What are meaning and signifier
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 9:20 am
In linguistics and semiology , the meaning and the signifier are known as the two parts that make up the linguistic sign , according to the vision expressed by the Swiss linguist and philosopher Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) in his famous Course of General Linguistics published in 1916.
According to this view, meaning and signifier form a dichotomy, that is, they cannot exist without each other, like the two sides of a sheet of paper. On the one hand, the meaning is the concept, idea or mental referent that we wish to convey through language; while the signifier is the mental trace we have of the sound with which this referent must be associated. In other words, meaning is the content and the signifier is the form .
Suppose a small child points to a tree in the park. His german contact number father immediately tells him the word “tree” so that he can associate it with that same referent. That exact sequence of sounds (“tree”) is perceived by the child’s ears and memorized, thus forming the psychic trace of the sound (a kind of mental recording, that is, the signifier).
In this way, the child associates this sequence of sounds with the idea of a tree (the abstract concept, i.e. the meaning). From then on, the child will be able to tell his father to look at the tree in the park, without having to point it out to him with his finger. This is how the linguistic sign operates.
Meaning and signifier in visual language
Visual language is one that uses shapes, figures and visual elements other than the written word in order to communicate a message . Like all languages, it is composed of signs and symbols, but these are non-verbal , that is, they consist of images and emblems that must be interpreted visually.
Like other types of language, visual language is based on signs , which are composed of two fundamental aspects:
A signifier that corresponds to visual elements (such as shape, color, etc.).
A meaning that corresponds to the message that is intended to be conveyed through said elements. In this sense, visual language is not very different from verbal language.
In fact, visual languages are as important to humans as verbal language, as they allow them to communicate a specific message even in situations where verbal understanding is impossible, either due to the absence of the interlocutor or a language discrepancy. A clear example of this are the icons that identify the men's and women's bathrooms, which are clearly identifiable even for a foreigner.
This allows visual language to play an important role in various communicative activities, from fine arts to advertising and marketing. It is formally studied by various academic disciplines, such as graphic design, social communication and psychology.
The relationship between meaning and signifier
The relationships between meaning and signifier are not always identical, and language allows a certain margin of ambiguity and creativity when using words. Thus, some meanings may have more than one signifier, or the same signifier may have different meanings .
Let us think of what happens with the signifier “bank,” for example, which refers to two different meanings: the bank in the square and the bank of money. Or let us think of the multiple terms with which we can refer to a ball: ball, football, small ball, for example. The latter is possible because the relationship between meanings and signifiers is arbitrary, that is, conventional, artificial, and does not respond to any natural or spontaneous principle.
According to this view, meaning and signifier form a dichotomy, that is, they cannot exist without each other, like the two sides of a sheet of paper. On the one hand, the meaning is the concept, idea or mental referent that we wish to convey through language; while the signifier is the mental trace we have of the sound with which this referent must be associated. In other words, meaning is the content and the signifier is the form .
Suppose a small child points to a tree in the park. His german contact number father immediately tells him the word “tree” so that he can associate it with that same referent. That exact sequence of sounds (“tree”) is perceived by the child’s ears and memorized, thus forming the psychic trace of the sound (a kind of mental recording, that is, the signifier).
In this way, the child associates this sequence of sounds with the idea of a tree (the abstract concept, i.e. the meaning). From then on, the child will be able to tell his father to look at the tree in the park, without having to point it out to him with his finger. This is how the linguistic sign operates.
Meaning and signifier in visual language
Visual language is one that uses shapes, figures and visual elements other than the written word in order to communicate a message . Like all languages, it is composed of signs and symbols, but these are non-verbal , that is, they consist of images and emblems that must be interpreted visually.
Like other types of language, visual language is based on signs , which are composed of two fundamental aspects:
A signifier that corresponds to visual elements (such as shape, color, etc.).
A meaning that corresponds to the message that is intended to be conveyed through said elements. In this sense, visual language is not very different from verbal language.
In fact, visual languages are as important to humans as verbal language, as they allow them to communicate a specific message even in situations where verbal understanding is impossible, either due to the absence of the interlocutor or a language discrepancy. A clear example of this are the icons that identify the men's and women's bathrooms, which are clearly identifiable even for a foreigner.
This allows visual language to play an important role in various communicative activities, from fine arts to advertising and marketing. It is formally studied by various academic disciplines, such as graphic design, social communication and psychology.
The relationship between meaning and signifier
The relationships between meaning and signifier are not always identical, and language allows a certain margin of ambiguity and creativity when using words. Thus, some meanings may have more than one signifier, or the same signifier may have different meanings .
Let us think of what happens with the signifier “bank,” for example, which refers to two different meanings: the bank in the square and the bank of money. Or let us think of the multiple terms with which we can refer to a ball: ball, football, small ball, for example. The latter is possible because the relationship between meanings and signifiers is arbitrary, that is, conventional, artificial, and does not respond to any natural or spontaneous principle.