Signs in Semiotics

Semiotics is a very large and sometimes complicated subject. There are vast areas which do not apply to my chosen topic; a semiotic analysis of Little Big Planet. In order to establish what it is I have to look at when making the analysis, I have researched into some of the key areas of semiotics and will be writing explanatory articles before proceeding to analyse the game. I have chosen to start by looking at signs as these are the basis for many semiotic analyses. Firstly, what is a sign? A sign can be anything from words or an image, to an odour or act. There are two main theories which semiotics today is based around.

The first is Saussure’s model which states a ‘signifier’ and a ‘signified’ are used together to create a sign. The signifier is the representation of form, and the signified is the concept. Saussure believed that both of these were necessary to construct the sign. It is important to know that Saussure looked at semiotics from a linguistic point of view, putting a strong emphasis on the sign and the real world thing it donates. Of course, one of the main problems with Saussure’s theory is that a world has no natural connection with that which it is representing. Relative motivation is also an issue as the linguistic meaning of a signifier also constrains it to one meaning.

The second model belongs to Charles Sanders Peirce, a philosopher who distinguished between ‘sign’ and ‘word’ to create ‘understanding’. Peirce stated that there was no stable relationship between the sign and the signifier and that signs were decoded in three ways; the sign that denotes the object, the object and the interpretant. It is a frequent misunderstanding that the ‘object’ that is spoken about can be anything, infact, the object is anything that can be represented. The way we interpret a sign is also broken down into three parts, our immediate understanding of the sign, the meaning produced by the sign and the true meaning of the sign itself.

Modern theories have tried to make these more applicable to real life. It is generally recognised that if a receiver is not familiar with a sign, they will not be able to respond. A second observation is that signs should be looked at as whole, not just individual parts as this can obscure a signs true meaning. As with any analysis it is important to remember subjectivity, people will often interpret signs based on their own life experiences. The final point is that not everyone will be able to interpret the sign and an incorrect meaning may be attributed or the sign may simply be deferred and no meaning understood.

Resources Used: Semiotics, The Basics by Daniel Chandler