Abstract

This article proposes a unified semiotic model of normative-behavioral regulation, conceptualizing it as a multilayered system that integrates pre-verbal, conditionally reflexive mechanisms with verbal, written, and codified legal norms. Building on insights from social semiotics, cultural-historical theory, and neurobiology, it argues that normative regulation operates as a continuous structure in which a pre-verbal layer — shaped by innate reflexes, imitation, and immediate social responses — underpins a more complex superstructure of laws, customs, and professional rules. These layers not only coexist but also interact with other semiotic systems such as language, money, music, mathematics, and even institutional practices, generating both stability and internal contradictions. The article highlights a blind spot in current scholarship: researchers tend to overlook the autonomy and structural coherence of norms as a sign system, which makes it difficult to adequately describe their dynamics or predict their evolution, including legal codification. Historical and comparative evidence — from Anglo-Saxon and continental law to Chinese legal traditions and customary regulation in traditional societies — supports the universality and primary role of normative systems. This perspective extends the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis to the entire semiotic domain, suggesting that regulatory codes silently shape thought patterns and legal outcomes.