Roland Barthes - Semiotics

Roland Barthes - Semiotics


Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. A sign refers to something that conveys meaning , any image, word or sound e.g. when we see a traffic light go red we know it means stop ,without it actually saying stop. A sign is made up of the signifier and the signified; the signifier is the 'thing' you are reading (e.g. red traffic light) , the signified is the meaning of the signifier (e.g. red traffic light means stop). Denotation is the literal meaning of the sign (identifying/describing the sign) and connotation is the metal association we think of with the sign. Barthes identified that there were five codes of semiotics: Hermeneutic code is if the text is mysterious/unexplained, making the reader question it, proairetic code is when text builds suspense ,through anticipation of an action, semantic code refer to a sign that has extra-literal meaning (semes are elements of the semantic code where there is an extra layer of meaning in addition to its literal meaning.), symbolic code is similar to the semantic code but it puts semantic meanings into order through opposing/conflicting ideas, cultural code is anything that is reference to a particular society/culture and can scientific, historical, and cultural knowledge