Semiotics and Signs

The sign of semiotics (Saussure’s Model)

The sign: A basic unit of meaning, consisting of 2 parts:

Signifier: The form that the sign takes – what we perceive (e.g., word, image, sound)

Signified: The mental concept that the signifier refers to (e.g., the idea or meaning behind the word or image)

Pierce’s Triadic Model of Signs

Icon: A sign that resembles what it represents (e.g., photograph, painting)

Index: A sign that has a direct causal relationship with its referent (e.g., smoke is an index of fire)

Symbol: A sign that has an arbitrary or learned association with its referent

Connotation

The secondary, cultural, or emotional association linked ot the sign – subjective and culturally dependent

Denotation

The literal, surface-level meaning of a sign – the objective, dictionary definition.

Rhetoric

How language is manipulated for particular purposes that can lead to a rhetorical analysis which considers all elements of the rhetorical situation –the audience, purpose, medium, and context– within which a communication was generated and delivered in order to make an argument about that communication (1. Description, 2. Analysis, 3. Evaluation)

Example of rhetoric

Amanda Knox Case