyphony: Linguistic Approaches. 47–61. DOI 10.3917/dbu.bres.2005.01.

21. Dendale P. (2007). A critical survey and comparison of French and Scandinavian frameworks for the description of linguistic polyphony and dialogism. Sproglig Polyphoni. Tekster om Bachtin og Scapoline. 109-144. DOI 10.1017/S0959269524000218.

22. Ducrot O. (1980). Pragmatic Analyses. Communications. P. 11-60.

23. Ducrot O. (1984). Saying and What Is Said. Paris: Minuit, 1984. 237 p.

24. Ducrot O. (1986). Charles Bally and Pragmatics. Cahiers de Ferdinand de Saussure. 40: 13-37.

25. Fløttum K. (2002)/ Polyphony and Typology Revisited. Polyphonie – linguistique et littéraire. 5: 1-30.

26. Genette G. (1982). Palimpsests: Literature in the Second Degree. Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1982. 576 p.

27. Maingueneau D. (2001). Pragmatics for Literary Discourse. Paris: Nathan, 2001. 202 p.

28. Maingueneau D. (2009). Key Terms in Discourse Analysis. Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 2009. 143 p.

29. Nølke H. (2001). The ScaPoLine 2001: A Revised Version of the Scandinavian Theory of Linguistic Polyphony. 18 p. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/90646672/La_ScaPoLine_2001_Version_r%C3%A9vis%C3%A9e_de_la_th%C3%A9orie_Scandinave_de_la_Polyphonie_Linguistique (accessed 08 January 2026).

30. Noren C. (2010). ScaPoLine applied to corpus. Paris: Kimé, 2010. 315 p.

31. Perrin L. (2004). Polyphony and other forms of enunciative heterogeneity: Bakhtin, Bally, Ducrot, etc. Pratiques. 123-124: 7-26.

32. Therkelsen R. (2009). How to identify a polyphonic question. Langue française. 164: 113-122. DOI :10.3917/lf.164.0113.