In terms of linguistics There are some concepts that must be known to understand how language is formed and the different structures that human beings have followed in order to establish communication and understanding when we speak. The signified and significant They are two basic aspects in this conception of human communication and all our words contain these two aspects that nourish and configure them. Next in OneHowTo we are going to discover you the difference between signified and significant so you can understand what we mean when we talk about one or the other.
What is the meaning
Saussure He is one of the linguists who studied the linguistic sign and the elements that intervene within human communication in a more profound way, therefore, he owes the differentiation between signifier and signified that determines the basis of our speech and, therefore, of our communication skills.
The “meaning” refers to the idea that comes to mind when we say a word, what we are referring to within our real world when we speak. Let’s think that words have been a system that humans have invented to be able to communicate with each other and each one of them refers to an element of our reality, that idea, that relationship between mind and reality is the ” meaning”.
So that we understand this concept, we are going to give an example: when we talk about a house, we all come to mind what a house is (a building in which some people live, where they sleep, live, etc.). All that association of ideas What comes to us when we speak of “home” is the meaning of that word.
What is the signifier
When we speak of “signifier” we refer precisely to the other part of the previous association of ideas. That is, we have said that meaning is the concept that is given to a word, right? Then the signifier is the word itself, that is to say, that set of linguistic signs (phonemes and morphemes) that we use to be able to communicate with the rest of the people. The signifier is the tool that we use verbally or in writing to be able to send an idea, a concept to the person who will receive (the receiver) the information.
Let’s go with an example so that we understand exactly what we mean: in the term “house” we have to use that exact word (significant) to be able to refer to the concept, to the idea that we all have of home (meaning).
When instead of writing, we speak, then the linguistic sign changes because we are not using morphemes but we are using phonemes (the system of signs that reflects our way of speaking). Thus, in the case of the word “house” when we speak, the signifier is the set of articulated phonemes that result in / k /, / a /, / s /, / a /.
That is, we cannot say that the signifier is a “word” because in linguistic terms it is not correct; is he sign set that have meaning and that we use to establish human communication.
Concept of “reference”
Another linguist, Charles Sanders Peirce, added a third element to this linguistic sign: The reference. In this sense, we are talking about the fact that in order for there to be an interrelation between the signified and the signifier, it is also essential that there be a reference in real life, an object to refer to otherwise, there would be no possible relationship.
In other words, in order for there to be a relationship between the signifier “house” and its meaning, that building in question that we are talking about must exist in our reality, because otherwise, communication would not be possible. With this third element, Sanders incorporated reality in this linguistic conception, something essential.
Thus, the structure of the linguistic sign would be an interrelation between meaning, signifier and reference, as we show you in the following image.
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