Semiotics

This week included a first for me. The first time i have heard of Semiotics; the study of signs. Ferdinand de Saussure stated that ‘[it is] possible to conceive of a science which studies the role of signs as part of social life’ [Saussure 1983, 15-16] and so, did that by founding Semiotics and Linguistics. Signs can be basic, such as road signs or star signs; ones that everyone sees regularly and have become accustomed to knowing. However, what I have found more interesting are those signs within photographs and paintings. Within an image or painting, or even a film, a rose for example is classed as a signifier; a physical form. However, the significance of this rose would be love which we unconsciously recognise. To describe the relationship between the signifier and the significance, the words connotation and denotation can be used. Denotation is the literal meaning of the word, and connotation is the association which the word creates, again seen in the situation with the rose and the emotion. This theory was explained by semiotician and philosopher Roland Barthes. However, he expressed how the connotation of a subject can be perceived differently by various cultures in many of his books, but mostly in Mythologies [Barthes, R (2009). Mythologies. New York: Vintage Classics.]

I intend to continue reading a few of his books and developing my knowledge in Semiotics.