1. Signs and semiotics

2. What is a sign? A knot in a handkerchief
stands in for, substitutes sg. absent
Umberto Eco: „A sign is what can be used to lie”
a smile;
(false) clues;
symptoms

3. The structure of the sign
Ferdinand de Saussure
two aspects of the sign:
signifier: material
signified: the idea
(+referent)
Meaning = relationship between Sr and Sd

4. Kinds of signs 1: primary and secondary
Anything may be(come) a sign
a flower
a stone or rock

5. Primary and secondary sign

6. Kinds of signs 2: the relationship between Sr and Sd
icon – index – symbol

7. Kinds of signs

11. Kinds of signs 3: motivated and unmotivated
arbitrariness

12. hieroglyphs

13. Chinese characters 2

14. Turin shroud

15. Pictograms

18. Edinburgh

20. Hic sunt dracones – Here be dragons

21. How do signs signify? Signs make up systems
Meaning as difference (rather than correspondance)
Meaning ~ value: chess set
bill vs. pill
bull
pit
meaning: result of a play of differences within the semiotic system