- Saussure’s sign theory –
· A sign is an arbitrary relation;
· Each sign needs to be combinedwith other signs in order to produce meaning.
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Signifier
Sounds, letters, gestures.
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Signified
Image or concept to which thesignifier refers.
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- Peirce’s sign theory –
· A sign has a triadicrelation and is the basis of the theory of signification;
· A sign has an inbuiltcapacity to create meaning;
· Each sign develops infinitely in a permanentcycle.
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Representamen
The physical sign that is to be interpreted;
“Something that does the representing” (equivalent to Saussure’s signifier).
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Object
Image or concept (equivalent to Saussure’ssignified).
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Interpretant
“A sign in the mind”;
It becomes therepresentamen, i.e. the sign to be interpreted, as if it were a physical sign, in the next cycle.
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