Speech is a sign system. The speech atom is a sign that is studied in semantics. As a result of the study of the sign, two poles were distinguished: the sign form and the sign content. Sign content can be divided into denotatus and significat.
Language is an abstraction of the world, therefore, in language, signs only refer to things. Denotat is a class of objects, which is indicated by a sign, a general, "ideal" type of object.
The signification is the representation of an object in the human mind, the meaning of the sign. The meaning of information (text, statement, appeal) is determined by its denotative and significative content.
Denoting and denoting
Answering the question: “What is denotatus?”, We can refer to the concept of de Saussure. He divided the sign into:
- signifying (the perceptual form of the sign is how the sign appears before a person, in what form);
- signified (concept, meaning of the sign - what is embedded in the shape of the sign, in its form).
The designator is denotatus, and the designator is a significat. If you look at this with an example, then the red sign with a dash is itself a denotation. Its concept is prohibition, its meaning is always associated with the abstract concept of prohibition. This very idea of ​​prohibition is a sign.
If we turn to the language, the word is the sign. Denotat - the form of a word (sound or letter), the significant - the meaning of the word, socially shared (conventional) meaning.
Denotative and Significant Content
Denotative content is the explicit meaning of the text. The explicit meaning is formed from the concretization of denotations that occurs during their interaction in one text.
Significatory content is the implicit meaning of the text; it is not derived directly from the sum of words, but is implied. Significant content depends on:
- the subjectivity of our perception;
- socio-cultural context;
- language specifics.
The sign is affected by denotation and connotations. The connotations complement or accompany the denotation, they indicate what the subject is associated with (in a particular sociocultural reality or for a particular person).
Symbols and signs
The connotations are the source of figurative meanings of the word, comparisons and metaphors. For example, among the connotations of the word "snake" is "deceit, danger." In this regard, the expression "poisonous like a snake" is used.
Comparing denotatus and connotations, we can say that denotatus is a clear, literal meaning, connotation is an emotional, evaluative meaning. Depending on the language and culture, the same object may have different connotations, sometimes the opposite.
In Europe, snakes are most often associated with evil. In China and Japan, positive connotations are attributed to snakes.
| Denotatus | Connotations |
| Home is the place where a person lives | comfort, warmth, safety |
| Red rose - flower | love, romance, passion |
| Apple - Fruit | sin, temptation |
The emergence of new associations and the disappearance of old ones illustrates the dependence of connotations on time. For example, an apple. Due to the Apple logo, it has become associated with the development of IT.
Connections are the main problem of everyone who studies a foreign language. It is connotations that determine the appropriateness of using a word in a particular context.
As an example, consider the words “cheap” and “inexpensive”. In the dictionary of these words, the literal meaning is "low price." But cheap translates as "cheap", has the same negative connotation in English as in Russian. The word "inexpensive" is neutral, an analogue of the Russian "inexpensive".
Types of Significant Connections
Additional meanings of the information depend on:
- associations associated with the denotatus, which are determined by the era, ethnic group, social group, worldview;
- speaker relationship;
- style of speech;
- symbolic meaning of denotations.
For example, the symbolic meaning of denotatus is used in heraldry. So, the lion traditionally symbolizes courage, nobility, power.
In many cultures, there are symbols whose meaning is easy to explain to a foreigner unfamiliar with them. For example, for the symbols of purity, the general is white: white dove, white lily, unicorn, pearl, lotus. White is associated with spotless, pure. A large number of objects that have nothing to do with luck have the symbolic meaning of luck or fulfillment of desire: these are shooting stars and ladybugs, rabbit legs and horseshoes.
Classes
S. D. Katznelson writes that denotation is the volume of a concept, and the signification is content. The scope of the concept is a class of objects corresponding to the word. The content of the concept is all those signs by which an object can be attributed to a certain class.
Denotat is not a specific object, not a “Alena's red pencil,” but a pencil in principle. The literal definition of a word does not indicate a real object; it covers a whole class of objects.
Some objects exist in reality, others only in the imagination. The latter have an empty denotation. Examples of words having an empty (fictitious) denotation: fairies, mermaids, fauns, etc.
In addition to words having an empty denotation, there are words with diffuse denotation. So, it is difficult for concepts (freedom, equality, fraternity) to choose an unambiguous class, people argue about their literal definition.
In accordance with the nature of the class to which the sign refers, according to N. G. Komlev, the following types of denotations are distinguished:
- objects (hare foot, snake, lion, pencil);
- concepts (properties of objects, qualities);
- language categories (noun, adjective, suffix);
- imaginary objects and creatures (unicorn, sphinx).
What the specialist sees
The concept of "denotation" is inextricably linked with the sign. Where is the sign hiding?
The easiest way to understand this is by representing several groups of people with different experiences interacting with an object. For example, a person playing a computer game and a game developer. For each of them, the denotation of the word "computer game" will be exactly the same (literal definition), the sign will be different.
According to psychoanalysts, the signification prevails over the denotation. Therefore, for a person, the reflection of an object in his consciousness is more important than the literal definition of an object.
Statements
What exactly are we talking about? Very often a person does not notice how much what he says corresponds to what he thinks (wants to say). When he receives a message, if he is biased, he will not try to correct the sign by looking more closely at the denotation.
The meaning of the text depends on the structure of the text. The denotations in this case are exactly the same, the emphasis is different, which affects the overall meaning of the text.
Accent Tools:
1. The selection of words and the choice of grammatical form. The choice of verbs often determines connotations. The object associated with the verbs of activity, pressure and energy (he won) in the view becomes the reason for what is described in the sentence. The “experiencing” verbs (she felt) indicate the presence of a certain stimulus acting on the object, and being the cause of its condition.
The acting, not the passive person, takes away the main emotional load of the sentence. "The teacher who gave the student a deuce" is the center of the picture, in a sense, a villain. When “the student receives a grade from the teacher,” the emphasis shifts to the student and his inability to get a higher grade.
2. The sequence of words / ideas. The text is not perceived uniformly, the level of concentration of attention when meeting new information is inconsistent. When a person receives information in a continuous stream, the first words / ideas in the text (“primary effect”) are of greater importance, and they affect the meaning of the whole message.
Summary
Denotat (translated from French to “designate”) and the significant (translated from French to “mean”) are the two main elements of the sign. The sign refers not to the subject itself, but to the idea of ​​this subject (concept).
The sign is conditional, therefore, the language is not tied to specific objects of the material world, but operates with representations. Representations of objects are changing, it is enough to compare the idea of ​​a car in people at the end of the XIX century and now.
Representations change, but words remain. Denotates remain unchanged for a long time.
A sign for a person has more weight than a literal definition of a word. The reflection of the denotatum in the human mind is a complex phenomenon, depending on the characteristics of communication (era, culture), on the structure of the message, on the worldview of the communicator and recipient (the one who transmits and the one who receives information).