Semiotics

signification = the process of signs-being-made-noticed-and-understood

 

The signifier are the 3 signs saying : No ice cream allowed, no skates allowed and no dogs allowed.                                                                                                 The signified is that he is not allowed because all of the 3 things, so basically his day is ruined. 

sign = signifier (physical form) + signified (mental concept)

iconic: how close a sign is to ‘the real thing’, how constrained it is by the thing it represents, e.g. a photographic portrait is typically iconic, a doodled caricature less so

This painting is trying to represent the cat in real life, like the one in the photo.

arbitrary (aka symbolic): how far away a sign is from ‘the real thing’, how unconstrained it is by the thing it represents, e.g. a person’s name bears little physical resemblance to them, but is less arbitrary than an employee number.

This cat doodling is also trying to represent the cat as the furry animal from real life, but in a more basic and cartoon way. 

denotation: what the sign is, at the most basic level of understanding – what it denotes literally

connotation: what it suggests, a more subtle culturally determined reading – what it connotes

myth: the ‘world-view’ it contains or implies – the ideological or political meaning of the thing – not ‘myth’ as in not true, fictitious, misleading (although it may be all three of these things)