Key language:

Semiotics

1. Sign – Something that can stand for something else.
2. Code – A combination of semiotic systems.
3. Convention – What signs are meaningfully organised into.
4. Dominant Signifier – Main signifier that stands out.
5. Anchorage – Describe how the combination of elements within a sign fit together and fix the meaning. 

Ferdinand de Saussure:

1. Signifier – Any material thing that signifies something.
2. Signified – The concept that a signifier refers to.
3. Paradigm – Collection of similar signs.
4. Syntagm – Order of in which signs go and how they link with each other.

C S Pierce:

1. Icon – A sign that looks like its object.
2. Index – A sign that has a link to its object.
3. Symbol – A sign that has an arbitrary or random link to its object.

Roland Barthes:

1. Signification – Structural levels of signification, meaning or representation.
2. Denotation –  The most basic or literal meaning of a sign.
3. Connotation – The secondary, cultural meanings of signs; or “signifying signs,” signs that are used as signifiers for a secondary meaning.
4. Myth – The most obvious level of signification, but distorts meaning by validating arbitrary cultural assumptions in a way similar to the denotative sign.
5. Ideology – codes that reinforce or are congruent with structures of power.
6. Radical – Something that challenges dominant ideas.
7. Reactionary – Something that confirms dominant ideas.

C.S. Peirce – Peirce’s seminal work in the field was anchored in pragmatism and logic. He defined a sign as “something which stands to somebody for something,” and one of his major contributions to semiotics was the categorization of signs into three main types: (1) an icon, which resembles its referent (such as a road sign for falling rocks); (2) an index, which is associated with its referent (as smoke is a sign of fire); and (3) a symbol, which is related to its referent only by convention (as with words or traffic signals). Peirce also demonstrated that a sign can never have a definite meaning, for the meaning must be continuously qualified.

Ferdinand De Saussure – Swiss linguist, semiotician and philosopher. His ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in both linguistics and semiotics in the 20th century.

Roland Barthes – French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. Barthes’ ideas explored a diverse range of fields and he influenced the development of many schools of theory, including structuralism, semiotics, social theory, design theory, anthropology and post-structuralism.

SEMIOTICS

Sign- stands in for something else

Code- used to construct meaning in media forms

Convention- the accepted way of doing something

Dominant signifier- the main thing that stands in for something else

Anchorage- words that go along with an image to give meaning of context

FERDINAND DE SAUSSURE= Ferdinand de Saussure was a Swiss linguist, semiotician and philosopher. He believed that semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign.

Signifier- stands in for something else

Signified- thing or idea trying to be evoked

CS PIERCE= Charles Sanders Peirce was an American philosopher, logician, mathematician and scientist. His Sign Theory, or Semiotic, is an account of signification, representation, reference and meaning.

Icon- physically resembles an object

Index- has a link to an object

Symbol- no relation to object/ decided by society two things should be linked

ROLAND BARTHES= Roland Gérard Barthes was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His Semiotic Theory broke down the process of reading signs and focused on their interpretation by different cultures or societies

Signification- process of the construction of meaning from the signs

Denotation- first level analysis (what a reader can see on the page)

Connotation- meanings or associations we have with the image

Myth- naturalizes events turning history into nature

Ideology- a world view about how society should fuction

Radical- something you wouldn’t expect / out of the ordinary

Reactionary- what you would expect/ follows stereotypes

Paradigm- collection of similar signs

Syntagm- order of signs linking to each other

Semiotics: The study of signs

1. Sign, stands in for something else
2. Code, used to construct meaning in media forms
3. Convention, the accepted way of doing something
4. Dominant Signifier, the main thing that stands in for something else
5. Anchorage, words that go along with an image to give meaning of context

Ferdinand de Saussure: Saussure believed in a concept, that can be described as “the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.” Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, one of the two founders of semiotics, introduced these terms as the two main planes, these terms being the ‘signifier’ and the ‘signified’.

