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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, USA

Praise 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
SEMIOTICS
THE BASICS
This fourth edition of the bestselling textbook, now available in print,
eBook, and audiobook, has been fully updated, continuing to provide
a concise introduction to the key concepts of semiotics in accessible
and jargon-free language.
Demystifying what is a complex, highly interdisciplinary field,
key questions covered include: what are signs and codes? What can
semiotics teach us about representation and reality? What tools does
it offer for analysing texts and cultural practices? The fourth edition
of Semiotics: The Basics focuses in particular on its application to
communication and cultural studies. It has been extensively revised
and extended, with an entirely new section on cognitive semiotics,
many more illustrations, and a new glossary.
With updates to theory, further examples, and suggestions for
review and further reading, this must-have resource is both the ideal
introductory text and an essential reference guide for students at all
levels of language, communication, media, and cultural studies.

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).
THE BASICS SERIES

The Basics is a highly successful series of accessible guidebooks


which provide an overview of the fundamental principles of a subject
area in a jargon-free and undaunting format.
Intended for students approaching a subject for the first time, the
books both introduce the essentials of a subject and provide an ideal
springboard for further study. With over 50 titles spanning subjects
from artificial intelligence (AI) to women’s studies, The Basics are
an ideal starting point for students seeking to understand a subject
area.
Each text comes with recommendations for further study and grad-
ually introduces the complexities and nuances within a subject.

PHILOSOPHY OF MIND
AMY KIND
METAPHYSICS (SECOND EDITION)
MICHAEL REA
ART HISTORY (SECOND EDITION)
DIANA NEWALL AND GRANT POOKE
PRAGMATICS
BILLY CLARK
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
SANDY TAYLOR AND LANCE WORKMAN
SOCIOLOGY (THIRD EDITION)
KEN PLUMMER
RESEARCH METHODS (THIRD EDITION)
NICHOLAS WALLIMAN
SEMIOTICS (FOURTH EDITION)
DANIEL CHANDLER
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
PAUL IBBOTSON
For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com/
The-Basics/book-series/B
SEMIOTICS
THE BASICS
FOURTH EDITION

Daniel Chandler
Cover image: © 2021 Daniel Chandler

Fourth edition published 2022


by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2022 Daniel Chandler

The right of Daniel Chandler to be identified as author of this work has


been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced


or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks


or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.

First edition published by Routledge 2002

Third edition published by Routledge 2017

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data


A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data


Names: Chandler, Daniel, author.
Title: Semiotics: the basics/Daniel Chandler.
Description: Fourth edition. | New York, NY: Routledge, 2022. |
Series: The basics | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021050409 | ISBN 9780367726546 (hardback) |
ISBN 9780367726539 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003155744 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Semiotics.
Classification: LCC P99 .C463 2022 | DDC 302.2–dc23/eng/20211015
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021050409

ISBN: 978-0-367-72654-6 (hbk)


ISBN: 978-0-367-72653-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-15574-4 (ebk)

DOI: 10.4324/9781003155744

Typeset in Times New Roman


by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
For Jem

‘The subtlety of nature is greater many times


over than the subtlety of argument’
Francis Bacon, Novum Organum
(1620) Aphorism XXIV
CONTENTS

List of illustrations xiii


Preface xvii
Acknowledgements xix

Introduction 1
Definitions 2
Relation to philosophy and linguistics 4
Structuralism 5
Why study semiotics? 8

1 Models 13
The Saussurean model 15
Arbitrariness 19
The relational system 24
The Peircean model 30
Jakobson’s model 39
Sign relations 42
Symbolic relations 46
Iconic relations 49
Indexical relations 52
The case of photography 55
Mixed modes 57
Types and tokens 59
Rematerializing the sign 60
x CO N T E NT S

Hjelmslev’s model 65
Reflections 67
Further reading 68

2 Realities 69
Categorization 70
Language, thought, and reality 74
Referentiality 78
Modality 81
The word is not the thing 84
Empty signifiers 89
Reflections 93
Further reading 94

3 Structures 97
Horizontal and vertical axes 97
The paradigmatic dimension 101
The commutation test 102
Oppositions 104
Markedness 109
Deconstruction 116
Conceptual alignment 117
The semiotic square 124
The syntagmatic dimension 128
Spatial relations 129
Sequential relations 135
Structural reduction 137
Langue and parole 141
Reflections 146
Further reading 147

4 Codes 149
The language model 151
Digital and analogue codes 155
Typologies 157
Social codes 158
Textual codes 167
Genre 168
Aesthetic realisms 171
Invisible editing 177
CONTENTS xi

Interpretive codes 181


Ways of reading 186
Codification 190
Limitations 192
Reflections 192
Further reading 193

5 Ways of meaning 195


Rhetorical tropes 197
Metaphor 199
Metonymy 204
Synecdoche 206
Irony 207
Master tropes 209
Denotation and connotation 210
Myth 219
Reflections 222
Further reading 223

6 Interactions 225
Models of communication 226
Context and relevance 234
Communicative functions 241
The positioning of the subject 244
Modes of address 249
Intertextuality 253
Problematizing authorship 254
No text is an island 256
Intratextuality 258
Textual framing 259
Reflections 261
Further reading 262

7 Perspectives 263
Structuralist semiotics 263
Poststructuralist semiotics 267
The return of Saussure 269
Social semiotics 273
Cognitive semiotics 278
Cartesian dualism 279
xii CO N T E NT S

