Definitions

Barthes – one of the leading theorists of semiotics.
Pierce – an American philosopher, logician, mathematician, and scientist who came up with the three signs in media.
Saussure – one of the founders of semiotics.
Semiotics – the study of signs
Sign – a gesture or action used to convey information or an instruction.
Signifier – a sign’s physical form.
Signified – the meaning or idea expressed by a sign.
Icon -a sign that looks like its object.
Index – a sign or measure of something.
Symbol – a mark or character used as a conventional representation of an object, function, or process.
Code – a system of words, letters, figures, or symbols used to represent others.
Dominant Signifier – the most important sign on a product.
Anchorage – changing the meaning of an image to fit your viewpoint.
Ideology – when multiple people have the same viewpoint.
Paradigm – a group of signs
Syntagm – a series of signs that if one drops out it doesn’t make sense.
Signification – an exact meaning.
Denotation – the literal meaning of something.
Connotation – a feeling or meaning a word invokes.
Myth – a widely held but not necessarily true belief or idea.
Radical Text – a text that challenges the dominant ideology.
Reactionary Text – a text that supports the dominant ideology.

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