Associated Resources
- Semiotics Glossary.doc
Anchorage
The fixing of a set of meanings, often found in a photograph or advert, usually through captions or other written text
Arbitrary Sign
Where the signifier has no connection to the signified e.g. Snow and Christmas
Codes
A system of signs, languages or symbols that allow audiences to decode meaning e.g. Technical and Symbolic codes or Narrative codes
Content Analysis
A way of decoding meaning by breaking down and studying the different elements of media texts
Conventions
The expected format of a media text e.g. A Tabloid or a Broadsheet newspaper or Genre conventions in Film or TV
Culture
Often understood through the different system of communications produced by language/media and the arts from different countries
Connotations
The different meanings produced by the sign i.e. what is signified. Remember connotation is open to interpretation
Decoding
The process where meaning is deconstructed or ‘read’ by audiences
Denotation
The physical form of the sign, the signifier
Dominant Preferred Meaning
The meaning that has been encoded into media texts and constructed by producers in the hope that this meaning only will be understood
Encoding
The meaning that has been ‘put in’ to a media text
Iconic Sign
Where the signifier has a resemblance to the signified e.g. a road sign...
