The shortest, simplest definition of semiotics is the study of signs. It does not, however, cover only the conventional meanings of the word, what one would normally think of upon hearing or reading "sign": road signs, neon signs that advertise businesses, restaurants, and places of entertainment, the signs of everyday life. Semiotics also studies the signs represented by and through drawings, paintings, photographs, words, sounds, and body language, even flavors, acts and objects, all of which vary in meaning between countries and cultures. Semiotics, closely related to and at times considered to be a subgroup of the field of linguistics, can be further broken down into three branches: semantics (the relationship between signs and the people, objects or ideas which the signs refer to), syntactics (the relationship between signs in formal structures, such as language or mathematics), and pragmatics (the relationship between signs and the effects that they have on the people who use them). Obviously, semiotics covers a lot of ground, including ground shared between it and linguistics, mathematics, cultural diversities, and countless other fields of study.
Throughout my Commercial Art and Advertising I class last year, much of what we discussed, were taught, and did exercises on revolved around semiotics. Overall, what we learned was basically this: commercial art and advertising, no matter the medium, is usually best when it's simple, straightforward, so that whatever message one is attempting to send is not misconstrued. This fact will most likely apply to our group project whenever we start to advertise what we're attempting to do here on campus, whether it's attract more members or build birdhouses. People should not be confused by our flyers, pamphlets, or banners; that will only detract from our main goal, which is to make the campus's environment "friendlier" for wildlife, specifically birds. Therefore, I believe that using the simplest, most straightforward, most obvious symbols and signs on our flyers, pamphlets, banners and the like would be our best option.
Sources: Wikipedia.org
ü Articles on Semiotics ü
- Pollock, Donald. "Masks and the Semiotics of Identity." The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 1.3 (1995): 581-597. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
Article Summary: In his article, "Masks and the Semiotics of Identity", Donald Pollock states that many research papers and Internet articles choose to explain the meanings, symbolism, and social functions of masks. He, however, is curious about how masks are able to have those meanings and symbolism, and play those social functions. In response to this, Pollock explains that he believes that a mask is anything that covers, skewers, or otherwise alters one's identity to the point that the person's identity is no longer recognizable, "as identity is understood in any particular cultural context", meaning however identity is viewed by any specific culture (as the face does not always establish one's identity). That is how he believes masks achieve those functions: by altering one's identity, and that we recognize masks, no matter how they look or what they cover, by that single factor.
- Grant, Morag Josephine. "Experimental Music Semiotics." International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music 34.2 (2003): 173-191. Croation Musicological Society. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
- Hirschman, Elizabeth C. "Men, Dogs, Guns, and Cars: The Semiotics of Rugged Individualism." Journal of Advertising 32.1 (2003): 9-22. M.E. Sharpe, Inc. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
ü Additional Information ü
The virtual version of Semiotics for Beginners, a book by Daniel Chandler.
A list of semiotics-related terminology and the corresponding definitions.
An "open semiotics resource center".
A YouTube video explaining semiotics.
The Wikipedia article on semiotics.
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