Paradigmatic relations and semantic information in MTT: some questions

This paper raises and discusses three questions about the structure of Meaning-Text Theory, based on consideration of the role that paradigmatic Lexical Functions play in its model of the lexicon: Is the paradigmatic-syntagmatic distinction meaningful? Do paradigmatic LFs represent redundant semantic information (and if so, is the redundancy justified)? And finally, might definitions of lexemes in the Semantic Zone be replaced by an understanding of lexical meaning as an emergent property—on the model of structuralist-associationist views of the lexicon? While no answers to these questions are provided, a range of data are offered to contribute to the debate on these issues.