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What is Language?
What is Saussure's definition semiology?
1. Semiology is "A science that studies the life of signs within society..."
2. A semiological approach is synchronic and not diachronic
3. A semiological approach studies langue and not parole.
What is a semiological system?
• A semiological system is a closed system of signs.
• Because the system is closed, part of the sign’s value comes from being not the values of the other signs in the system (Saussure’s negative meaning).
What is a sign?
• A sign is a unity of a signifier and a signified.
• Both the signifier and signified are concepts and not things.
• The connection between the signifier and signified is arbitrary (nonessential).
• The types of signified are not fixed or given.
A Lexical Sign
Human language is the semiological system par excellence.
• How is human language a closed system of signs?
• The sentences of human language are signs.
• They are, in fact complex signs, i.e., consist of signs within signs within signs.
What are the Sign Systems of Human Language?
• Three Levels
• Lexical Words and Morphemes
• Tactic/Syntax
• Representational – Phonological, Orthographic and Gestural
Lexical Signs
• To be a sign the word must have a signified and a signifier.
• Each word has a signified (meaning (value))
• Each word has a signifier – Either a string of letters
(graphic mode) or a string of phonemes (acoustic mode).
Syntactic Signs• To be a sign the sentence
must have a signified and a signifier.
• The signified is the (meaning (value) of the sentence.
• The signifier is spelled by parts of speech. Parts of speech are represented by words. Each word in the lexicon must be assigned a part of speech.
A Syntactic Sign
Representational Signs
• To be a representational sign the letter or the phoneme must have a signified and a signifier.
• The signified of a letter or phoneme is its value - it is not any of the other members of the closed set of letters or phonemes.
• The signifier is the contrastive token.• a. sound image (phonemes)• b. graphic image (letters)• c. gestural image
Representational Signs Orthographic
• A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Just For Fun
A
E
I
O
U
J
B
F
P
V W
C
G
K
Q
X
H
L
R
Y
D
S T
Z
M N
What is adult human language?
• Definition 1a: a semiotic system of signs used by humans to communicate.
• Definition 1b: a complex sign system consisting of syntax, lexical and phonological (or graphic) signs.
• Definition 2: A Process of communication.