Semiotics

1. Sign – an object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else.
2. Code – Symbolic tools used to create meaning
3. Convention – Accepted ways of using media code
4. Dominant Signifier – Any material thing that signifies
5. Anchorage – Words with an image to provide context

Ferdinand de Saussure

1. Signifier – a sign’s physical form (such as a sound, printed word, or image) as distinct from its meaning.
2. Signified – the meaning or idea expressed by a sign, as distinct from the physical form in which it is expressed.

C S Pierce

1. Icon – A sign that looks like its object
2. Index – A sign or measure of something.
3. Symbol – A sign that has a more random link to its object

Roland Barthes

1. Signification – the representation or conveying of meaning
2. Denotation – the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests
3. Connotation – an idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning
4. Myth – a widely held but false belief or idea