Semiology can simply be referred to as the study of signs. A sign is an image, object, sound or action that represents another thing, which may be objects, places, settings, etc. Semiology can also be regarded as study of the signs and communications. Since semiology is the study of signs, it therefore cuts across all fields from humanities/arts to sciences and medicine. Most importantly, it is very close to Linguistics as a field of study.
The study of sign, which is Semiology can be said to have evolved through some people like Swiss Linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) and American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914). This people differ in terms of how they perceive semiotics, however, they both view semiology as the study of signs. This great people informed those in the study of semiotics that semiology attempts to consider any organization of signs, whatever their substance and boundary as follows; images, gestures, musical sounds, objects and large relationship of the combination of the images, gestures, musical sounds and objects.
Saussure as an example, view the study of signs as combination of an element if semiology. This includes signifier (this refers to the material element, sound or marks on paper), and signified (the concept that signifier is related to). Both the signifier and signified are like words and opposite, tightened together in such a way that, signifier has no meaning in the absence of signified. In other words, they are related together.
Semiology have played significant role in various areas of human existence. For example, visual element aspect of semiology can be discussed to have been adopted and made use of in form of linguistic content; such as publication, creation of comics, etc., just to pass across some informations to the public; either to promote an object or event, or to mar or discourage some practices in the society. Furthermore, signs helps in the characterizing and organization of objects by the relationship they have with certain other prior seen objects and signs. For example, there is understanding of the relationship between “go” in connection with “come”, and there cannot be any relevance of one (go) without making mention of the other (come).
On this note, past studies on semiology have similar elements of semiotics. They are four in number and includes the following; Language/speech, Signifier/signified, Syntagm/system, and denotation/connotation.
As regards language/speech, a language and speech compliments each other. Language and speech aids communication. In other words, there cannot be any sense making when there is need to communicate, without having a similar mode of giving speech. This helps in comprehension of the message been exchanged. Putting it in another way, Language is a social manifestation of speech. Another view could mean that language is born by the act of speech, in the subjects fitting in with the same group, which must stay disadvantaged at the level of each secret individual.
Signifier and signified
As per signifier/signified, The signified and the signifier, in Saussurean terminology, are the features of the sign. The term, sign, which is found in very different departments and fields of study, is for these very reasons too complex. The sign is displayed in a form of terms which have features with it. Whether these features are favourable or unfavourable, each term in the field is differentiated from the other. It can also be said that the distribution of the departments differs from one person to another, a fact which gives known contradictions.
In linguistics, signs do not give rise to any competition between similar terms. When sought to designate the signifying relationship, Saussure immediately removed symbol in favour of sign which could be referred to as the marriage of a signifier and a signified, or else of an image as well as concept. Until the words signifier and signified were discovered, however, sign remained complex, because they tended to became identifiable with the signifier alone, which was wanted at all costs to be avoid; after having refused between some and same, form and idea, image and concept, Saussure maintained up to signifier and signified, the union of which forms the sign. Among linguistic signs, distinguish between the significant units, each one of which is blessed with one meaning ('words', or ‘monemes') and which form the first articulation, and the distinctive units, which are part of the form but do not have a straight meaning, and which consisted the second joint.
Semiological sign is also, like its model; consist of a signifier and a signified. In traffic, the colour of a light colour green, for example, is an instruction to move on, in the Highway Code, but it is differ from it at the level of its substances. Many semiological systems such as objects and gestures consist of a substance of expression which importance is to signify something: for example, we wear clothes for protection against harsh weather and to look good, and we also eat food in order for us to get well nourishes even if they are also used as signs and symbols. This semiological signs can also mean sign-function. The sign-function maintains same thing to a double movement, which has to be taken aside. The semantisation is not avoidable: as soon as there is a society, every usage is converted into a sign of itself; the use of a raincoat is to give guidance away from the rain, but this use cannot be removed from the very signs of an atmospheric situation. Since the society produces only standard and normalised objects, these objects are not avoiable realisations of a example, the speech of a language, the substances of a significant form. To discover again a not-signifying object, someone can also have to think a utensil absolutely improved on and with no similar to an existing example (L´evi-Strauss has given to what extent tinkering about is itself the look for a inference): a hypothesis which is almost not possible to confirm in most of the society. This global semiology of the usages let it knows that there is no real except when it is intelligentible, and should at the end of the day lead to the closure of sociology with sociological. But immediately the sign is graduated, society can also make it function again, and let it know about it as if it is an object made for use. A fur-coat will be defined as if it helped only to prevent from the cold. This re-occuring functionalities, which needs, in order to exist, another language, is not similar as the first and purely ideal) functionalisation: for the function which is re-presented does in fact relate to a second (disguised) semantic institutionalisation, which is of the order of connotation. Also, the sign-function therefore has an anthropological importance, since it is the very unit where the correlations of the technical and the important are woven together.
Signifier and signified in relation to advertisment
In relation to advertisement, certain trade-marks were used in advertisement and consisted of purely abstract' (non-analogical) figures; although they can still express' a certain impress (e.g. one of 'power') which has a similarity of affinity with signified. Also, for instance, the trade-mark of the Berliet Lorrie (a circle with a thick arrow across it) does not in any form relate to power.
Signs sell everything. Signs can sell soap and even cars, a company, a star, and also connected to politics. According to Boorstin (1963), “signs and images have become more interesting than the original and in fact have become the original: ‘the shadow becomes the substance’. Advertisements, he argues, helps excessive anticipations because they are more dramatic and brighter than real – real cannot go shoulder to shoulder to the images and signs in advertisements.” Advertisements gave with images and then make them seem truly. The recent technological growths have helped the importance of the ‘image’ and ‘culture’.
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