Semiotic analysis

SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS
15th April 2014

Semiotics
 Ferdinand de Saussure (“so-SIR”) (1857-1913)
 “It is possible to conceive of a science which studies the
role of signs as part of social life. It would form part of
social psychology, and hence of general psychology. We
shall call it semiology (from the Greek semeîon, 'sign'). It
would investigate the nature of signs and the laws
governing them.”
 Although the earliest origins of semiotics can be
traced back to Aristotle and Augustine, it didn’t begin
to be fully developed until the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries.
 Semiotics is a broad topic which can be applied to
many different fields, including media studies, theatre
and music and art.
2

Introduction
3
 There are many
different ways to
analyse qualitative
data
 Semiotics is one
approach to analysing
and interpreting
qualitative data
Written Record
Data Analysis Approach
Data Collection
Technique
Research Method
Philosophical
Assumptions

Semiotics
4
 Semiotics is primarily concerned
with the analysis of signs and
symbols and their meaning
 Signs and symbols can be studied,
not only in language (both written
and spoken forms), but also in
rituals, culture, images and art – in
fact, anything that can be ‘read’ as
text
 Semiotic researchers do not study
signs in isolation, rather they study
the conventions governing the use
of signs and sign systems

Semiotics defined
5
 ‘Semiotics is concerned with everything that
can be taken as a sign’ (Eco, 1976: 7)
 Words, images, actions and objects can all be
studied as signs, as long as they have been
recorded in some way and can be studied
(e.g. in writing or on video)
 Nöth (1990) refers to semiotics as the ‘science
of meaning’

An approach to semiotic analysis
(Hackley, 2003)6
Questions to ask: What does X signify to me?
Why does X signify this to me?
What might X signify for others?
Why might X signify this for others?
Possible sources of X:
Objects (visual semiosis): For example, clothes, hairstyles, make-up
styles, the ways objects are used by
people . . .
Gesture (bodily semiosis): For example, body types, facial types,
expressive gestures, facial expressions,
posture, gaze . . .
Speech (verbal semiosis): For example, use of idiomatic
expressions, regional or national accent or
dialect, use of metaphor/metonymy, tone
and volume of speech . . .

Semiotics
Basically, semiotics is the study of signs and their meanings! Signs include
words, gestures, images, sounds, and objects.
According to Ferdinand de Saussure, a founder of modern semiotics, sign
consists of two parts: the signifier (the form which the sign takes) and the signified
(the concept represents).

Symbols
Signifier
Signified
Schoolhouse
Education Education

Semiotics concepts
9
1. Signifier and signified
2. Sign, object and interpretant
3. Icon, index and symbol
4. Encoding and decoding
5. Pragmatic, semantic and syntactic
6. Syntagmatic analysis
7. Paradigmatic analysis
8. Polysemy

Semiotics
For example, an everyday example is a stop sign. In this
example, the physical sign is the signifier. The concept of
stopping is the signified.
=the signifier
STOP!!! =the signified

Semiotics
However, signfiers can have multiple signifieds. Take the color
red for example:
RED
APPLE
LoveFIRE
Blood

Sign
 A sign is an entity which signifies another
entity.
 We make meanings through our creation and
interpretation of signs. Charles Sanders
Peirce (“purse”) (1839 –1914)
12

Signs
13
 The meaning of signs is arbitrary. In principle,
anything could stand for anything else. It is the cultural
context that frames the interpretation of signs with
localized meanings (Hackley, 2003: 162)
 A sign can mean one thing in one particular cultural
context, but mean something quite different in another
 Signs can also change their meaning over time
 Semiotics has been used especially in information
systems, management, marketing and organizational
studies
 Marketing researchers have used semiotics in
research on advertising, brand image and marketing
communications (Hackley, 2003)

Sign
 Whether something is a sign depends on a
sentiment entity ascribing it with meaning.
 Nothing is a sign unless it is interpreted as a
sign.
 Anything can be a sign as long as it is
interpreted as signifying something.
Green Leaf Drying

Koko the Gorilla
 Koko understands signs

Signifier is physical, sensual
Signified is psychological
Dyadic Model
(Saussure)
Signified is psychological
• Signified
• Signifier
Components
of a Sign

Commonsense dictates that the signified, the
concept, is primary. Signified originates in the
mind. It is psychological.
However, the signifier, the medium of
expression is just as important because it is
physical. The word “Tree”
Signifier is physical, sensual
Dyadic Model
(Saussure)

Signifier and signified
18
 Saussure distinguished between two things:
 The signifier is a sign or symbol that can stand
for something else. By definition, all words are
signifiers since they always stand for
something else (e.g. a thought, a feeling, or a
thing). A signifier is used by the person
wanting to communicate
 The signified is what the sign or symbol
represents – what it is interpreted to mean by
the receiver of the communication

Sign, object and interpretant
19
 Peirce distinguished between three things:
 The sign that stands for something else
 The object it refers to (what the sign represents)
 The interpretant (usually a person) who fulfils the
office of an interpreter – this refers to the
interpretation placed on the sign
 Peirce’s view recognizes that the same sign can
have different meanings depending upon the
context
 the interpretant becomes the representamen for
another, interrelated sign

