semiotics (and semiology) are a part of structuralism, which had its beginnings
with saussure's linguistics

structuralists believed that

1. the component parts of any system have meaning only in terms of
    their relation to one another;
2. that those relationships tend to be binarily organized (oppositional terms);
3. all cultural phenomena are governed by the same principles and
    therefore related to eachother; and  vice versa.

they are codes which are reflected in the inherent structuring tendencies
of the human mind. by questioning the codes, it also implicitly questioned
who had power.

post-structruralism followed (late 70s - early 90s) and their method was
to question all self-evident structures (binary oppositions) of being propped
up from the inside. they  challenged this authority. where the structuralists
saw binary oppositions, those post challenged this ordering.
 

process of degeneration
the process of breaking down, for example: signs into symbols, symbols into
indexes and indexes into icons. wholes into parts and into more parts until
we perceive them as tangible things relative to us/our world.

both structuralism and poststructuralism deal with systems of representation
a sign cannot exist outside of a system, it has no life apart from the structure
 
ferdinand de saussure
(1857 - 1913)
founder of moden linguistics and co-founder (Peirce) of contemporary semiotics
contributed to french linguistic theory, Course in General Linguistics

approached to the study of linguistics  is based on a series of dichotomies
signifier/signified
synchronic/diachronic
speech/language
viewed writing as an inferior copy of speech

language is a symbolic system
therefore it is arbitrary

the link between the signifier (the word) and the signified (the concept) is arbitrary
therefore it is also free and flexible

codes - roland barthes
1. a set of rules prescribing how to act or what to do
2. a key for translating a message
codes as sets of rules are normative, fixed (ex: pronunciation, grammar)
many codes are sets of more of less unstated rules (ex: fashion)
these are acquired imitatively and followed almost unconsciuosly

see Barthes essays which show that more than one code is operating at a time

charles morris peirce
(1839 -  1914)
american pragmatist theory (usa)

model of signs
reality = triadic relationship between potency, action and relation
based on the aristotilian notion (of potency and act) that the knowledge of a
thing requires an inquiry into causality, and that this final cause is primary.

generality: world of knowledge and chain of events that govern the signifier,
such as the context and conditions for interpretation.

1st ness: issues of possibility (potency)

2nd ness: awareness that something is happening (action); embodies 1st ness

3rd ness: mediation/mediated relations. for example: language and sign
systems (relation); embodies 1st and 2nd ness

the sign is a mediator between the thing it stands for and the consequence
of its representation

representamen: that which represents
object:
interpretant:  causes significance
 

while saussure spoke of the sign consisting of the signifier and the signified,
peirce defines the sign as the the triadic relationship between
the sign (or sign-vehicle), the object and the interpretant.
(note that ockerse and others substitute representamen for sign.)
the sign is irreducibly triadic.

interpretant:  that which in the sign as such results, for example - the english
language. (this should not be confused with the interpreter, a person which
takes part in a situation, for example, interprets a text. the interpreter is the
receiver, the sender the utter of the message.)
 

peirce stresses that the following 3 forms of inference work together

deductive: a type of inference in which the conclusion is supposed to follow
from the premise, the place where hypotheses are established. (logic)
if a > b and b > c, then a > c.
inductive: the evidence renders a probable conclusion, the process in
which the consequences of hypotheses are tested.
abductive: the process by which hypotheses are formed.
 
 

model (below) based on steven skaggs and gary shank's article in zed 4, 1997.
codification, inference, and specificity.
 
 

it points to the potential power of eliciting
from the interpreter a more intense exper
ience caused by the necessity of engaging
somewhat ambiguous messages. By placing
an expression at a certain position along the
continuum between absolute denotative
clarity and absolute connotative ambiguity,
the designer enkindles the viewer's desire to
achieve understanding by the resolution of
doubt. The viewer enters into a kind of dis-
course with the expression, becoming an
active participant in the exchange.
 
(Skaggs and Shank, p64)
 
 

[ denotation + connotation  . basic barthes  .  course notes  .  course main ]