Definitions/ Key Terms

Barthes – the theorist who studied semiotics and developed the theory of semiotics
Pierce – CS Pierce, a philosopher, theory of signs , indexical, iconic and symbolic
Saussure – a swiss linguist and semiotician, the signifier and the signified
Semiotics – the study of signs
Sign – an object/thing/element
Signifier – A signs physical form (sound, word, image or action)
Signified – the meaning or idea expressed by a sign
Iconic sign – a sign that has a direct connection to its object
Indexical sign – a sign that has an indirect link to its object
Symbolic sign – a sign that has a random link to its object
Code – something that represents something and has meaning
Dominant Signifier – a mainly accepted form of a sign.
Anchorage – a dominant sin to fix meaning
Dominant Ideology – a set of beliefs
Paradigm – a collection of signs
Syntagm – a sequence of signs
Signifcation – the process of creating signs
Denotation – what symbol/object is clearly/ obviously there, what you can see
Connotation – what a symbol/object implies/ what its meaning is
Myth – something thats made up but loads of people believe, Barthes suggests we should question them
A radical text – challenges a dominant ideology
A reactionary text. – supports dominant ideology

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