Semiotics: Key Terms and Concepts (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering core terms and concepts from the semiotics lecture notes.

Semiotics

The study of signs and their meaning in society.

Sign

Anything that conveys meaning.

Signifier

The physical form of a sign (e.g., word, image).

Signified

The concept or idea referred to by the sign.

Code

A system of signs governed by rules.

Text

An interpretable set of signs.

Langue

Structured system of language shared by a community.

Parole

Individual speech acts or expressions.

Myth

Cultural narrative that naturalizes ideology (Barthes).

Intertextuality

Relationship between texts that shape meaning.

Polysemy

Capacity of a sign to have multiple meanings.

Sign (Saussure’s model)

Sign = Signifier + Signified; meaning is arbitrary and culturally constructed.

Representamen

The form of the sign in Peirce’s model.

Object (Peirce)

The thing the sign refers to in Peirce’s model.

Interpretant

The meaning produced by interpreting a sign in Peirce’s model.

Semiosis

The process of meaning-making through sign interpretation and context.

Signification

The relationship between signifier and signified; not fixed, but arbitrary and cultural.

Denotation

Literal, explicit meaning of a sign or term.

Connotation

Emotional or cultural associations tied to a sign.

Codes

Shared systems of signs (e.g., language, fashion, emojis).

Conventions

Cultural norms that shape interpretation.

Denaturalizing signs

Making explicit the codes by which signs are interpreted to reveal ideological functions.