Semiotics: The Basics

Daniel Chandler is an Emeritus faculty member at Aberystwyth University and a consultant in marketing semiotics. He is also the senior compiler of A Dictionary of Media and Communication (3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 2020) and A Dictionary of Social Media (Oxford University Press, 2016).

Praise for Semiotics: The Basics:‘A very useful book, not only for those who wish to find out about semiotics, but also for those interested in finding out how language or any other sign system is far from being a neutral medium of communication.’ — Juan A. Prieto-Pablos, University of Seville, Spain‘The book is well written and up-to-date, without unnecessary verbosity or jargon, and yet reflects the complexity of the field and its problems.’ — Journal of Pragmatics‘It is no small task to present semiotics in a manner that makes it accessible to the beginning student, and Chandler achieves this, describing difficult concepts clearly and thoroughly.’ — Donald J. Cunningham, Indiana University, USA‘This book is, at once, highly accessible, extremely interesting, encyclopedic in scope, and authoritative. Highly recommended for all courses involving semiotics and its applications to media, culture and society.’ — Arthur Asa Berger, San Francisco State University, USAPraise for the fourth edition:‘Daniel Chandler’s Semiotics is thorough, well organized, and well written. Provocative and informative, its range, depth, and erudition should make it of interest, not only to philosophers and theorists of art, language, and culture, but to anyone interested in the relation of signs to mind and reality and the relation of reality and mind to signs.’ — Jeffrey Strayer, Purdue University Fort Wayne, USA

• List of illustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgementsIntroductionDefinitionsRelation to philosophy and linguisticsStructuralismWhy study semiotics?1 ModelsThe Saussurean modelArbitrarinessThe relational systemThe Peircean modelJakobson’s modelSign relationsSymbolic relationsIconic relationsIndexical relationsThe case of photographyMixed modesTypes and tokensRematerializing the signHjelmslev’s modelReflectionsFurther reading2 RealitiesCategorizationLanguage, thought, and realityReferentialityReferentialityModalityThe word is not the thingEmpty signifiersReflectionsFurther reading3 StructuresHorizontal and vertical axesThe paradigmatic dimensionThe commutation testOppositionsMarkednessDeconstructionConceptual alignmentThe semiotic squareThe syntagmatic dimensionSpatial relationsSequential relationsStructural reductionLangue and paroleReflectionsFurther reading4 CodesThe language modelDigital and analogue codesTypologiesSocial codes Textual codesGenre Aesthetic realismsInvisible editingInterpretive codesWays of readingCodificationLimitationsReflectionsFurther reading5 Ways of meaningRhetorical tropesMetaphorMetonymySynecdocheIronyMaster tropesDenotation and connotationMythReflectionsFurther reading6 InteractionsModels of communicationContext and relevanceCommunicative functionsThe positioning of the subjectModes of addressIntertextualityProblematizing authorshipNo text is an islandIntratextualityTextual framingReflectionsFurther reading7 PerspectivesStructuralist semioticsPoststructuralist semioticsThe return of SaussureSocial semioticsCognitive semioticsCartesian dualismSemiotic stancesMental representationEmbodimentMethodologiesAn ecological and multimodal approachReflectionsFurther readingGoing furtherGlossaryReferencesIndex