Codes:
Rules or conventions by which signs are put together to create meaning.
The English language is made up of codes:
Letters make up words.
Words make up sentences.
Sentences make paragraphs.
Signs:
Saussure - A sign is anythin that makes meaning.
Umberto Eco - "A sign is anything that can be used to tell a lie."
All signs have two aspects:
1) Signifier - any material thing that signifies; e.g., words, facial expression, graffiti, a picture.
2) Signified - the concept that a signifier refers to.
Example:
Signified: That specific type of flower
Connotations: Passion, love = SEMIOTICS
Semiotics
This is the meaning behind the text - how you interpret the idea.
'Semiology’ is derived from the Greek word semeion, which means sign.
Semiology - an attempt to create a science of the study of sign systems and their role in the construction and reconstruction of meaning in media texts. It concentrates primarily on the text itself and the signs and codes that are contained within it.
Roland Barthes
Ferdinand de Saussure
