The Internet as Borderland and Translation Sphere: Some Remarks on Yuri Lotman's manner
Cultural semiotics takes functioning of the semiosphere(s) as a precondition for any communicative activity and a dialogue as its main apparatus to achieve human goals. Dialogue is an elemental mechanism of translation and as that an immanent part of any interaction inside and between cultures. Problems of mutual readiness for deciphering, understanding and valuing codes of the Other stand immediately before communicators and could be solved only in an atmosphere of reciprocal sympathy. The Internet is taken as an advanced and complicated universal communication machine being at the same time a model-semiosphere with intentions to become an universal instrument for the mankind. It brings with problems of a new digital logic, borderline conditions in the national cultural arena and language use (written vs. audio-visual iconic one etc.). Advocated as a new and radical solution for even social and life-worlds problems it's importance is mostly over-valued. The Internet is still in the condition of the peripheral borderland with intense translating structures and in this sense its claim to become central is a normal one. In this paper we are treating evolvement and status of the Internet in cultural contexts where it is now on a "aggressive" new texts creation and distribution mode, invading into national cultural playgrounds and demanding recognition. Is that only a "Internet cycle" or more persistent structural change of the human condition? How dynamics of the changes evolves? What kind of dialogical situations and backgrounds it produces? What about reciprocity of partly anonymous actors? How deep and true, how natural is its request for overwhelming global agent? Could or should the Internet been domesticated by national cultures or it just swallows and consumes these?