Abstract

MORALES ESCORCIA, Efraín  and  SAMPER SUAREZ, Josefa. Contrastive analysis of four creation myths. Leng. [online]. 2014, vol.42, n.2, pp.481-500. ISSN 0120-3479.

This article explains the nature of myths from a discourse analysis perspective. In this respect, it reflects a new way to study these cultural phenomena. To be more precise, it focuses on the analysis of four world creation myths: the genesis of the universe according to the Chinese, the Hebrews, Australian Aborigines and the Koguis, an indigenous tribe in Colombia, South America. Its main goal is to contrast these myths using Patrick Charaudeau's semiolinguistic analytical model (1992, 2005) and some main ideas stated by Claude Lévi-Strauss (2002, 1987). The analysis shows that descriptive stances are more predominant that narrative stances. Moreover, it helps validate what Lévi-Srauss has named "savage thought" as opposed to "civilized thought" of written cultures

Keywords : Myth; descriptive mode; narrative organization principle; semiotization of the world; transformation process; discourse analysis.

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