Indicativosignifico

Indicativosignifico is a coined term in linguistic theory describing a proposed meta-grammatical category that fuses the indicative mood with a signaling function. The word blends indicativo, the Spanish term for the indicative mood, with signo/significo, reflecting the idea of signaling or signification.

Definition and scope: In theoretical discussions, indicativosignifico would mark utterances that not only assert a proposition but also explicitly indicate that the content is being used to signal something about discourse, intention, or communicative relevance. It is intended as a discourse-level marker rather than a currently attested mood in natural languages.

Relation to other concepts: It relates to metapragmatics, evidentiality, and discourse markers. It is distinguished from simple assertion by encoding a meta-communicative layer about the signaling function of the utterance.

Theoretical status: Indicativosignifico is not widely adopted in empirical linguistic data. It appears mainly in thought experiments, typological discussions, or as a heuristic for examining how languages encode signaling about meaning.

Examples: In a hypothetical language, a verb form with an indicativo-significo marker might appear as hablo-sig to mean "I speak in order to signal this proposition's significance." Another approach uses a discourse particle indicating the signaling function at the clause level.

See also: metapragmatics, discourse marker, evidentiality.