Barthes- An French philosopher and critic, who explored social theory, semiotics, the science of symbols

Pierce- American philosopher, scientist and devolved the iconic symbol.

Saussure- A Swiss linguist and semiotician or their use of interprtation

Semiotics- The study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation

Sign- Something that signifies something else 

Signifier- A sign’s physical form (such as a sound, printed word, or image) as distinct from its meaning. An object

Signified- The meaning or idea expressed by a sign

Icon- Person or thing regarded as a representative symbol

Index- A sign that has a link to its object/ association with something.

Symbol- Thing that represents or stands for something else

Code-  A system of words, letters, figures, or symbols used to represent others

Dominant Signifier- The main sign. Eg; a name

Anchorage- Words “pin down” the meaning of an image. Gives an object a meaning.

Ideology- Set of opinions or beliefs by an individual or group. Attitudes or ideas

Syntagm- A set of linguistic forms that are in a relationship to one another. Series or connection signs.

Signification- The representation or conveying of meaning.

Denotation- The literal or primary meaning of a word

Connotation- An idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning (Barthes)

Myth- A widely held but false belief or idea. Something that isn’t true.

Radical – challenges our ideas

Reaction- Suport our dominant ideology.

Paradigm- A group or collection of similar things