20 Examples of Semiotics
Miscellanea / / November 09, 2021
Semiotics
The semiotics, also called semiology, is a science that studies the communication of human beings taking into account the use, production, transmission and interpretation of signs and communication systems and significance. For instance: Semiotics studies a language.
Signs are productions that represent a concept, an idea or an object of reality. The signs can be words, images, signs, icons, gestures, symbols or any production that has a meaning or a sense, that represents something other than itself or that has been made with the intention of communicate something.
A fundamental concept of this science is that of semiosis, which assumes that for the production and interpretation of signs there must be signification. Meaning is only possible if there is an object that is from the real world, a sign that represents that object, and an interpreter that can understand that sign.
Examples of semiotics
- Hieroglyphs. They make up a written communication system in which the signs are symbols or figures that represent something else.
- Cave paintings. They are drawings produced thousands of years ago, which are usually found in caves and which represent objects that exist in reality and the interaction of people with their environment.
- The petroglyphs. They are productions are engravings made on rocks and the representation can be abstract or figurative.
- The icons. They are visual signs that represent ideas, concepts, actions or objects and are used in different contexts with different functions.
- Traffic signs. They are images that represent actions that drivers must take, warnings, among other things.
- The flags. They are pieces of cloth used to represent different things, for example, a nation, a group of people and a sign.
- Photographs. They are fundamental cultural productions in communication since they are used to represent actions, events, activities, objects, among others.
- Posters of public spaces. They are signs that represent and are used to indicate different things, for example, that a door is an emergency exit.
- Signals made by referees in sports. They are signals that make up a communication system, for example, a red card indicates that a player is being expelled from a game.
- Body expressions. They are the different movements of the body that are made in order to communicate something are signs. For example, raising your hand and moving it from one side to the other is a movement that is done with the purpose of greeting.
- Paints. They are artistic productions that, in addition to having aesthetic purposes, are intended to communicate certain ideas and, therefore, are analyzed as signs.
- Cartoons. They are drawings that are generally used for humorous or satirical purposes and represent different people and their characteristics.
- Advertising images. They are images highly analyzed by semiotics because they use signs known to society, but they also build new signs because they create new meanings.
- Political speeches. They are productions that are made with linguistic signs and are analyzed in semiotics to understand the possible meanings that it may have.
- Banners. They tend to have vindictive messages and, therefore, are used to represent the demands of certain sectors. They can have words or pictures.
- Novels. Like all artistic productions, they are productions that generate and transmit meanings.
- Theater plays. They are cultural productions and are made with the purpose of communicating something.
- Sculptures. They are artistic objects that represent something else, such as emotions and characters of different types of texts.
- Gestures. There are many gestures that people make in order to communicate something. For example, a smile conveys that a person is happy.
- Objects that convey meaning. Although objects are not made in order to convey meaning, there are certain objects that do communicate something. For example, there are objects that convey that a person has a certain social status.
See also: