Semiotic Analysis

Semiotic Analysis of Texts

Definition Semiotics: Study of signs;


Science that studies the role of signs as part of social life;


Science that studies the role of signs as part of social life;

Sign: Anything that carries meaning

Definition Science that studies the role of signs as part

of social life;

Sign: Anything that carries meaning

Semiotics: Study of signs;

Text: world of signs; “an assemblage of signs (such as words,

images, sounds and gestures) constructed and interpreted with reference to the conventions associated with a genre and in a particular medium of communication”

Development of Semiotics

Developed under Peirce (1839-1914) and Saussure (1857-1913) but acquired most significance under Roland Barthes (1915-1980) for his exploration of the political dimension of social communication;



Politics/Ideology: ‘all social behavior is political since it reflects some personal or group interest’.




Politics is another name for the clash of ideologies that takes place in any complex society where the interests of all those who belong to it constantly compete with one another.




Politics is another name for the clash of ideologies that takes place in any complex society where the interests of all those who belong to it constantly compete with one another.

Semiotic analysis reveals political values subtly concealed behind an apparently apolitical façade of a film.

Semiotic Interpretation Difference between questions:

What made Beatles so good vs What made Beatles so big?



Meaning of a thing lies largely in its relations to other things, both in its similarities and differences



Meaning of a thing lies largely in its relations to other things, both in its similarities and differences.

By establishing these relationships, one identifies the system in which a sign works.



Meaning of a thing lies largely in its relations to other things, both in its similarities and differences.

By establishing these relationships, one identifies the system in which a sign works.

Mythologies: systems of values/beliefs that govern our behavior in a culture, i.e., gender roles, etc.

Importance of Studying Semiotics

Why study semiotics:

A) It helps us not to take ‘reality’ for granted as having a purely objective existence, independent of human interpretation;




B) Teaches us that reality is a system of signs;





C) Assists us to become more aware of reality as a construction and the roles played by ourselves and others in constructing it;





C) Assists us to become more aware of reality as a construction and the roles played by ourselves and others in constructing it;

D) Helps us realize that information or meaning is not ‘contained’ in the world or in books, computers or audio-visual media.


E) Helps us understand that meaning is not ‘transmitted’ to us –we actively create it according to a complex interplay of codes or conventions of which we are normally unaware;



F) Becoming aware of such codes is fascinating and intellectually empowering;




G) By making more explicit the codes by which signs are interpreted we perform the valuable semiotic function of ‘denaturalizing’ signs;





H) Deconstructing and contesting the realities of signs can reveal whose realities are privileged and whose are suppressed;





H) Deconstructing and contesting the realities of signs can reveal whose realities are privileged and whose are suppressed;

I) To decline such a study is to leave to others the control of the world of meanings which we inhabit;

Results of Semiotic Analysis

Cultural Values;


Cultural Values;

Personal identity;


Cultural Values;

Personal identity;

Patterns of behavior;


Cultural Values;

Personal identity;

Patterns of behavior;

Cultural differences;

Structure of Signs Saussure offered a ‘dyadic’ or two-part

model of the sign:

a ‘signifier’ – the form which the sign takes;

the ‘signified’ – the concept it represents;

Structure of Signs Saussure offered a ‘dyadic’ or two-part

model of the sign:



Signs are arbitrary; makes sense through their relations to one another, i.e., word ‘tree’ no relation to the actual object;

Structure of Signs Saussure offered a ‘dyadic’ or two-part model

of the sign:



Signs are arbitrary; makes sense through their relations to one another, i.e., word ‘tree’ no relation to the actual object;

Sign is more than the sum of its parts, i.e., the French word ‘mouton’ may mean ‘sheep’ but does not have same value.

Arbitrariness of the Sign

Radical concept because it proposes the autonomy of language in relation to reality;



Language does not ‘reflect’ reality; it constructs it.




Since no one-to one link between signifier and signified, signs have multiple rather than single meaning.





Relationship between signifier and signified is conventional;





Relationship between signifier and signified is conventional;

Every sign acquires a history which are familiar to members of the sign-users’ culture;

Documents

Semiotic Analysis