Contexts of Practice: Semiotics

Semiotics

Everything is a sign.

Language is a system of signs.

(Ferdinand de Saussure)

Semiotics is the study of signs that oﬀers an explanation of how people extract meaning from words, sounds and pictures. An understanding of semiotics helps a designer to instil work with references that enable them to communicate multiple layers of information to a reader.

(Ambrose&Harris 2009)

Semiotics: the study of signs - YouTube. 2013. Semiotics: the study of signs - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEgxTKUP_WI. [Accessed 23 May 2013].

SEMIOTICS | Chris Photography Blog. 2013. SEMIOTICS | Chris Photography Blog. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.chrisphotography.pacedigitalphoto.com/semiotic/. [Accessed 23 May 2013].

sign signifier signified - Google Search. 2013. sign signifier signified - Google Search. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sign+signifier+signified&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB510GB510&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=5pyeUaCaDOyT0QW2pIGgBQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1687&bih=908#facrc=_&imgrc=aDDMrNPm6GKeGM%3A%3BDfERJsSvSISR_M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F-HhE0EQKuzhI%252FTmTetjkyAyI%252FAAAAAAAAAFg%252Fx94qWJVeBmM%252Fs1600%252Fstructural%252Bmeaning_semiotics.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcapithetical.blogspot.com%252F2011_09_01_archive.html%3B706%3B636. [Accessed 23 May 2013].

Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols its a symbolism use in photography through reading of an image or a picture. Roland Barthes elaborated on the semiotics of images, he created the means of understanding an image through advertising which applies to photography. Talking about semiotics, one will take a look at the different signs used in everyday life which communicates and helps us to understand things. It is visualised through signs that are portrayed by our natural habits. Today, media and the society we live in are all channelling our subconscious. Signs as we all know and aware of can be a symbol or an icon or index. When we talk about semiotic, what comes to mind are symbols like Apple brand which is commonly known worldwide, and apple as a fruit which forms part of our everyday health diet that keeps us from visiting the hospital to see our general practitioners.

SEMIOTICS | Chris Photography Blog. 2013. SEMIOTICS | Chris Photography Blog. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.chrisphotography.pacedigitalphoto.com/semiotic/. [Accessed 23 May 2013].

Ferdinand de Saussure

Ferdinand de Saussure was a Swiss linguist whose ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in linguistics in the 20th century. Saussure is widely considered to be one of the fathers of 20th-century linguistics and his ideas have had a monumental impact throughout the humanities and social sciences. H was born in Geneva, Switzerland

November 26, 1857 and died February 22, 1913.

Ferdinand de Saussure (Author of Course in General Linguistics). 2013.Ferdinand de Saussure (Author of Course in General Linguistics). [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/166754.Ferdinand_de_Saussure. [Accessed 23 May 2013].

Here is a few quotes from Ferdinand de Saussure:

'A linguistic system is a series of differences of sound combined with a series of differences of ideas.'

'Any psychology of sign systems will be part of social psychology - that is to say, will be exclusively social; it will involve the same psychology as is applicable in the case of languages.'

'Everyone, left to his own devices, forms an idea about what goes on in language which is very far from the truth.'

'Nearly all institutions, it might be said, are based on signs, but these signs do not directly evoke things.'

Ferdinand de Saussure Quotes - BrainyQuote . 2013. Ferdinand de Saussure Quotes - BrainyQuote . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/ferdinand_de_saussure.html. [Accessed 23 May 2013].

Ferdinand de Saussure was a rebel. He came out of a nineteenth-century scientific tradition that sought to study language taxonomically the way a botanist might catalogue plants or an entomologist, flies. But Saussure saw that language was an enormous picture, and that there was no attempting to describe or quantify one aspect of it without also conceptualizing the vastness of the whole. Knowing that to understand the whole would be impossible, he looked to language’s origin in the mind with the non-verbal “concept,” and then applied this idea to the individual unit of the “sign,” a constant within all languages.

Ferdinand de Saussure defends from Ramachandran's attack | The Hot Word | Hot & Trending Words Daily Blog at Dictionary.com. 2013. Ferdinand de Saussure defends from Ramachandran's attack | The Hot Word | Hot & Trending Words Daily Blog at Dictionary.com. [ONLINE] Available at:http://hotword.dictionary.com/diachrony/. [Accessed 23 May 2013].

Ferdinand De Saussure Pictures (1 of 1) – Last.fm. 2013. Ferdinand De Saussure Pictures (1 of 1) – Last.fm. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.last.fm/music/Ferdinand+De+Saussure/+images/57059153. [Accessed 23 May 2013].

What does the Apple signify?

Apples are found throughout the world, and their symbolism varies by culture. Symbolic meanings of apples include discord, sin, knowledge, feminine beauty, immortality, rebirth and peace.

Sin and Knowledge
- According to Christian tradition, Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise for eating an apple from the forbidden tree of knowledge. Eating the apple caused them to lose their innocence and introduced sin into the world. Therefore in Christianity, apples symbolize sin and knowledge.
Discord
- In the Illiad, the Trojan War is sparked by the goddess Eris, who throws an apple dedicated "To The Most Beautiful" into a room of goddesses. The ensuing argument among the goddesses about for whom the apple was intended was the catalyst for war. Apples have since been associated with discord.
Rebirth and Immortality
- In Celtic and Norse mythology, the apple is portrayed as a symbol of rebirth. An apple tree springs from the grave of the Celtic lover Ailinn, symbolizing rebirth in death. In Norse mythology, golden apples are the key to the goddess Idun's immortality.
Peace and Beauty
- In Chinese culture, apples are a symbol of peace. In Chinese writing, the word for apple, "ping," is interchangeable with the word for peace. Apple blossoms are a symbol of feminine beauty.
  
  What Does an Apple Represent in Symbolism? | eHow. 2013. What Does an Apple Represent in Symbolism? | eHow. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.ehow.com/facts_7313652_apple-represent-symbolism_.html. [Accessed 24 May 2013].