The differences between signifier signified and reference sense Thus "dog" is the signifier and an (our mental image of) an actual dog is the signified sense reference help us differentiate a case where 1 signified has more than 1 signifier Frege gives the famous example of 'The Morning Star' and 'The Evening Star' which both refer to the same object ie Venus (yet another signifier sense)
What is meaning according to Saussure? - Linguistics Stack Exchange In other words, meaning is a mental construct which refers to the signifier (for example, a physical object) Together (and, to Saussure, inseparably), the signifier and the signified constitute a sign
Icon, Index and Symbol - Linguistics Stack Exchange But, of course, something being a sign for something in a community of speakers is the very definition of symbol which describes a situation where the signifier (vehicle) is related to the signified (object) through convention So if something is an icon or index, it should be related by virtue of similarity of contiguity
semantics - Saussure says meaning is defined negatively, but is it . . . The signifier (the words red light) remains the same but the signified changes One is a traffic light, one is outside a studio and the other is a decoration on a tree What changes is the signified and therefore the meaning changes due to that And you know which one you are dealing with by a context
Sapir-Whorf vs. Chomsky - Linguistics Stack Exchange Can somebody let me know if this is a reasonable explanation for how the two theories are similar and different? This is not for homework, I'm just try to understand the difference, and my textbook
terminology - What is does mean in the stated link when the author uses . . . This is a sign with a straightforward relationship between signifier and signified The arrangement of the hands is the signifier and the signified is that it's 3 o'clock Signs like this, as the author says, are much more limited than language
What is the evidence for the arbitrariness of the sign? Before you point someone to evidence, I suggest pointing them to the problem of saying exactly what the "principle" or at least empirical claim is It is about the relationship between meaning and pronunciation, across languages In English, the relationship between form and meaning is not arbitrary, it is "natural" – it is in the nature of contemporary English that the word for "cat" is