According to John Fiske (1990, p.51), "Semiotics is the study of the different varieties of sign, of the different ways they have of conveying meaning and of the way they relate people who uses them". Codes are also important to interpret the meanings that a certain community can agree on. According to Chandler (2007), a code provides a framework within which signs make sense. He continues explaining that a code is a set of practices familiar to the medium operating within a broad cultural framework. (Chandler, 2007, p. 148)
The terms signifier and signified are used with reference to a sign. A signifier is defined as the sensory impression that the sign gives us whereas the signified is the abstract concept that a sign evokes.
There are many different varieties of sign and ways of relating to people and communicating meaning. John Fiske (1990, p.52) quoted that, "The conveyance of messages takes place through the development and use of codes, the form and existence that these take depends on the society and culture within which they operate". For example, the numbers "90210".
For some people, they might think "90210" are just some random numbers. But as for me, when I saw "90210", I instantly thought about the hit TV series "90210" that I like to watch every Tuesday on Star World.
Denotation is described as the definitional, literal, obvious or 'common sense' meaning of a sign. Whereas connotation on the other hand, is the motive or social meaning that a speaker assigns to a certain expression. For example, below is Paris Hilton's 'Can Can' perfume advertisement.
Denotation about the above image is that a woman is standing on a stage, wearing a red, flowing feathery dress with properly groomed hair. There are also two heart shapes at the background of the stage and also a perfume at the below part of the picture.
As for the connotation, most of the colours being used in the picture are red so this shows that the perfume she is advertising connotes passion, love and affection. Between her hairstyle and the material and the colour of the dress, she appears to be very famous, glamorous, sexy and she is definitely the center of attention.
References :
Chandler, D. (2007) Semiotics: The Basics. New York. Routledge.
Fiske, J. (1990). Introduction to Communication Studies. London : Routledge.
Griffin, E. (2009). A first look at communication theory.New York: The McGraw-Hill.Companies
Aziimah binti Othman (11B8111)
