Definitions

Roland Barthes – was a French literal theorist, philosopher, critic and semiotician.

C.S Pierce – was an American philosopher, logician, mathematician and scientist who is sometimes referred to as “the father of pragmatism”.

Ferdinand de Saussure – was a Swiss linguist and semiotician. His ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in both linguistics and semiology in the 20th century.

Semiotics – the study of signs and symbols and their use and interpretation.

Sign – an object, gesture or action that is used to convey information or an instruction.

Signifier – a signs physical form. (Saussure)

Signified – the meaning expressed by a sign.

Iconic signs – a sign that is directly connected to something.

Indexical signs – something that is indirectly connected to a sign .

symbol – a symbol has no resemblance between the signifier and the signified.

Code – a system of words, letters, figures or symbols used to represent other things.

Dominant Signifier – most accepted meaning of a sign. The main sign.

Anchorage – directs the viewer to a chosen meaning.

Ideology – set of ideas or beliefs.

Paradigm – a typical example or pattern of similar signs.

Syntagm – when signs occur in a series and operate together to create a meaning.

Signification – a representation or conveying a message.

Denotation – the literal meaning of a word. (Barthes)

Connotation – the abstract meaning of a term.

Myth – a false belief or idea.

Radical text – Something that challenges society and ideology.

Reactionary text – Something that supports ideas.

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