What is social semiotics? It is a question that was posed to me in an assignment, and I had no idea where to start on "social semiotics". So, after research, this is what I have come up with. First let's define what semiotics is, which should help. Semiotics is the study of signs and how they are interpreted. These signs are not just pictures, they can be broader, much more diverse meaning. Semiotics in general have been discussed as far back as Ancient Greece, but the one credited with modern semiotics is Ferdinand de Saussure, a Swiss linguist. Saussure had the belief that all language itself was full of signs and started the trend of studying current, at the time, languages. The significance of Saussure making this statement is that before him, language was studied as a crystalized subject, in that the "sings" or meanings were not studied as much as the words inside the language. Saussure revolutionized the importance of meaning behind words. Below is a video that gives a brief explanation of semiotics.
Social Semiotics is the study of those signs and how they impact cultural and social settings. Social Semiotics is credited with Michael Halliday and his book Language as a Social Semiotic. Jeff Bezemer and Carey Jewitt wrote in their article "Social Semiotics", published in Handbook of Pragmatics: 2009 Installment, that Halliday believed that there are three components to social semiotics:
1. Ideal metafunction: expressing something about the environment
2. Interpersonal metafunction: having people relate to one another
3. Textual metafunction: make connections between signs to make understanding. (Bezemer & Jewitt)
The main take away from the Social Semiotics vs Semiotics in general is the idea that social semiotics recognize that the meaning of signs can be interpreted differently for each receiver. If person A saw an ad for an advertisement, their takeaway might be to buy that item. Person B might have a completely different reaction to that sign. There are certain rules within social semiotics that must be followed. There are three rules to look at and focus on. Representation is how one goes about understanding the sign. Interactive meaning is how the receiver and the sign connect to one another. The Point of View is the point of view, at what level of engagement is the viewer receiving the sign. These rules come into play with things like the location of an image. Top images are seen as holding ideal information and the bottom images hold the truth. Left located images dictate what is already known and the images on the right indicate new or improved.
So, it is important to realize the idea of how culture comes into play with social semiotics. Here we have an ad from Nike.
When we first look at the sign, we notice how at the top is the "Just go nuts", which we interpret as doing something enthusiastically because of the culture we are in and how we are familiar with this verbiage. Also, at the bottom of the sign is the "true information", where Nike is giving you truth about Draymond Green and why he is reacting the way he is.
Here is another example, in the form of an advertisement for weight loss.
This one follows the rules of image location to a point. At the top is the ideal information, informing you that classes are forming while at the bottom is the true information, including pictures of those who have lost weight using the adverts program. From left to right is an actual before and after, following the rules mentioned above.
Social semiotics is an extremely detailed and interesting field of study. By understanding semiotics, and more importantly social semiotics, one can begin to understand why the things we see on TV, or the internet are the way they are.
Works Cited:
Bezemer, Jeff & Jewitt, Carey. (2009). Social Semiotics. 10.1075/hop.13.soc5.
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