Triadic Model
(Peirce)
Object
Signified by the Interpretant
Signifier

Icon, index and symbol
21
 An icon is a sign that signifies its meaning by
qualities of its own; it is like the thing it
represents (e.g. the icon of a trash can on
Apple and Windows computers)
 A sign can also act as an index:
 An indexical sign points to or indicates something else. For example, a
wavy line on a road might ‘point to’ bends in the road a few hundred yards
ahead. A picture of a silhouette of a man on a door might ‘point to’ or
indicate that a men’s bathroom is right here behind this door (Hackley,
2003: 167)
 A symbol is something that stands for or is
symbolic of something else

Arbitrary or purely conventional
100% needs to be learned
language in general, alphabet, punctuation marks,
numbers, Morse code, traffic lights
Symbol

What are some Symbols?
Word
sword
s
words

– Resembling or imitating the signified
– similar in some quality
– portrait, cartoon, onomatopoeia, metaphors,
sound effects imitative gestures
Icons

What are some Icons?
“Chirp chirp”
“miu miu”
“vroooom”

– existential connection to the signified
– evidence, smoke, footprints, pain, thermometer,
clock, knock on a door, photograph, handwriting
Index

What are each of these?
Icon of a real-world symbol
(street sign): IndexSymbol
Symbols
Icons

Icon: Road Sign
Symbol: The letters on it
Index: The picture of it
Icon, Symbol and Index.
Signs can be one, two or all three of these at once.

Semiotics is about a System of
Meaning
 Signs don’t have an essential or intrinsic
connection to nature.
 Meaning is structural and relational rather than
referential.
 Signs refer primarily to each other.
 Signs only make sense as part of a formal,
generalized and abstract system.

Semiotics is about a System of
Meaning
 The word “cat” only
makes sense in
relation to other
words:
 “dog”
 “animal”
 “pet”
 “owner”
 “cute”
 “purr”
 “lick”
 “hunt”

The word “cat” has more in common with
other words than it does an actual cat
purr
lick
dog
anima
l
pet
owner
hunt
cute

Semiotic Terms
 Semantics: the relations of signs to their
contexts and to what they signify.
 Syntactics: the kinds of signs, their
ordering, and their relations to one another.
 Pragmatics: the ways in which signs are
used and interpreted.

The Semiotic Square
 Opposites give each other meaning. For
example, black & white, love & hate.
 Binary Opposition: One signifier (A) vs. another
signifier (B) For example, good guy vs. bad guy.
 Semiotic Square: A visual representation of the
logical articulations of any semantic category.
 http://www.increpare.com/square/semiotic1.php

approximately
exactly
approximately
not exactly
not approximately
exactly
not approximately
not exactly
Semiotic square

Structure
Relationship
Type
Relationship
Elements
Complex Contrary S1 + S2
Neutral Contrary ~S2 + ~S1
Schema 1 Contradiction S1 + ~S1
Schema 2 Contradiction S2 + ~S2
Deixes 1 Implication ~S2 + S1
Deixes 2 Implication ~S1 + S2
S1 = positive seme
S2 = negative seme
S = complex axis (S1 + S2)
~S = neutral axis (neither S1 nor
S2)
The Greimas Square is a model based on
relationships:

Example
The Semiotic square - also known as Greimas' rectangle or semantic rectangle - is a way of
classifying concepts which are relevant to a given opposition of concepts, such as feminine-
masculine, beautiful-ugly, etc. and of extending the relevant ontology. It has been put forth by
Lithuanian linguist and semiotician Algirdas Julien Greimas, and was derived from Aristotle's
logical square or square of opposition.
Starting from a given opposition of concepts S1 and S2, the semiotic square entails first the
existence of two other concepts, namely ~S1 and ~S2, which are in the following relationships:
S1 and S2: opposition
S1 and ~S1, S2 and ~S2: contradiction
S1 and ~S2, S2 and ~S1: complementarity
The semiotic square also produces, second, so-called meta-concepts, which are compound
ones, the most important of which are:
S1 and S2
neither S1 nor S2
For example, from the pair of opposite concepts masculine-feminine, we get:
S1: masculine
S2: feminine
~S1: not-masculine
~S2: not-feminine
S1 and S2: masculine and feminine, i.e. hermaphrodite, bi-sexual
neither S1 nor S2: neither masculine nor feminine, asexual

Semiotic Square
 The semiotic square diagrams the ways in which,
starting from any given term, a complete
meaning system can be derived through
exhaustion of logical possibilities. This is
accomplished by developing the traditional
logical concepts of contradictory (diagonal
arrows) and contrary (horizontal arrow)

Language is Binaristic and Negative
Things are defined not by what they are, but by what they are
not.
 Cat vs. Dog
 Man vs. Woman
 Nature vs. Culture
 Good vs. Evil
 Yes vs. No
 Black vs. White
 0 vs. 1
 Life vs. Death
 Gay vs. Straight
 Up vs. Down
 Pretty vs. Ugly
• Cold vs. Hot
• Happy vs. Sad
• Sleep vs. Awake
• Free vs. Pay
• Pretty vs. Ugly
• West vs. East
• Paper vs. Plastic
• Republican vs.
Democrat
• Healthy vs. Sick
• Few vs. Many

