Semiotics understandings

There are three main types of signs:

- Iconic signs: The signifier is connected to the signified through the principle of resemblance. Iconic signs are obviously important for images, since many images resemble what they refer to – but not always. Consider image on a male/female toilet.

- Indexical signs: The signifier makes you think of the signified because the two are frequently physically connected in the real world (the principle of contiguity). Cause-and-effect links are good examples of indexical signs: smoke is caused by fire and contiguous with it, and therefore the smell of smoke (signifier) makes you think of fire (signified).

- Symbolic signs: [purely artificial] the signifier is linked to the signified only by an arbitrary, human-imposed convention. There is no physical connection or natural resemblance between the English word “dog” and the concept *dog*. Any other signifier could just as plausibly be used to convey that concept, provided a group of people agree to do so, and indeed in German, “Hund” ➞ *dog*; in Spanish, “perro” ➞ *dog*; in French, “chien” ➞ *dog*, and so on.


Useful vocab:

Semiotics The study of Signs
Sign A sign is anything that conveys meaning. A sign is made up of two parts; the signifier and the signified.

Signifier Is the sign itself. A picture, words, music whatever.
Signified Is the meaning taken from the sign.
Denotation Is the first order meaning – the obvious meaning of the sign.
Connotation Is a deeper less obvious meaning – often implied through convention.
IntertextualityRefers to the relationship between texts, where texts reference one another. For example all texts from one particular genre are intertextually linked. A Music Magazine will be intertextually linked to a song that the magazine reviews/features.
Polysemic Literally means many meanings. All signs have multiple meanings. This might refer more to connotative meaning more than denotative meaning. The meaning we take from a sign might be influenced by our, age, gender, ethnicity or the context of viewing amongst other things.
Didactic Didactic texts are more likely to have denotative obvious meaning and are less open to interpretation.
Syntagmatic Syntagmatic connotation refers to the meaning signs make when they work together. For example a caption under a photograph.
Anchorage Media Producers use anchorage to prevent signs from being polysemic. They anchor the meaning of a text by using a supporting to sign. There fore signs work together syntagmatically to anchor the meaning and prevent polysemic readings.