What is Semiotics? Semiotics is the study of signs. Not quite an "ology" but still a science in itself.
So what is so special about Semiotics that it should be an "ology" or a science? Well, we all see signs everyday of our waking life. There are signs that we are use to and signs that we naturally look for, and very often there are signs that we ignore too. But there is a reason for this.
Through the work of Roland Barthes (inset) during 1960's, Semiotics was now becoming a major part of cultural studies in britain. This didn't put semiotics into a small bracket of seeing and reading. It also ment that semiotics could also be found in any language, including sound and sound patterns, drawing and paintings, art or even body language. Linguistics.
For example if we take the word "Cat" this creates a sign for us to offer some indication as to the object, but the word is not quite the object itself. Furthermore, this word "Cat" would also have no meaning to someone in another country who speaks a different "language". So for most people to understand this, we may produce a picture to draw upon association to establish the object.
Semiotics can be found in many forms in any language and has three basic forms.
1) Icon
2) Index
3) Symbol
The most common way of looking at semiotics is the traffic light. We understand the language of these three colours, Red Amber & Green. None of these colours actually say in "text" that you should slow down or stop or even go. What they do is create a sign or an idea to those in that enviroment of how to proceed or process the nessecary information.
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