Things are defined not by what they
are, but by what they are not.
Red

Most of the information communicated
is actually negative.
Red

Linguistic Signs are Immaterial
(Saussure)
 Word signifiers have no material value magically
embedded in their sounds or appearance.
 This immateriality is their value.
 If linguistic signs draw attention to their materiality
this hinders their communicative transparency.
 New words can be invented or imported as needed

Olympic Style Guide for Beijing Citizens
 No wearing pajamas in public
Semiotic Analysis

Semiotic Analysis
Olympic Style Guide for Beijing Citizens
 No more than three color groups in your
clothing.
 No white socks with black leather shoes
 No public displays of affection
 When standing toes should point outwards
 Handshakes should not last more than 3
seconds

Semiotic Analysis
 Man
 Sexy
 Healthy / Ripped
 Calvin Klein brand
 Comfortable
 Virility
 “Package”
 Inadequacy?
 Jealousy?
 Fear?

Semiotic Analysis
 Corporate
 Propaganda
 Alienated (from brand)
 Black and white
 form and mass rather
than color
 authenticity
What are potential unintended signifieds?

Matching Meaning
Connotation
 Figurative
 Signified
 Inferred
 Suggests
meaning
 Realm of
myth
Denotation
 Literal
 Signifier
 Obvious
 Describes
 Realm of
existence

Encoding and decoding
48
 The only way that messages can be
sent from one person to another is via
the use of a code
 Encoding is the process of transforming
any thought or communication into a
message
 Decoding is the process of reading the
message and understanding what it
means
 For example, consider the road code -
only someone who can read the road
signs correctly is allowed to obtain a
driver’s license

Syntagmatic analysis
49
 Syntagmatic analysis involves studying the
structure of a text and the relationships between
its parts. There are three syntagmatic
relationships (Chandler, 2008):
1. Sequential relationships, as found in film and
television narrative sequences.
2. Spatial relationships, as found in posters and
photographs (where signs and symbols are
juxtaposed)
3. Conceptual relationships, such as in an
argument

Paradigmatic analysis
50
 Paradigmatic analysis seeks to
identify the various paradigms
which underlie the content of texts
 A paradigm ‘is a set of associated
signifiers or signifieds which are all
members of some defining
category, but in which each is
significantly different’ (Chandler,
2008)
 A paradigmatic analysis involves
studying ‘the oppositions and
contrasts between the signifiers
that belong to the same set from
which those used in the text were
drawn’ (Chandler, 2008)

Polysemy
51
 Texts and signs can have
multiple meanings
 Barthes suggests that all
images are polysemous.
Images imply a ‘floating chain’
of signifieds, with the reader
able to choose some and
ignore others (Barthes, 1985)
 Scott (1994) says that
meaning is not static and that
the meaning of texts and signs
is continually shifting

Intertextuality
 Conscious or unconscious
 Parody
 Style
 Genre
 Quote
 Metaphor
 Like or as
 Metonomy
 Implied
 Association with known image
 Nehru Topi
 Red rose

Codes
 Audiences negotiate meaning
 Intended meaning
 Negotiated meaning
 Oppositional meaning
 All-pervasive
 Specific
 Clear cut
 Personality, social roles, institutions, ideology
 Genre, formula
 Rituals, expectations

How to use semiotics
54
 The qualitative researcher using semiotics
has to study the signs and symbols that are
used in a particular domain and identify the
conventions of their use
 He or she has to decode the meanings
conveyed by the signs
 The idea is to uncover the rules that govern
human behaviour

Critique of semiotics
55
 Semiotics is potentially a very powerful way of
analysing and interpreting qualitative data in
business and organizational settings
 Semiotics is well-grounded in linguistics and
structural anthropology – hence it is relatively
easy to justify
 One disadvantage of semiotics is its tendency
to treat people as somewhat passive

Websites
 http://www.chass.utoronto.ca:8080/epc/srb/cyber/cyber.html Cyber Semiotic
Institute.
 http://the-duke.duq-duke.duq.edu/notes/viz4/intro.htm What is Semiotics?
 http://www.letsdeviant.com/semioticslink.html Semiotics Links
 http://www.sla.purdue.edu/semiotics The American Journal of Semiotics
 http://www.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/semiotics.html Semiotics - University
of Colorado and Denver
 http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/arts/music/semimusi.htm Bibliographic sources
 http://www.aber.ac.uk/~dgc/semind.html Semiotics for Beginners
 http://www.newcastle.edu.au/department/fad/fi/woodrow/
 semiotic.htm Semiotic Analysis of Images.
 http://www.hum.aau.dk/semiotics/ University of Aarhus Center for Semiotics
Homepage
 http://www.epas.utoronto.ca:8080/french/as-sa/EngSem1.html Sites of
Significance for Semiotics.
 http://semiotics.nured.uowm.gr/docs/readings/Semiotics%20as%20a%20tool%20box.
pdf Semiotics as tool box

DR ARCHANA R SINGH
archana@pu.ac.in

Semiotic analysis

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