SYMBOL
Is an element that help us to understand abstract concepts that cannot always be translated into words.
Signifier VS. Signified
Signifier
The signifier is the pointing finger, the word, the sound-image.
Simply a jumble of letters. It is in the interpretation of the signifier that meaning is created.
Signified
The signified is the concept, the meaning, the thing indicated by the signifier. It need not be a 'real object'.
The thing signified is created in the perceiver and is internal to them. Whilst the signifier is more stable, the signified varies between people and contexts. The signified does stabilize with habit, as the signifier cues thoughts and images.
Symbolism, the uses of symbols to represent things is they think is more powerful than the direct representation of the world or of ideas. |