Week 3: Semiotics Revisited: You don’t wear clothes but clothes wear you.

Q. Provide examples of signifiers, signifieds and connotation.

Semiotics is regarded to be “the study of signs” (Chris, 2010, p.46). According to Griffin (2009), “Semiotics (semiology) is the study of the social production of meaning from sign systems; the analysis of anything that can stand for something else” (Griffin, 2009, p.323).  A sign could be a word, an image, sounds, gestures and objects (verbal or non-verbal). These signs are considered to have a relation between a person and his or her social life. There are different types of signs, which are iconic, indexical, and symbolic signs. The image below is an example for the types of signs. 

Figure 1 : Types of signs

Signs are produced by the combination of a signifier and a signified (signifier + signified = sign).Firstly, a signifier is the actual physical image which the people see without giving any meanings to it. According to Griffin (2009), signifier is “the physical form of the sign as we perceive it through our senses; an image” (Griffin, 2009, p.324). For example, the image shown below: 

Figure 2 : coach handbag

The signifier of the image above is it is a handbag.

 In contrast, a signified of a sign can be defined as the mental image formed in one’s brain which has meanings towards the signifier. According to Griffin, (2009), signified is “the meaning we associate with the sign” (Griffin, 2009, p. 324). An example for this is the image shown below:

Figure 3

The image above shows the letter ‘F’. The letter ‘F’ is called as the signifier. However, the signified for this image is that it can be regarded as an “F” for a failure in exam or tests. Another example, this photo below:

Figure 4

The picture above shows an image of an apple. The picture of the apple is called the signifier. Whereas, a signified for this image is the representation of the “apple” shown below:

Figure 5

There can be many signified for just one signifier.

 However, connotation is one part of the stages of interpreting the sign. Each people can give meanings to a sign based on their backgrounds, their own cultural experiences and the knowledge that a person has. According to Branston & Stafford (2006), “signs also connote, or link things. They may link things by association with broader cultural concepts and values, or with meanings from personal history and experience” (Branston & Stafford, 2006, p.17). For example, the image below: 

Figure 6 : i phone 4s

The connotation of  this i phone 4s is that the person who has bought it is wealthy, likes the color white, a gadget lover, looks elegant and that person cares about the quality. Another example for connotation is the image shown below:

Figure 7

The connotation for the image above can be connoted as the sign of femininity, strawberries, warm, comfy, sensuality, true love, emotional, friends, beauty, romance, gentle/soft and compassion.

Another example for connotation is the image shown below:

Figure 8

The connotation for the sign of the skull and the bones is 

Figure 9

When a person looks at the sign of the skull, they will be cautious and aware of the danger which is in the area such as, bio hazard, radiation area or high tension.

          In conclusion, a signifier can have many signifieds. A connotation is considered to be the images that people see and they give ideas and meanings to the image according to their backgrounds, culture experience and knowledge. Another example of signifier and signified is this image shown below: 

Figure 10

          The signifier is the “Tree” and the signified is the image of the tree. It also provides homes for the wild animals, especially the birds and also the squirrels. Moreover, all the paper that is used to produce the magazines, books, newspapers, novels and comics comes from the tree. The tree also provides medicine for people and it also helps clean the air in the environment. Therefore, there can be many connotations for just one sign.

Reference

Branston, G., & Stafford, R., (4th ed.)., (2006), the Media Student's Book, p.17-19, Routledge, USA and Canada

Chris, W., (2010), Analyzing Visual Communication, BA in Professional Communication Reader 2010, p.46, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam

Griffin, E.m., (7th ed.)., (2009), A first look at communication theory, pp.323-324, McGraw-Hill, New York