Signified and Signifier and Floating Signifier (from the Wikipedia) and a idea
Signified and Signifier by Ferdinand de Saussure |
| A generic diagram from Saussure's Course in General Linguistics illustrating the relationship between signified (French Signifie) and signifier (French Signifiant) |
The terms signified and signifier are most commonly related to semiotics, which is defined by Oxford Dictionaries Online as "the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation".
Ferdinand de Saussure, a Swiss linguist, was one of the two founders of semiotics.
In his book, Course in General Linguistics, Saussure explained that a sign was not only a sound-image but also a concept. Thus he divided the sign into two components: the signifier (or "sound-image") and the signified (or "concept").
For Saussure, the signified and signifier were purely psychological; they were form rather than substance.
Today, following Hjelmslev, the signifier is interpreted as the material form (something which can be seen, heard, touched, smelled or tasted) and the signified as the mental concept.
Ferdinand de Saussure, a Swiss linguist, was one of the two founders of semiotics.
In his book, Course in General Linguistics, Saussure explained that a sign was not only a sound-image but also a concept. Thus he divided the sign into two components: the signifier (or "sound-image") and the signified (or "concept").
For Saussure, the signified and signifier were purely psychological; they were form rather than substance.
Today, following Hjelmslev, the signifier is interpreted as the material form (something which can be seen, heard, touched, smelled or tasted) and the signified as the mental concept.
Floating Signifier
A Floating signifier (also known as an empty signifier) is a signifier without a referent in semiotics and discourse analysis, such as a word that points to no actual object and has no agreed upon meaning.
Comments
Post a Comment