What are Semiotics?

For my content research I thought of researching about semiotics as this relates to how people think and perceive certain messages and symbols that they interact with everyday.

Semiotics

• The study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.

The responses that we elicit for signs and symbols are automatic, but why do we do it automatically? These responses are driven by complex cultural and environmental messages and conventions that we learn. This is also dependent on our own personal ability of interpreting them. Being able to automatically react to a set of traffic lights for example is something that we learn and has been established by our culture and society and we have been exposed to and learn since we were very young. Being able to recognise these conventions and signs help us navigate our society. Furthermore, it's also important to understand the context which the sign is being used for in order to fully understand the actual meaning of the sign and also in order for us to act appropriately in the situation. Semiotics is also important in order to communicate effectively and unambiguously to someone, the semiotic should help give clarity and meaning to the message being served.

These cultural connotations does not only apply to signs and symbol but also type. The use of language and meaning of words also come into this and how they are understood by people. Usage of certain words and it's interpretations may have changed over generations and therefore vary in meaning from the past compared to the present. For example, the word 'bastard' used to mean 'illegitimate child' however, as society changed the meaning of this word gradually changed to an 'unpleasant or despicable person' - often classed as offensive language. In a way, this is an example of how people may react in different ways towards this word and the culture that they live or lived in shaping the way that they think and understand semiotics in their everyday lives.

I find this really interesting as it really makes you question why you think the way you think and why you may see things differently than other people. This area really fits with my concept as I could bring in aspects that I can consider in order to make the content (messages) in my publication effective and communicative to the viewers. Also, as I feel like my publication is going to be very text heavy I would want to further focus on the use of language - maybe linguistics in order for me to use and know the appropriate words or word structures for my publication.

https://signsalad.com/our-thoughts/what-is-semiotics/