Semiotics: The Science of the Signs

 

The conceptual model of semiotics (Stumm, 2016).

This post explains the semiotic method, which investigates how meaning of a sign is constructed and understood. As Berger (2010) explains, the roots of it originally comes from Greek as a science that deals with signs (p. 4). It has two founding fathers who developed this idea further: Peirce, a logician (1839-1914), and Saussure, a linguist (1857-1913). Every day we send messages by everything we do as various codes, which are often unconscious and unclarified rules. Peirce describes this as a sociocultural phenomenon of objects and events, which are defined not by their existence but their relation to other signs. He distinguishes signs into symbol, icon and index. Saussure, on the other hand, focuses especially on language, which is a system of signs what can be compared to writing (2010, p. 6). It shows the main goal of the semiotic analysis: What constitutes a sign and the rules what govern these within society (2010, p. 5). Saussure explains language exists only because we speak according to the system behind speech. As an example, words are as physical signifiers and a concept is signified. It is called denotation as the form person can see and the idea it presents. The signifier changes in different languages to represent the same concept. This is the associative part of connotation presenting the usage of language. He argued if the meaning of language is produced in speech, it also must construct meaning to everything else like the way we behave. As well, he provides two perspectives to study the signs in a certain community. It happens synchronically at a certain time or diachronically after a process of development (2010, p. 6).

Saussure claims a sign consists of two parts: Signifier and signified. The signified is an object or event where the sign refers to, like the one created for the terrorist attacks on Paris. It alludes to a specific event of the past as a memorial to the lost ones. There can be seen the peace-sign, what the Eiffel Tower is part of. Sign do not have meaning by itself, but it constructs its function and meaning in relation to others. As conceptually defined, “… as a spoken or written word, a drawn figure, or a material object unified in the mind with a particular cultural concept,” (Berger, 2010, p. 3). According to Saussure, signs are complicated matter as they never are fully arbitrary. Sign is used in the semiotics to explore the complex meanings of an icon, symbol and index without fitting to these categories.

A sign of peace and love after the terrorist attacks on Paris (Gonzalez, 2015).

Icons refer to objects being recognised by their semblance and likeness. Branston and Stafford (2003, p.14) argue it is connected to the term ‘motivated’, illustrating how some aspects of the signifier equate to the signified like WhatsApp on the phone. Iconic signifiers always must refer to a particular image, for example a chat conversation, to allude to a sign’s ideology everyone know (2003). Especially, the likeness how the chat in WhatsApp looks like clearly presents a certain way of communication, this specific image is an icon for the application. Icons have to be learned, but it happens easily through simple signs like in traffic.

Icon as a graphic image of WhatsApp and social media (2017).

A symbol is an interpretative form of a sign with a certain rule attached to it, creating meaning to an object. Symbols have important historical and cultural meanings being significant in the society (Berger, 2010). They become attached to individuals as they develop in certain communities and help us to make sense of life and shape who we are. It can be part of the religion or nationalism but also a status, like a wealthy person driving a Ferrari. Peirce argues that symbols have an arbitrary relationship with what it stands for.

A symbol of Ferrari presenting the status and ideals of a driver (2016).

Indexes show the actual connection between two things, differing the most from the other signs. It exemplifies the causality making a direct link to what it signifies. This could be, for example smoke referring to fire, but also snow linked to a cold winter. Some indexes can even indicate two different meanings- like tears of sadness and happiness. Moreover, both index and symbol have to be learned but index is not arbitrary.

The direct link between two things: Snow and a frosty winter (2017).

Moreover, semiotics is used as a method in multiple ways. Berger (2010) explains it can be studied, for example in advertisement, to see the difference of successful marketing strategies in various cultures. It reveals the behaviour in communities as a cultural phenomenon. This method can also be used to analyse people’s media consumption and understanding of marketers’ messages. Branston and Stafford (2003) mention how earlier media research was attached to literature or science, like to understand how the truth was defined. Still, there was no clear base for these assumptions. Structuralism became popular as critical analysis: “These approaches tried to ‘hold off’ questions of the value of different stories or images…to explore the ways in which meanings are constructed,” (2003, p.12). Nowadays, semiotics is used as a qualitative approach to relate texts to their ‘surrounding social orders’ (2003, p. 11). An analysis of a photograph illustrates this: The publication platform influences on its trustfulness, like The New York Times is trustworthy. In other formats, it can be assumed as amateurish or fake. Importantly, the significance of semiotics lies in the signs, whose meanings normally are invisible, and through this method they become visible.

The study of signs and their hidden meaning (April 28, 2013).

 

References

Berger, A. A. (2010). The Objects of Affection: Semiotics and Consumer Culture. London: Palgrave Macmillan. (chapter 1: “The Science of Signs, pp. 3-31).

Branston, G., & Stafford, R. (2003). The Media Student’s Book. London/New York: Psychology Press. (chapter: “Semiotic Approaches”, pp. 11-17).

Gonzalez, R. (2015). A sign of peace and love after the terroristic attacks on Paris. [image]. Retrieved from httbs//www.wired.com/2015/11/jean-jullien-peace-for-paris/.

Stumm, J. (2016). Conceptual model of semiotics. [image]. Retrieved from https://sites.psu.edu/stumm472/the-key-to-pr-success-the-semiotic-theory/.

(2013, April 28) The study of signs and their hidden meanings. [image]. Retrieved from https://raghadaouir.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/semiotics-also-called-semiotic-studies-and-including-in-the-saussurean-tradition-semiology-is/.

(2016) A symbol of Ferrari presenting the status and ideals of a driver. [image]. Retrieved from http://www.carlogos.org/Car-Logos/Ferrari-logo.html.

(2017). Icons as graphic images of (social) media. [image]. Retrieved from: https://www.shutterstock.com/search/icons.

(2017) The direct link between two things: Snow and a frosty winter. [image]. Retrieved from http://wallpaperswide.com/snowing-wallpapers.html.

 

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