Semiotics is the study of signs and the way people process signs, like analogies, metaphors and symbolism in communication. Umberto Eco proposed that cultural trends and symbols can be studied as communication. The philosopher John Locke, in his Essay Concerning Humane Understanding in 1690, first introduced the term semiotics to the English language to replace the phrase ‘doctrine of signs’. The term had existed in the Greek language and was used to describe the study of symptoms.
Indeed, semiotics can be understood as looking for trends and patterns, much like a medical diagnosis. Semioticians classify signs and symbols in relation to the way they are transmitted, and how meanings in certain signs are made, identified and how reality is represented. The terms ‘text’ and ‘medium’ describe groups of signs – texts are usually recorded in some way, written, painted, digitally recorded etc. ‘Medium’ is the type of sign, like a text, or verbal communication.
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"Semiotics and Le Bal".
There are several different components to semiotics. Pragmatics is the study of intended meaning, or ‘reading between the lines’. There are often several ways to communicate a message – directly, by explicitly asking someone to turn down the volume on the television, for example; or indirectly, by making a comment about the volume. To interpret the meaning, the person would have to engage in pragmatic inference to derive the meaning behind the second statement. Pragmatics is thought of as one of the hardest things for people first learning a language to grasp. The second component is semantics, or the study of meaning. Third is syntactics, or the relation of signs to each other in formal structures, and syntax is the study of meaning in signs.
Similarly, intertextuality is the shaping of the meaning of a text by another text – some examples include plagiarism, translation and parody. The term was coined by Julia Kristeva. Meaning in a text is not transferred directly from the text to the reader. However meaning is filtered through codes. This is especially true in classical literature, for example, which relies heavily on on the influence, or reference to, an external force. One of the most heavily used in literature is the Bible. Often a piece of literature seeks to derive a deeper meaning than what is written on the page by referring to Biblical passages. Thus, the text has many ‘layers’ of meaning – the meaning of the text itself, the story it tells for example, and the deeper meaning of what it refers to, like a passage in the Bible that is meant to translate an additional message. Modern retelling of classic literature is another example.
The film Le Bal covers the history of a Paris ballroom from the 20’s to the 70’s. There are different themes covered in the film, including courtship rituals, masculinity, femininity – all through highly caricatured actors who represent stereotypes of people. The film has no dialogue, and all of the messages are sent through non-verbal communication through their manner, mode of dress, body language and music. This film is a great example of sending messages through symbols. It is easy to understand how the actors are interacting and what the meanings of their actions are. All of these messages are displayed through signs and non-verbal communication.
Ultimately, we use semiotics every day when communicating with one another. From waving a hand at a friend across the street, to interpreting a line of text that refers to a classic Biblical passage, semiotics and an integral part of how we communicate. It is no surprise that learners of foreign languages find this part of language so difficult – it is layered and complex.
