Lakhasly

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• a 'signifier' - the form which the sign takes; and
• the 'signified' - the concept it represents.In contrast to Saussure's 'self-contained dyad', Charles Sanders Peirce offered a triad:
• The Representamen: the form which the sign takes (not necessarily material);
• An Interpretant: not an interpreter but rather the sense made of the sign;
• An Object: to which the sign refers.For example: Sign: The written word 'tree' Signifier: The letters 't-r-e-e' Signified concept: The category 'tree' Whilst this basically 'Saussurean' model is commonly adopted, it is a more materialistic model than that of Saussure himself.He referred to the signifier (signifiant) in terms of a 'sound-image' (image acoustique, 'the psychological imprint of the sound'), and to the signified as a mental concept.The distinction between signifier and signified has sometimes been equated to the familiar dualism of 'form and content': within such a framework the signifier is seen as the form of the sign and the signified as the content.Peirce's triad is often presented as 'the semiotic triangle'.

10

• a 'signifier' - the form which the sign takes; and


• the 'signified' - the concept it represents.
  Nowadays, the 'signifier' is commonly interpreted as the material form of the sign.
  For example:
  Sign: The written word 'tree'
  Signifier: The letters 't-r-e-e'
  Signified concept: The category 'tree'
  Whilst this basically 'Saussurean' model is commonly adopted, it is a more materialistic model than that of
  Saussure himself. He referred to the signifier (signifiant) in terms of a 'sound-image' (image acoustique, 'the
  psychological imprint of the sound'), and to the signified as a mental concept.
  The distinction between signifier and signified has sometimes been equated to the familiar dualism of 'form and
  content': within such a framework the signifier is seen as the form of the sign and the signified as the content.
  Note that unlike Peirce's model of the sign (outlined below), Saussure's model excludes reference to an object in
  the world (reference is only to a mental concept and to a 'sound-image'). His conception of meaning was purely
  structural. Such a model can be seen as supporting the notion that language does not 'reflect' reality but rather
  constructs it. However, some have criticized its detachment from social context. Saussure also emphasized the
  arbitrariness of the sign (though he was focusing on linguistic signs, seeing language as the most important sign
  system). In the context of natural language, he stressed that there is no necessary connection between the
  signifier and the signified: the relationship is purely conventional and arbitrary. Each language involves
  different distinctions between one signifier and another (e.g. 'tree' and 'free') and between one signified and
  another (e.g. 'tree' and 'bush').
  In contrast to Saussure's 'self-contained dyad', Charles Sanders Peirce offered a triad:


• The Representamen: the form which the sign takes (not necessarily material);


• An Interpretant: not an interpreter but rather the sense made of the sign;


• An Object: to which the sign refers.
  Peirce's triad is often presented as 'the semiotic triangle'. Here is a version which is quite often encountered and
  which changes only the unfamiliar Peircean terms: