The part of the sign Saussure calls the ‘concept’ or ‘meaning’ (mental impression/association of the ‘thing’) he named, ’signified.’
The part he calls the ‘sound-image’ (the mental ‘linguistic sign’ given to the ‘thing’) he named the ‘signifier’.
As Saussure explains, the connection between all ‘signifiers’ which are ‘sound images’ or ‘linguistic signs’ and what they are signifying – their signified object or concept – is arbitrary. In other words, there is not necessarily any logical connection between the two.
Sign is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity. Also is the union of the thing denoted on the mind.
Peirce's basic claim that signs consist of three inter-related parts: a sign (representamen) sustitution of something, an object that is the thing that the representamen refers, and an interpretant that is the interpretation any mind make of a sign.
Peirce distinguished semiotics between three types of signs: Icon, Index and Symbol. The Icon is the representation of something (object), index show something about a thing, being physically connected with them. (Is the link between the sign and the object) and a symbol is universal context, meaning by usage.
Barthes define language as a social institution and a system of value that resists the modificiations of an individual thats why is a social institution too.
He define based on Saussere the signified as a mental representation of the “thing”, a concept.
In the case of the signifier
is the image, sound, object, etc… It is the material form that is developed in our minds as a memory. in other words is a mediator to handle the words, images, and objects in the sign equation.
Based on the functionalism the study of the language that see the functions of language and its elements to be the key to understanding linguistic processes and structures he worked on the Linguistic typology that is a subfield of linguistic that studies and classifies languages according to their structural features.
Also describe and explain the common properties and the structural diversity of the world's languages.
Greenberg grouped the hundreds of African languages into four families, which he dubbed Afroasiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo and Kohisan.
The original and influential linguistic Joseph Harold Greenberg was the major pioneer in the development of the linguistics as a empirical science. He contributed to sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, phonetics and phonology, morphology, and especially African language studies. He was born in 1915 in Brooklyn, New york and died in Stanford, california in 2001. Greenberg provided original classifications for the Native American Language Groups and suggested a combination of languages from Europe and Asia.
He was an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. During his academic career he served as president of the Linguistic Society of America, the African Studies Association, and the West African Linguistic Society.
He proposed the study of Linguistic typology, it is he study of the languages and the way how they differ from other.
(SVO) Subject verb object (Fula, Chinese, English etc.)
(SOV) Subject object verb (a typical declarative sentence. Japanese, Tamil, Turkish etc.)
(VSO) Verb subject object (Arabic, Tongan, Welsh etc.) (VOS) Verb object subject
(OSV) Object subject verb
(OVS) Object verb subject
The last three categories are rare and normally occur in areas that have been relatively isolated.
Watashitachi wa Nihongo o hanasu.
we TOP Japanese OBJ speak
'We speak Japanese.'
He ate the pudding.
Qatala l- malik-u l- malikat-a
kill DEF king NOM+DEF DEF queen ACC
'The king killed the queen.'
-The Fula language of West Africa has an incredible number of words for cattle. One small dictionary lists no less than 82 words.
Roland Barthes was born in Cherbough, Manche. His father died in a naval battle in Barthes' infancy, forcing his mother to move to Bayonne. Barthes spent his early childhood there, until they moved to Paris in 1924 where he attended the Lycée Montagne, followed by studies at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand from 1930-34. Life became difficult for them when Barthes mother had an illegitimate child, for their grandparents refused to give her financial aid, and so she took work as a bookbinder. Barthes was able to continue his studies at the Sorbonne, in classical letters, grammar and philology (receiving a degrees in 1939 and 1943 respectively), and Greek tragedy.
tomado de: http://www.egs.edu/library/roland-barthes/biography/
Language and Speech by Barthes
Barthes describes language as a social institution and system of values with its own rules; he made a relation between a sign and a value to explain the definition of sign which is an amount of goods that can be greater or lesser. He also said that a system and a social institution are connected because a language is a system of values so it resists human or individual modifications therefore becomes social institution.
Speech or discourse is when subjects express his point of view by the language, is essentially an individual act of selection and actualization.
Language and speech are related, the language is important for speech is understood and speech is required so that the language is set. The language is more general, of a society, while speech is more individual, is personal.
Signified and Signifier
Barthes describes the signified as a mental representation of the “thing” a mental image, he talks about a “phantasia logiki” that is the mental representation it means not a real thing , it is what gives the idea; it can be seen for example by means of an image. Example: tree, is as you imagined it, with leaves or leafless.
In the case of the signifier he refer to ir as a relatum whose definition cannot be separated from the signified, it can be an image, sound, object, etc… It is the material form, for example, can be given to a linguistic sign, for example: tree, we can found it in the dictionary.
SYNTAGM AND SYSTEM
Syntagm: is a group of words that come together to give a single meaning to a sentence, for example, my father is professor.
System: a set of signs that relate to each other, and if these change, changing others, for example, the verbal system.
DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION
Denotation: When the language issues information, for example, Joel studied medicine.
Connotation: the word or the phrase has double meaning, for example, Joseph is a bear.
Barthes also proposes:
Within Semiologic prospects appear some problems, as the origin of different signifyings systems or extension of language and speech.
Another problem could be the relationship that can be between language and speech, corresponded in any system.
Means: signal, icon, index and symbol. Where is the signal immediate and existential, while the index is to the contrary. In the symbol of the representation is analog and inadequate and the semiological sign their relationship is unjustified and accurate and its origin is utilitarian and functional.
It is the process where joins the signifier and the signified and the product is the sign, where the sign is not arbitrary, but motivated when there is relationship between meaning and meaningful and is analogue.
It is related to the language, its result is the psychologise linguistics and bring it closer to the economy, proposes the example of work and reward, a signifier and a meaning (calling this signification). Also is a our perspective about a sign or something.
Peirce made the difference between Sign, object and interpretant, where:
Sign: It is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity. Also, it is a union of the thing denoted and the mind.
Object: It gives characteristics (describes) of something in order to identify the sign. It is describable in terms of its effects.
Interpretant: "proper significate effect” of the original sign. Also, it is produced in the mind of each person.
Peirce also proposed:
Icon: Resemble or imitate something.
Index: Physically connected, show something about things.
Symbol: Context, meaning by usage.
And he proposed a list of categories:
-Firsteness or feeling: Prereflexive; there is no analysis, reference, comparison nor process here. It is atemporal. The places with esthetic connection are usually where firsts may be found.
-Secondness: Actual existence, reality. In contrast to the firstness, there is reflection here. Other recognized as other. It is unique.
-Thirdness: Relationship between events, the person mediates here.
Later he exposed 'Branches of semiotics':
-Grammatical speculative: Find out (discover) what must be true of the sign in order that they may embody meaning. A word has a meaning as we can communicate our knowledge to others and getting others communicated knowledge, what grammatical speculative does is to allow that communication- ground.
-Logic proper: Formal science of the truth of representations- object
-Pure rhetoric: One sign gives birth to another- One thought brings forth another.