Sign - what is it? As a rule, when pronouncing this word, road signs, signs of the zodiac and signs from above come to mind. But this concept covers a much larger number of areas, which are, for example, mathematics, linguistics, art, design and many others. Detailed information that this is a sign will be given in today's review.
Dictionary definitions
Dictionaries say the following about the numerous meanings of the word "sign":
- Gesture, object, graphic mark, record, or some other object that is used to convey meaning. (People who are naturally deprived of the ability to voice speech or hearing, explain themselves by signs and at the same time understand each other perfectly.)
- Linguistic is the main concept in semiotics (the science that studies the properties of signs and sign systems). Denotes an observed object and refers to something else that is not available to direct observation. (Yuri Lotman understood semiotics as the science of communication systems and signs thatused in the process of communication).
- In a religious sense, a phenomenon or event allegedly sent by higher powers as a message or warning. (Eugene prayed earnestly every morning and asked the Almighty to send him a sign from above).
- Sign that regulates traffic. (It is clear that driving under a prohibition sign is a clear violation of traffic rules.)
- In mathematics, one digit in the notation of a number. (Some people with phenomenal memory can remember tens of thousands of digits of pi.)
- A sign in mathematics that indicates whether a number is positive or negative. (Negative numbers are preceded by a minus sign.)
Synonyms and etymology
Since a sign is a polysemantic word, it has a considerable number of synonyms. Here are some of them:
- Designation.
- Sema.
- Sign.
- Number.
- Information.
- Symbol.
- Gesture.
- Plus, minus.
- Code.
- Word.
- Image.
- Symbol.
- Hieroglyph.
- Logo.
- Difference.
- Icon.
- Label.
- Sign.
- Omen.
- Omen.
- Foreshadowing.
- Signal.
- Symptom.
- Nod.
- Hint.
- Note.
- Notch.
- Stamp.
- Print.
- Bookplate.
- Emblem.
- Cipher.
- Brand.
- Label.
- Reper.
- Hieroglyph.
The word we are studying comes from the Proto-Slavic znak, which passed into Old Russian and Church Slavonic (sign), as well as into Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian, Czech, Slovak, Polish. It is related to the Proto-Slavic verb znati, which also passed through Old Russian and Church Slavonic into Russian and other languages close to it.
Sign in semiotics
In this science, which deals with the study of signs, they are considered as a kind of agreement (explicit or not) about attributing a certain meaning, meaning to an object. A special case of using the specified agreement for the purpose of transmitting information is also called a sign. A sign can also be multi-part, consisting of a number of other signs. For example, numbers are signs of numbers. Letters are signs of sounds. Together with the signs for words, they make up the signs of human language.
According to the Soviet and Russian culturologist, literary critic and semiotician Yu. M. Lotman, signs are divided into two groups - conditional and pictorial.
- A conventional sign is a symbol that does not have a motivated connection between its expression and content. The word is the most common of these signs.
- Fine or conical is a sign whose meaning and expression are connected in a natural way. Among the pictorial signs, the most common is the drawing.
In tongue
A language sign is both a material and an ideal object. He appears inunity:
- signifier (form) - sound shell, or acoustic image;
- of the signified (content) - the concept that is indicated.
In this case, the signifier is material, and the signified is ideal. Signs in the language have a number of characteristics, which will be discussed below.
Arbitrariness and significance
The sign is arbitrary, that is, the connection between the signifier and the signified, as a rule, is not dictated by the properties inherent in the designated object. However, there are options when the sign is "relatively motivated". This is practiced when it is possible to decompose it into units of a lower order, for example, breaking up a word into morphemes. And also, when the word is used not in the direct, but in the figurative sense. At the same time, motivation acts as a limiter to the arbitrariness of the sign.
The sign has its significance (value), which is a set of correlative properties. This significance can be revealed only in the system, when one linguistic sign is compared with other linguistic signs. For example, some signs do not represent sounds. Which sign in a word does not indicate a sound, but at the same time affects pronunciation? Dividing - hard and soft. Here are examples of words with separators: bindweed, streams, pours, present, move out, object.
Asymmetry and linearity
The sign is characterized by asymmetry. It follows that one signifier can have several signifiers. For example, the word "three" simultaneously denotes both the number "3" and the verb "rub" in the imperative mood. This phenomenon is called homonymy. Homonyms are words that are spelled the same, but are different in meaning, while the coincidence is completely random.
Another example is the cases of polysemy - ambiguity. So, the word "arrow" can mean a part of the device, and a symbol, and part of a plant, and a meeting of criminal elements. At the same time, according to scientists, both the signifier and the signified are not objects frozen, motionless. Their ratio is subject to invariable violation. This means that both the sound image of a unit of sound and its meaning change over time. This leads to the fact that the original correspondence is violated.
The signifier is inherent in the property of linearity, that is, in speech there is a sequential deployment of units that are located relative to each other in accordance with certain laws.
Variance
The sign is characterized by variance, denoting the ability to convey the same meaning in different forms. As a linguistic phenomenon, variance indicates linguistic redundancy, which is nevertheless necessary. It, as a consequence of evolution in the language, prepares the ground for its further development. Variants may appear:
- in pronunciation (tempo - tempo, bakery - buloshnaya, rain - rain);
- in writing (mattress - mattress, galoshes - galoshes);
- accented - cottage cheese, compass - for professionals (both on the first and second syllable);
- informative suffixes (reached - reached);
- in case endings (contracts - contracts, six kilograms - six kilograms, lots of oranges - lots of oranges);
Change
Signs are characterized by variability, which can be manifested in different ways:
- The signifier changes, but the signified does not. Examples: once upon a time the name of the second winter month was pronounced and written as "February", and now as "February"; the forehead used to be a forehead.
- The signifier remains unchanged, but the signified changes. For example, the word "girl" in the 18th and 19th century did not have a negative connotation, while today when it is pronounced, as a rule, a walking girl is meant. And the word "guy", on the contrary, was pejorative, unlike today.