Semiotic stances 280


Mental representation 283
Embodiment 286
Methodologies 289
An ecological and multimodal approach 291
Reflections 297
Further reading 297

Going further 299


Glossary 305
References 317
Index 343
ILLUSTRATIONS

0.1 Semiotic traditions. Source: © 2021 Daniel Chandler 3


0.2 The relation of semiotics to philosophy and
linguistics. Source: © 2021 Daniel Chandler 4
0.3 The emergence of European structuralism. Source:
© 2021 Daniel Chandler 6
1.1 The classical triadic model of the sign. Source:
© 2021 Daniel Chandler 15
1.2 Saussure’s dyadic model of the linguistic sign.
Source: Adapted from Saussure 1916/1995, 158 16
1.3 The linguistic sign and its interpreters. Source:
© 2021 Daniel Chandler 19
1.4 Planes of thought and sound. Source: Based on
Saussure 1916/1995, 156 25
1.5 The relations between signs. Source: © 2016
Daniel Chandler 27
1.6 A brand positioning grid. Source: © 2016
Daniel Chandler 29
1.7 Peirce’s model as a semiotic triangle. Source:
Adapted from Ogden and Richards 1923, 11 and
Nöth 1990, 89 32
1.8 Peirce’s model as a semiotic tripod. Source:
© 2016 Daniel Chandler 33
xiv I L L U S T RA T I ONS

1.9 Peirce’s successive interpretants. Source: © 2016


Daniel Chandler 35
1.10 Jakobson’s circles. Source: © 2021 Daniel Chandler 40
1.11 Knowledge needed for interpreting sign relations.
Source: © 2021 Daniel Chandler 45
1.12 Sign relations in road signs. Source: © 2021
Daniel Chandler 46
1.13 Representing the heart. Source: © 2021
Daniel Chandler 48
1.14 Hybridity in sign relations. Source: © 2016
Daniel Chandler 57
1.15 Jakobson’s matrix. Source: © 2021 Daniel Chandler,
based on Jakobson 1968a, 700–5 59
1.16 Hjelmslev’s stratified model of a sign. Source: © 2016
Daniel Chandler 66
1.17 Substance and form of expression and content.
Source: © 2021 Daniel Chandler 66
2.1 Realism vs. idealism. Source: © 2016 Daniel Chandler 79
3.1 Syntagmatic and paradigmatic axes. Source:
© 2016 Daniel Chandler 98
3.2 Markedness of explicit oppositions in online texts.
Source: © 2016 Daniel Chandler 112
3.3 The unmarked male. Source: © 2021 Daniel Chandler 114
3.4 Zones of markedness in a conceptual alignment.
Source: © 2016 Daniel Chandler 120
3.5 The semiotic square. Source: Adapted from Nöth
1990, 319 125
3.6 The semiotic square: yes, no, and maybe. Source:
© 2021 Daniel Chandler 127
3.7 The semiotic square: gender. Source: © 2021
Daniel Chandler 128
3.8 Reading direction and diagonals. Source: © 2021
Daniel Chandler 131
3.9 Default side values in visual frames. Source: © 2021
Daniel Chandler 132
3.10 Little Red Riding Hood. Source: Larrucia 1975, 528 140
4.1 Key poles in social relationships. Source: Adapted
from Argyle 1988, 86 163
ILLU ST RA T IO N S xv

4.2 Patterns of smile return. Source: Derived from data


in Henley 1977, 176–7 164
4.3 Patterns of gaze return. Source: Adapted from Henley
1977, 165 165
4.4 The perceptual cycle. Source: © 2021 Daniel Chandler 182
4.5 Gestalt principle of similarity. Source: © 2021
Daniel Chandler 185
5.1 Informational vs. aesthetic functions. Source: ©
2016 Daniel Chandler 196
5.2 Metaphorical substitution. Source: © 2016
Daniel Chandler 201
5.3 A visual metaphor. Source: © 2021 Daniel Chandler 202
5.4 The four ‘master tropes’. Source: Adapted from
Jameson in Greimas 1987, xix 209
5.5 Connotations of design features. Source: © 2021
Daniel Chandler 212
5.6 Barthes’s orders of signification. Source: © 2021
Daniel Chandler 214
5.7 Triadic model of denotation and connotation.
Source: © 2021 Daniel Chandler, based on Saint-
Martin’s account 1995, 383 214
5.8 Connotations of circles and squares. Source: Adapted
from Liu and Kennedy 1993 215
5.9 Subjective ratings of geometrical shapes. Source:
Adapted from Krampen 1983, 151–2 217
5.10 Sensory connotations in relation to liking. Source:
Adapted from Gombrich 1963, 58–9 217
6.1 Pictorial plaque on Pioneer 10 spacecraft.
Source: Produced by the Pioneer Project at NASA
Ames Research Center and obtained from NASA’s
National Space Science Data Center 227
6.2 Saussure’s speech circuit. Source: Based on
Saussure 1916/1995, 27, 28 232
6.3 Jakobson’s model of communication. Source:
© 2021 Daniel Chandler 233
6.4 Three contextual frames. Source: © 2021
Daniel Chandler 236
6.5 Decoding and inference in sign relations
Source: © 2016 Daniel Chandler 237
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