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What is Language?

What is Language?. 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 Saussure's definition semiology?.

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What is Language?

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  1. What is Language?

  2. 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 Saussure's definition semiology?

  3. 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).

  4. 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.

  5. A Lexical Sign

  6. 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.

  7. What are the Sign Systems of Human Language? • Three Levels • Lexical Words and Morphemes • Tactic/Syntax • Representational • Phonological, Orthographic and Gestural

  8. 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).

  9. 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.

  10. A Syntactic Sign

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. Just For Fun

  14. 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.

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