Symbol

SemioticsThe study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.Semioticsthe study of signs.The word semiotics comes from the Greek root, seme, as in semeiotikos, an interpreter of signs.Semiotics as a discipline is simply the analysis of signs and the study of the functioning of sign systems.Cobley, Paul. Introducing Semiotics. London: Icon, 2004. p. 4SignsAccording to Ferdinand de Sausurre, the founder of semiotics, a sign is composed of:The signifier the form the sign takesThe signified the concept the sign represents

Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics for Beginners.http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/semiotic.htmlMeaning-MakingHumans seem to be driven by a desire to make meaning; we are meaning-makersSigns take the form of words, images, sounds, odors, flavors, acts, or objects.These have no intrinsic meaning; they become signs when we invest them with meaning.Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics for Beginners.http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/semiotic.htmlAccording to Charles Sanders Pierce . . .We think only in signs.Nothing is a sign unless it is interpreted as a sign.Anything can be a sign as long as someone interprets it as signifying something referring to or standing in for something other than itself.

Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics for Beginners.http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/semiotic.htmlCeci nest pas une pipeThe famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture "This is a pipe," I'd have been lying!~Rene Magritte

What one must paint is the image of resemblance -- if thought is to become visible to the world.

~Rene MagritteThe Arbitrary Nature of LanguageCentral to Saussures understanding of the linguistic sign is the arbitrary nature of the bond between signifier and signified.A word is really just an arbitrary label that weve been taught to use to express a particular concept or idea. Cobley, Paul. Introducing Semiotics. London: Icon, 2004. p. 13Through the Looking-Glass, Chapter VI: Humpty Dumpty ~Lewis Carroll Dont stand chattering to yourself like that, Humpty Dumpty said, looking at her for the first time, but tell me your name and your business.My name is Alice, butIts a stupid name enough! Humpty Dumpty interrupted impatiently. What does it mean?Must a name mean something? Alice asked doubtfully. Of course it must, Humpty Dumpty said with a short laugh: my name means the shape I amand a good handsome shape it is, too. With a name like yours, you might be any shape, almost. There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents Certainly, said Alice. And only one for birthday presents, you know. Theres glory for you!I dont know what you mean by glory, Alice said. Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. Of course you donttill I tell you. I meant theres a nice knock-down argument for you! But glory doesnt mean a nice knock-down argument, Alice objected. When I use a word, Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, it means just what I choose it to meanneither more nor less.The Arbitrary Nature of LanguageThere is no inherent reason why the word tree should indicate to the concept of treeThe system only functions because signs signify meaning by virtue of their difference from other signs.Jacques Derrida called this diffrance

Language and writing are two distinct systems of signs;the second exists for the sole purpose of representing the first.~Ferdinand de SausurreDiffranceBoth speech and writing are systems of difference.Diffrance.Both words are pronounced the same exact way (especially in French), but the distinction between them can only been seen in writing.According to Jacques Derrida . . .Words and signs can never fully articulate what they mean.They can only be defined in relation to other words, from which they differ.Meaning is perpetually deferred through and endless chain of signifiers.Spectrum of Meaning ExperimentEach word (sign) contains a relation between a material substance (signifier) and a mental concept (signified).Each word also contains a relation between itself and a system of signs outside itself.This leads us to explore the notion of connotation . . . Spectrum of Meaning ExperimentFind all the words that are synonyms for said.Place them on the spectrum from Quietest LoudestDo the same for synonyms for walk.Slowest FastestDo the same for synonyms for happy, sad, excited, angry, and funny.Least GreatestDenotation vs. ConnotationDenotation the basic meaning of a word, independent of its emotional coloration or associations

Connotation the emotional implications and associations that words may carry, as distinguished from their denotative meanings.Harmon, William and Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature, 9th ed. Prentice Hall, 2003. p. 114, 144 Denotation vs. ConnotationDenotation = dictionary definition

Connotation = context, connections, culturalConnotations can be . . . (1) private and personal, the result of individual experience,

(2) group (national, linguistic, etc.), or

(3) general universal, held by all or most people. Harmon, William and Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature, 9th ed. Prentice Hall, 2003. p. 114 SignsAccording to Ferdinand de Sausurre, the founder of semiotics, a sign is composed of:The signifier the form the sign takesThe signified the concept the sign represents

Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics for Beginners.http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/semiotic.htmlSelf-Assessment ProcessRate your current understanding semiotics . . . 1 = I think it has something to do with signs10 = I fondly remember the day when I taught Monsieur Sausurre my new theory of semiotics.Read the feedback on your work from yesterday.Rate your understanding of semiotics again.Discuss the image in your small group.Rate your understanding of semiotics again.

Describe your work of artUsing all four key terms weve covered:The signifier is the form the sign takes.The signified is the concept the sign represents.The denotation is the surface or literal meaning.The connotation is the implied meaning.

Sign

SignifierSignified

DenotationConnotation

Different Types of SignsMatch the two parts of each sign together pair the signifier (physical image or sound) with the phrase that describes what is signified (the concept being represented)Sort your sign pairs into groups see if you can figure out what they have in common with each other if you need a hint, I will tell you how many different groups you should makeThree Types of SignsIcon a sign that physically resembles what it stands for a literal signIndex a sign which implies some other object or event an implied signSymbol a sign with a conventional or arbitrary relation to the signified a learned sign