Semiotics: 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. A must-have guide for students of language, communication, media, and cultural studies at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

List 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, 2020) and A Dictionary of Social Media (2016).

Product details

• Authors: Daniel Chandler, Chandler Daniel
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 08.08.2025
• EAN: 9781041016113
• ISBN: 978-1-0-4101611-3
• No. of pages: 436
• Series: BASICS
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > Other languages / Other literatures; Media Studies, Theory of art, Linguistics, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Communication Studies, Communication Studies, Philosophy: aesthetics, Semiotics / semiology, Graphical & digital media applications, Graphical and digital media applications