The Semiotics of Radio

Andrew Crissell sets out FOUR main categories to understand the language of radio: WORDS, SOUNDS, MUSIC & SILENCE. As such, the most important factor is understanding how sound is recorded, so think about and practice with sound recording technologies, particularly microphones and the ability to maximise sound to noise ratios by appropriately recording your sounds by setting the correct input and output levels on your recording device.

SOUNDS

Unlike words, which are human intervention, sound is ‘natural’ – a form of signification which exists ‘out there’ in the real world. Crissell p. 44

Sounds are the ‘field’ where auditory (radio) work is developed. As mentioned above, sounds can be understood as recognisable (iconic) or suggestive (indexical), sounds can also be used to create an abstract, arbritary (creative?) auditory framework. A good task is to just close your eyes and reflect on all the sounds that you are able to pick up on. Following this try listening to any radio production and identify the separate elements into different categories.

MUSIC

A clear range of recognisable sounds heard through radio productions can be categorised in terms of MUSIC. Music is often used to construct whole texts of radio production – ie a specific radio programme – where the music that is played forms a paradigm of signifiers that provide anchorage that is fixes the meaning of a particular programme or section. However, music is also used to ‘frame‘ particular elements. For example, the use of a jingle or ‘ident‘ can be used as a sound bridge that , when edited over other material, create a seamless flow between different sections of a broadcast; or even to connect different programmes together. They can also be used as adverts and trailers to flag up and announce other programmes.

Music can be broadly thought of in terms of tone, volume, rhythm, melody, harmony etc. It could also be discussed in terms of technical codes, think for example of the processess that music goes through to be recorded and mixed together, such as sound balance, relative volumes and the use of digital processing, use of reverb, effects, frequency equalisation, compression, limiting etc. It is also possible to analyse elements that are connected to each piece of music, for example, instrumentation, performer, genre, history, culture, etc.

SILENCE

One of the most powerful and thereby rarely used signs in radio production is silence. The absence of sound can suggest a range of ideas – high drama, breakdown, comedy, pause for thought etc.

WORDS

words are signs which do not resemble what they represent’ as such, ‘their symbolism is the basis of radio’s imaginative appeal Crissell p.43

The key code in the language of radio is verbal and to understand the meaning of words, it is necessary to pay attention to what words are used in a radio production: vocabulary and grammar as well as the way in which specific words are used: dialect, accent, stress, intonation etc. For many students, this is a recognisable approach to understanding ‘language’ that they will have picked up in English Literature and Language classes. However, the language of radio considers more than just the spoken word and requires an understanding and critical analysis of a range of technical and cultural codes that are significant in terms of constructing meaning. For example, the way in which sound is recorded and edited is crucial in terms of both creativity and meaning.

In both the recording and editing of words and sounds, there is a priority, foregrounding important elements over less important elements. This can be recognised as the technical construction of auditory signs.

The Semiotics of SOUND

When analysing media languages in specific texts, you are usually adopting a semiotic approach, identifying and de-coding a number of signs and symbols. As such, you are looking to connect the signifier (the thing you hear) and the signified (what it means): Ferdinand de Saussure. Or, put another way, you are trying to understand signs as they operate as denotations, connotations and myths: Roland Barthes.

As a more interesting exercise try linking auditory signs to the three cateogries provided by C. S. Pierce: icon, index and symbol.

In that, an ICONIC SOUND will actually sound like its’ object – a person, a mode of transport, elements of nature etc etc.

An INDEXICAL SOUND, will create an association to it’s object – the sound of somebody moving, thinking, or the sound of a particular location or geography. Think for example, the use of acoustics in creating a sense of space (indoor/outdoor, big room/small room etc) which can be achieved by microphone placement, or sound processing such as, reverb.

Finally, a SYMBOLIC SOUND is one that is more arbitrary, random and vague. A sign that is understood usually by agreement, often through a specific culture, time or place – think for example, of the ‘crackle’ sound of old radio productions. Or any number of sound effects – echo, reverb, distortion, phase etc.

Remember that a sign could be operating in more than one category at the same time.