semiology
Study of signs
Semiology is the study of signs and symbols and how they communicate meaning.
The term is essentially synonymous with semiotics, though semiology tends to appear in European and literary contexts while semiotics dominates American and philosophical usage.
Both examine how images, gestures, words, and other signs convey meaning within cultural systems: Her semiology course analyzed everything from traffic signs to advertising.
Meaning-bearing form
- signifiedExpressed meaning symbolically
- referentWhat a term designates
- denotationWord's explicit dictionary meaning
- connotationImplied sense, not dictionary
code · encoding · decoding · paradigm · modality · symbol · icon · index
Study of linguistic meaning
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- pragmaticsLanguage-in-context study
- phonologyScience of language sounds
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
phoneme · morpheme · grapheme · lexical · structuralism · langue · parole · synchronic
Study of interpretation methods
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
- readingInterpreting written text
contextualization · understanding · inference · decoding · elucidation · critique · meaning · connotation
Pictorial screen symbol
- emblemRepresentational sign or device
- logoCompany identifying symbol
- glyphVisual form of character
- hieroglyphAncient Egyptian picture-writing symbol
pictogram · ideogram · totem · insignia · badge · flag · diagram · pictograph
Body of traditional tales
- ideologyStructured belief framework
- representationDepiction or likeness
- narrativeAccount of events
- mediaInformation distribution channels
advertising · fashion · ritual · symbolism · discourse · hegemony · mass-media · naturalization
Indicator of disease
- syndromeLinked symptoms forming pattern
- diagnosisIdentification of illness
- auscultationMedical listening examination
- palpationMedical examination by touch
signifier
Meaning-bearing form
- signifiedExpressed meaning symbolically
- referentWhat a term designates
- denotationWord's explicit dictionary meaning
connotation · code · encoding · decoding · paradigm · modality · symbol · icon · index · token
semantics
Study of linguistic meaning
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- pragmaticsLanguage-in-context study
- phonologyScience of language sounds
morphology · phoneme · morpheme · grapheme · lexical · structuralism · langue · parole · synchronic · diachronic
hermeneutics
Study of interpretation methods
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
reading · contextualization · understanding · inference · decoding · elucidation · critique · meaning · connotation · subtext
icon
Pictorial screen symbol
hieroglyph · pictogram · ideogram · totem · insignia · badge · flag · diagram · pictograph · logogram
mythology
Body of traditional tales
- ideologyStructured belief framework
- representationDepiction or likeness
- narrativeAccount of events
media · advertising · fashion · ritual · symbolism · discourse · hegemony · mass-media · naturalization · rhetoric
symptom
Indicator of disease
- syndromeLinked symptoms forming pattern
- diagnosisIdentification of illness
- auscultationMedical listening examination
semiologyliteralism
Exact meaning only
positivism · materialism · empiricism · anti-intellectualism · physicalism
semiologyphysics
Science of matter and energy
chemistry · material science · physiology · mechanics · referent