Semiotics: The Basics: (The Basics)

This fifth edition of the bestselling textbook is a major new revision, 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? Semiotics: The Basics focuses on its application to communication and cultural studies. The latest edition features a greatly extended treatment of core concepts, in particular traditional historical models of the sign, the semiotic triangle, and distinctions between ‘natural’ and conventional signs. There is also a greater emphasis on ‘the social life of signs’. With an extensive index, a comprehensive glossary, suggestions for review and for further reading, and a list of online resources, this must-have guide is both the ideal introductory text and an essential reference for students of language, communication, media, and cultural studies at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Table of Contents:
List of illustrations Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Definitions Relation to philosophy and linguistics Structuralism Why study semiotics? 1 Models The semiotic triangle Natural vs. conventional signs The Saussurean model The arbitrariness of the linguistic sign The relational system The Peircean model Jakobson’s model Sign relations Symbolic relations Iconic relations Indexical relations The case of photography Mixed modes Types and tokens Rematerializing the sign Hjelmslev’s model Reflections Further reading 2 Realities Categorization Language, thought, and reality Referentiality Referentiality Modality The sign is not the thing Empty signifiers Reflections Further reading 3 Structures Horizontal and vertical axes The paradigmatic dimension The commutation test Oppositions Markedness Deconstruction Conceptual alignment The semiotic square The syntagmatic dimension Spatial relations Sequential relations Structural reduction Langue and parole Reflections Further reading 4 Codes The language model Digital and analogue codes Typologies Social codes Textual codes Genre Aesthetic realisms Invisible editing Interpretive codes Ways of reading Codification Limitations Reflections Further reading 5 Ways of meaning Rhetorical tropes Metaphor Metonymy Synecdoche Irony Master tropes Denotation and connotation Myth Reflections Further reading 6 Interactions Models of communication Context and relevance Communicative functions The positioning of the subject Modes of address Intertextuality Problematizing authorship No text is an island Intratextuality Textual framing Reflections Further reading 7 Perspectives Structuralist semiotics Poststructuralist semiotics The return of Saussure Social semiotics Cognitive semiotics Cartesian dualism Semiotic stances Mental representation Embodiment Methodologies An ecological and multimodal approach Reflections Further reading Going further Glossary References Index

About the Author :
Daniel Chandler is an emeritus faculty member at Aberystwyth University, UK, 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).

Review :
Praise for the fifth edition: ‘The successive editions of Daniel Chandler’s Semiotics since 2002 show a depth of vision and commitment that make these clear, precise, and well-documented works a real contribution to world research.’ Anne Hénault, Professor emerita, Sorbonne University Praise for previous editions: ‘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 ‘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