Word meaning

The word as a linguistic sign

It would not make sense, while engaging in a discussion of the word, not to look at it from the perspective of semiotics. Semiotics, as a study of signs, sees the word as a linguistic sign. According to Saussure, the linguistic sign is a two-faceted mental construct. It is seen as an organic unity between a concept and a sound form.The two sides of the sign are:

• the signifier (the shape" of a word, its phonic component, i.e. the sequence of letters or phonemes) – «означальне» (словесно реалізована одиниця)

• the signified (the ideational component, the concept or object that appears in our minds when we hear or read about the signifier) – «означуване» (одиниця смислу).

(The signified is not to be confused with the referent. The former is a mental concept, the latter the actual object in the world)

Semiotic triangle

SENSE (CONCEPT; CONTENT)

 

 

WORD (EXPRESSION; REFERENT