Intro to Communications 2410.09/06

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Intro to Communications 2410.09/06

• Culture and Content
• - I -

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Culture and ContentLecture Overview

• defining structure
• defining structuralism
• disciplinary deployments
• defining semiotics
• the theoretical constructs of semiotics.

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Defining Structure

• A structure is an arrangement of entities,
• units or objects which embodies the
• following principles

• the idea of wholeness
• the idea of transformation
• the idea of self-regulation.

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Defining Structuralism

• structuralism is a way of thinking about and
  acting in the world which is concerned with the
  perception, description and manipulation of
  structures as these have been previously defined
• the nature or meaning of any given element in any
  structure has no significance in and of itself,
  but rather is determined by its relationship to
  the other elements of the structure
• finally, then, structuralism seeks to discover
  permanent structures, whether material, social or
  psychological which inform human activities,
  perceptions and expression.

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Disciplinary Deployment

• linguistics F.de Saussure - R. Jakobson -
  Russian Formalism
• anthropology Claude Lévi-Strauss
• logic Charles Saunders Peirce
• psychology Jacques Lacan
• social sciences as structural semiotics
• Roland Barthes, Umberto Echo, Sebeok, Morris

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Semiotics

• Definition
• At its most elementary, semiotics is
  understood as the science of signs, that
• is to say, the study of the deployment of
• signs in terms of how these generate meaning.

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A science which studies the life of signs in
society is conceivable it would be part of
social psychology and conse-quently a general
psychology I shall call it semiology ( from the
Greek semeion sign). Semiology would show what
constitutes signs, what laws govern them.
Ferdinand de Saussure, Course in General
Linguistics, p. 16
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Theoretical Concepts

• the nature of the sign itself
• three types of signs
• langue and parole
• diachronic plane and synchronic plane
• the arbitrary nature of the sign
• denotation and connotation
• metaphor and metonymy.

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Early Signs Pictograms
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Early Phonetic Signs
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Moderns Signs and Logos
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The Semiotic Sign

• based on the structure of language itself, the
  semiotic sign is constituted of two elements
• the signifier (Sr) as the material dimension of
  the sign
• the signified (Sd) as that which the sign stands
  for -
• the mental image which the sign evokes

Sr

S
Sd
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The Semiotic Sign
material expression
Sr
Tree
S

what it refers to
Sd
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Three Types of Signs

• the icon
• resembles that which it stands for
• the symbol
• assumes its meaning only through
• collective consensus
• the index
• refers to something hidden
• or not present.

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Langue and the Paradigmatic Dimension of
Signification

• The paradigmatic dimension of language, know as
  langue, consists of all the possible signs
  within any given system of representation
• in a language, this would means all the words
  that constitute the language itself in music,
  this would include all the possible combinations
  of tones, timbres, rhythms, durations,
  performative gestures, rests and so forth...

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Parole and the Syntagmatic Dimension of
Signification

• The syntagmatic dimension of language, known as
  parole, consists of the specific signs deployed
  to generate meaning within any given expressive
  event, moment or structure in language, this
  would mean the words that constitute the
  particularity of any speech act or utterance,
  i.e. as they are used in a sentence in music,
  one might think of a phrase, passage or riff...

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The Diachronic and Synchronic Planes of
Signification

• Refers to the temporal dimension of the
  relationship between signs within any given
  system of signification
• The diachronic plane is the macro level of
  analysis it considers the sequence of all the
  signs in the signifying chain in terms of how
  these serve to generate meaning.
• example an entire novel or movie
• The synchronic plane is the micro level of
  analysis it considers how a specific and limited
  structure of signs can be productive of a
  particular meaning.
• example a chapter within a novel or a scene
  in a movie

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The Arbitrary Nature of the Sign

• According to Ferdinand de Saussure, all
  linguistic signs are arbitrary in nature, that is
  to say, they have no apparent or inherent meaning
  attached to them and they only signify through an
  apparatus of relationships which can be said to
  be based on a system of difference and opposition
  between signs articulated to their symbolic and
  cultural contexts.

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Denotation and Connotation

• Denotation that which the sign immediately
  represents or stands for for example a picture
  of a car represents a car and nothing more.
• Connotation according to Barthes, involves two
  different orders of signification
• Language or convention the immediate meaning
  that the sign evokes
• Social or mythological the social or associative
  meaning which any sign can evoke.

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Roland Barthes Diagram of Denotation and
Connotation
1. Signifier
2. Signified
Denotation a car simply refers to the
mechanical devices that people drive
Car
language
3. Sign
MYTH
I. Signifier
II. Signified
III. Sign
Connotation a car stands for the entire social
apparatus of individual transportation including
roads, laws, techno- logy, environment,
life-style and so forth...
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The Open-Ended and Dynamic Nature of Language

• Language can be said to be open-ended because new
  words are continuously being added to the
  system/structure of language
• Language can be said to be dynamic because the
  meaning of words themselves can be said to change
  over time.

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The Open-Ended and Dynamic Nature of Language

• Open-ended many words we commonly use today,
  such as internet or walkman only entered the
  language recently, between 1960 and 1980.
• Dynamic the word cool once referred
  exclusively to temperature it then was used to
  represent a certain attitude of detachment
  finally, it came to represent the desirability of
  a person, event or object.

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Metaphor and Metonymy

• A metaphor can be understood as
• the selective or associative dimension
• of expression which works through
• the play of similarities
• a relationship between two things
• which is suggested through analogy
• the most common metaphoric form is the simile,
  i.e. hes as sharp as a tack or shes as good
  as gold.

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Metaphor and Metonymy

• A metonymy can be understood as the combinative
  or syntagmatic dimension of expression which
  works through the play of proximity or
  contiguity
• a figure of speech in which an associated detail
  or notion is used to invoke an idea or represent
  something else
• the synecdoche is a particular type of metonym in
  which the part stands for the whole, i.e. the
  crown stands for the king, monarchy, the State,
  etc.

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Metaphor and Metonymy
Selective/Associative/Synchronic Dimension
Metaphor
Combinative/Syntagmatic/ Diachronic Dimension
Metonymy
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Practicum 1 Identify the Signs
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Practicum 2 Identify the Types of Signs
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Practicum 3 Denotation and Connotation
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Exercise for this lecture

• Find various advertisements and practice
  identifying the signs, their nature as well as
  their denotative and connotative dimensions.

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