1. Signifier, stands in for something else
2. Signified, thing or idea trying to be evoked
3. Syntagm, a sequence or length of things in order to form meaning
4. Paradigm, a collection of similar signs

C S Pierce: Pierce believed that there were only 3 signs ever, Iconic, Indexical and symbolic. Furthermore this implies that everything is made up of these 3 signs.

1. Icon, a sign that looks like its object (think of camerawork, sets, props, and Mise-En-Scene)
2. Index, A sign that has a link to its object (Think of sounds, props)
3. Symbol, a sign that has an arbitrary or random link to its object (think of colours, textures, shapes, sounds)

Roland Barthes: Barthes semiotician work focused on the signs in the news and how to read them, he would take apart scenes in the news to analyse them more easily and find out what the news is actually saying.

1. Signifcation, process of the construction of meaning from the signs
2. Denotation, first level analysis (what a reader can see on the page)
3. Connotation, meanings or associations we have with the image
4. Myth, naturalizes events turning history into nature
5. Ideology, a world view about how society should function
6. radical, something you wouldn’t expect / out of the ordinary
7. reactionary, what you would expect/ follows stereotypes

C.S Pierce

Icon – Something that physically resembles a thing or an idea.

Index – Something that has a direct relation to a thing or idea.

Symbol – Something that society decides should have a link to something else, no actual relation.

Roland Barthes

Signification – The representation and conveying of meaning.

Denotation – A a fixed, objective and literal interpretation of a thing or idea.

Connotation – An abstract interpretation of a term, creating commonly understood associations with things.

Myth – Ideas which are commonly believed and spread by people, which are often untrue or only partly true.

Ideology – Systems of ideas which often form the basis of how society should function.

Radical – Something which challenges stereotypical ideas and is out of the ordinary.

Reactionary – Something which is expected, follows and confirms usual stereotypes and is easy to relate to.

Semiotics

Sign – Something which stands for something else.

Code – Something used to construct meaning in media forms.

Convention – The commonly accepted way of doing something.

Dominant Signifier – The main thing which stands in for something else.

Anchorage – Words which go with images to convey meaning or context.

Ferdinand de Saussure

Signifier – The real and literal existence of an object or feeling.

Signified – The mental link to a concept formed by human society.

Paradigm – A collection of similar signs.

Syntagym – A sequence of signs, with the idea of one sign linking and connecting to another in a certain order.

Semiotics

1. Sign: A gesture, action or thing that displays information or instruction
2. Code: Letters, words, symbols or figures used to represent others
3. Convention: A way that something is done
4. Dominant Signifier: The main sign
5. Anchorage: Words that go with images to give them a specific context

Ferdinand de Saussure:

1. Signifier: The thing, item or code that we read
2. Signified: The context behind the thing that is being represented
3. Syntagm: Sequence; order in which they go and how one sign links to another
4. Paradigm: Collection of similar signs; a group of things that are similar

C S Pierce:

1. Icon: A sign that looks like its object
2. Index: A sign that has a link to it’s subject
3. Symbol: A sign that has a random link to it’s subject

Roland Barthes:

1. Signification: The process of signifying by signs or symbols
2. Denotation: A literal meaning of a word in contrast to the feelings or ideas behind it
3. Connotation: A feeling that invokes for a person in addition to its literal meaning
4. Myth: Something that is made up and widely false; a rumour
5. Ideology: A system of ideas which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy
6. Radical: Challenges dominant ideas
7. Reactionary: Confirms dominant ideas

People:

Ferdinand de Saussure: The father or semiotics. The founder of modern theoretical linguistics

C S Pierce: The founder of the idea that an account of signification, representation, reference and meaning. The earliest proponent of pragmatism.

Roland Barthes: The founder of the Semiotic theory broke down the process of reading signs and focused on their interpretation by different cultures or societies. He established structuralism and the new criticism.