Semiotics

Sign – Something that indicates a meaning or conveys information

Code – A tool used to convey/construct meaning.

Convention – Ways to use codes in media

Dominant Signifier – The most important and typically most obvious sign

Anchorage – Words that go along with images to give those images meaning.

Ferdinand De Saussure

Signifier – An object that conveys a meaning

Signified – The meaning of said object

C S Pierce

Icon – Type of sign that has a direct link to the object its representing e.g. a picture

Index – Type of sign where the link is caused by the object e.g. smoke caused by fire

Symbol – Type of sign where the link only exists through rule e.g. words and their meanings

Signification – The representation of meaning

Denotation – The literal meaning of something

Connotation – Any interpretation of something

Myth – A chain of concepts accepted to have a specific meaning

Idealogy – The ideals and ideas that form the basis for a meaning

Radical – Something that goes against conventions and isnt expected

Reactionary – Something that is stereotypical/expected

Syntagm – How signs are positioned with each other to make sense

Paradigm – A collection of similar signs