My reflections on semio-pragmatics began in the 1980s and have continued up to this day without interruption, thus giving rise to quite a number of publications (see the bibliography for some of these). However, what I have to say in this book is fundamentally new. Even though the themes here are similar to those I have explored in previous publications, the way I approach them, but also the argument itself are, as a general matter, different. This is not only because I happened to change my

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... d on one or another point, and not only because since publishing previous books I have continued to work and thus to clarify certain points, but because the axis of reflection that runs all the way through this work requires that issues be addressed in a different light: this is the first time I have tried to theorize the notion of a space of communication and to show how it can be used in analyses. I have long resisted the idea of writing a book on semio-pragmatics. Articles are more flexible -better suited to a process of reflection that is still in the making. A book makes the presentation of content more rigid and more conclusory -to say nothing of the risk of presumptuousness when one ventures to present one's approach. However, there comes a time where it seems necessary to try to make at least one provisional point, if only to take stock more precisely of where I am in the process of reflection. (Articles -and this is where their flexibility pays off -allow a certain vagueness when it comes to overall consistency, whereas a book does not). And still I had to make the decision to throw myself into the project. This book would not exist without a kind request from Bernard Miège. The proposal to publish it as part of a series on communication certainly helped things along: I initially conceived of semio-pragmatics as an approach that could work for all types of production, but up to then I had stuck almost exclusively to cinema and broadcasting. Publishing in this series has prompted me to work on more-varied output. Although there are still plenty of references to my own professional domain, I have also tackled other areas. I have greatly enjoyed writing this book, and I hope the general aim of the "model" I have set out will be clear.