Semiotics

1. Sign – Stands in for something else
2. Code – Symbolic tools used to create meaning
3. Convention – Accepted ways of using media code
4. Dominant Signifier – The main representative
5. Anchorage – Words with an image to provide context

Ferdinand de Saussure:

1. Signifier – Stands in for something else
2. Signified – Idea being evoked by signifier

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 a more 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.

1. Paradigm – A collection of signs that all have some sort of connection.
2. Syntagm –  How signs and things are put together and fitted together.

Semiotics

1. Sign: Something that shows or represents something related.
2. Code: Symbols that create meaning in something.
3. Convention: The ways of using code in media.
4. Dominant Signifier: The main sign that represents everything.
5. Anchorage: An image with words that has context.

Ferdinand de Saussure:

1. Signifier: A signs physical form.
2. Signified: The meaning or idea expressed from a sign.

C S Pierce:

1. Icon: A person or thing represented as a symbol.
2. Index: A sign or measure of something.
3. Symbol: Something that stands for something else.

Roland Barthes:

1. Signification: The act of signifying by signs.
2. Denotation: a direct and specific meaning.
3. Connotation: An idea or feeling.
4. Myth: A traditional story.
5. Ideology: A system of ideas and ideals.
6. Radical: Very new and different from the ordinary.
7. Reactionary: A favoring reaction.

1. Paradigm: A type of pattern of something.
2. Syntangm: A combination of interacting signifiers.

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

Semiotics:

1. Sign – Possible to stand for something else
2. Code – Technical and Symbolic codes
3. Convention – the general ways of doing something
4. Dominant Signifier, – Something that stands out
5. Anchorage – an image with context to give meaning

Ferdinand de Saussure:

1. Signifier, – the material form, seen, heard, touch etc
2. Signified, – the mental concept

C S Pierce:

1. Icon, – looks like the object
2. Index, – something that relates to the object
3. Symbol – random link to the object, numbers, colours, alphabets

Roland Barthes:

1. Signification, – a code that we read
2. Denotation, – a description of what you can see in the image
3. Connotation – the meaning we have with the image
4. Myth – to communicate cultural and political meanings
5. Ideology, – a world view of how society should function
6. radical – challenges dominants ideas
7. reactionary – confirming dominants ideas

1. Paradigm – create differentiation in meaning
2. Syntagma – an orderly combination of interacting signifiers which forms a meaningful whole

Key language:

Semiotics

1. Sign – traffic lights
2. Code – how the combination of elements within a sign fit together and fix the meaning
3. Convention –
4. Dominant Signifier, –
5. Anchorage – how things within a sign fit together and fix the meaning

Ferdinand de Saussure:

1. Signifier, signifier and signified is where an image or word evokes the mind to think what it is and to think of a word
2. Signified,

C S Pierce:

1. Icon, icon is where something is a sign that looks like an object
2. Index, index is where a sign has a link to its object
3. Symbol, symbol is where a sign has an arbitrary or random link to its object

Roland Barthes:

1. Signifcation,
2. Denotation,
3. Connotation
4. Myth
5. Ideology,
6. radical
7. reactionary

Reactionary, going with a specific way of thinking

Radical, going against a specific way of thinking

C S Peirce: is the creator of the three signs they were Icon, Index, Symbol

Ferdinand de saussure: the creator signifier and signified is where an image or word evokes the mind to think what it is and to think of a word

Roland Barthes:

Semiotics

Sign – Something which stand for something else

Code – Technical, written and symbolic tools used to suggest or create meaning in media forms

Convention – Accepted ways of doing something

Dominant signifier – The main representative

Anchorage – Words with an image to give context

Ferdinand de Saussure

Signifier – Stands in for something else

Signified – Idea being evoked by signifier

C S Pierce

Iconic – An icon is something that looks like an object e.g. camera work, sets, props

Index – A sign that has a link to its object e.g. sounds or props

Symbol – A sign that has an arbitrary or random link to its object (colours, shapes, textures)

Roland Barthes

Signification – Structural levels of signification, meaning or representation

Denotation – First level analysis (what a reader can see on the page)

Connotation – Meaning or associations we have with an image

Myth – Naturalises events turning history into nature

Ideology – A world view about how society should function

Radical – Something you would not expect/out of the ordinary

Reactionary – What you would expect/follows stereotypes

Paradigm – A typical example or pattern of something

Syntagym – An orderly combination of interacting signifiers which forms a meaningful whole

Semiotics

Sign – In semiotics, a sign is anything that communicates a meaning that is not the sign itself to the interpreter of the sign.

Code – In semiotics, a code is a set of conventions or sub-codes currently in use to communicate meaning.

Convention –

Dominant Signifier – any material thing that signifies, e.g., words on a page, a facial expression, an image. 

Anchorage – The term anchorage is used to describe how the combination of elements within a sign fit together and fix the meaning. Anchorage is the way different media language elements combine to help fix the meaning that a producer wants to convey to the audience.

Ferdinand de Saussure

Signifier – n/a

Signified – Signified is a concept, most commonly related to semiotics, that can be described as “the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.

C S Pierce

Icon – 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

Index – An index describes the connection between signifier and signified. With an index, the signifier can not exist without the presence of the signified. For example smoke is an index of fire and dark clouds are an index of rain.

Symbol – Signs where the relation between signifier and signified is purely conventional and culturally specific, e.g., most words.

Roland Barthes

Signification – n/a

Denotation – The most basic or literal meaning of a sign, e.g., the word “rose” signifies a particular kind of flower.

Connotation – The secondary, cultural meanings of signs; or “signifying signs,” signs that are used as signifiers for a secondary meaning, e.g., the word “rose” signifies passion.

Myth – A combination of paradigms and syntagms that make up an oft-told story with elaborate cultural associations, e.g., the cowboy myth, the romance myth.

Ideology – A codes that reinforce or are congruent with structures of power. Ideology works largely by creating forms of “common sense,” of the taken-for-granted in everyday life.

Radical – A piece of media which challenges the common perception of the group its about.

Reactionary – A piece of media which reflects the usual perception of the group its about.