semiotics

semiotics
The study of the system of signs as means of communication; one of the synchronic methods of analysis. It claims that words do not have any meaning in themselves, but only in the context in which they appear; and hence the study of the function of contrasts in language. It is not interested in what might have been the process of composition of a text. The discipline arises from the observation of social behaviour and a network of relationships and conventions; a certain gesture or word receives its meaning from its context and not by reason of its inherent nature. Applied to biblical studies, semiotics is the attempt to discover the conventions by which the reader understands what is signified; to discern what significance a particular narrative conveyed to the first readers. Evangelists and readers shared common conventions. There existed rules and structures in discourse which enabled sayings and events transmitted during the ‘oral period’ to be captured in writing and made intelligible. Thus it was possible both for a writer to use shared conventions to manipulate the readers and for readers to infer quite different meanings from the same text e.g. of parables. This could be considered to be as valid a method of studying as traditional historical criticism. A group can discuss together how a parable was created and proclaimed, and what its purposes and effects were and are.

Dictionary of the Bible.

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  • Semiotics — Semiotics, semiotic studies, or semiology is the study of sign processes (semiosis), or signification and communication, signs and symbols, both individually and grouped into sign systems. It includes the study of how meaning is constructed and… …   Wikipedia

  • Semiotics — Se mi*ot ics, n. Same as {Semeiotics}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • semiotics — study of signs and symbols with special regard to function and origin, 1880, from SEMIOTIC (Cf. semiotic); also see ICS (Cf. ics) …   Etymology dictionary

  • semiotics —  Semiotics  Семиотика   Междисциплинарная область, охватывающая различные науки (естественные, гуманитарные и технические) и изучающая знаки и знаковые системы; Также совокупность концепций, теорий и методов анализа разнообразных значений и… …   Толковый англо-русский словарь по нанотехнологии. - М.

  • semiotics — [n] study of signs as elements of communication langue, parole, pragmatics, semantics, sign systems, symbolism, syntactics; concept 349 …   New thesaurus

  • semiotics — ► PLURAL NOUN (treated as sing. ) ▪ the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. DERIVATIVES semiotic adjective semiotician noun. ORIGIN from Greek s meiotikos of signs …   English terms dictionary

  • semiotics — [sē΄mē ät′iks, sem΄ēät′iks] n. [Gr sēmeiōtikos < sēmeion, sign, akin to sēma: see SEMANTIC] Philos. a general theory of signs and symbols; esp., the analysis of the nature and relationships of signs in language, usually including three… …   English World dictionary

  • semiotics —    by Inna Semetsky    Semiotics is, in general, the study of signs and their signification. Deleuze and Guattari s semiotics present a conceptual mix of Charles S. Peirce s logic of relatives and Louis Hjelmslev s linguistics; both frameworks… …   The Deleuze dictionary

  • semiotics —    by Inna Semetsky    Semiotics is, in general, the study of signs and their signification. Deleuze and Guattari s semiotics present a conceptual mix of Charles S. Peirce s logic of relatives and Louis Hjelmslev s linguistics; both frameworks… …   The Deleuze dictionary

  • semiotics — semiotician /see mee euh tish euhn, sem ee , see muy /, n. /see mee ot iks, sem ee , see muy /, n. (used with a sing. v.) 1. the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior; the analysis of systems of communication, as… …   Universalium

  • Semiotics — Semeiotics Se mei*ot ics (s[=e] m[ i]*[o^]t [i^]ks), or Semiotics Se mi*ot ics, n. 1. The study of signs as an element of communication; the analysis of systems of communication; also called {semiology}. [PJC] 2. a theory of signs and symbols,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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