Educational literature 

Sign systems in physics. Main types of cultural sign systems

A set of signs (most often of the same type), which has an internal structure, explicit (formalized) or implicit rules for the formation, comprehension and use of its elements and serves for the implementation of individual and collective communicative and translational processes.

In the sciences of culture, symbolism, as a rule, is identified with the language of culture, expressing the means of which it is. But, unlike the language of culture, heuristic. the meaning of the concept Z.s. is revealed in the emphasis on specifics. subject form of language implementation, concentration research. attention to formal, morphological. and syntactic. representation of linguistic means.

Classification of Z.s. carried out according to the types of signs that make them up (verbal, gestural, graphic, iconic, figurative, formalized); The basis for classification can also be specific. features of their syntactics, semantics or pragmatics.

Signs, along with non-systemic signs, are the subject of study in semiotics. Characteristics of Z.s. is an important component of the characteristics of semiotics. culture and culture (subculture) in general.

See also Cultural Language, Symbol.

Lit.: Works on sign systems. V. 1-25, Tartu, 1964-92; Stepanov Yu.S. Semiotics. M., 1971; Solomonik A. Semiotics and linguistics., M., 1995; Rey-Debove J. Semiotique., P., 1979; Feleppa R. Convention, Translation and Understanding. N.Y., 1988.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Sign system

a set of signs (most often of the same type), which has an internal structure, explicit (formalized) or implicit rules for the formation, comprehension and use of its elements and serves for the implementation of individual and collective communicative and translational processes. In the cultural sciences, Z.s., as a rule, is identified with the language of culture, expresses. the means of which it is. But, unlike the language of culture, heuristic. the meaning of the concept Z.s. is revealed in the emphasis on specifics. subject form of language implementation, concentration research. attention to formal, morphological. and syntactic. representation of linguistic means. Classification of Z.s. carried out according to the types of signs that make them up (verbal, gestural, graphic, conical, figurative, formalized); The basis for classification can also be specific. features of their syntactics, semantics or pragmatics. Signs, along with non-systemic signs, are the subject of study in semiotics (see Semiotics). Characteristics of Z.s. is an important component of the characteristics of semiotics. culture and culture (subculture) in general. See also Cultural Language, Symbol. Lit.: Proceedings on sign systems. V. 1-25, Tartu, 1964-92; Stepanov Yu.S. Semiotics. M., 1971; Solomonik A. Semiotics and linguistics., M., 1995; Rey-Debove J. Semiotique., P., 1979; Feleppa R. Convention, Translation and Understanding. N.Y., 1988. A. G. Sheinin. Cultural studies of the twentieth century. Encyclopedia. M.1996

Every person more or less understands the semiotics of his native culture. The situation is much worse with foreign cultures. It takes a lot of effort to learn to grasp the meaning and meaning of their signs and texts, and yet rarely does anyone manage to reach the same level as the understanding of their native culture, familiar from the cradle. The language of any culture is original and unique. But all cultures use the same types of signs and sign systems.

The whole variety of symbolic means used in culture makes up its semiotic field. As part of this field, the following main types of signs and sign systems can be distinguished:

Natural;

Functional;

Conventional (conditional);

Iconic;

Verbal (natural languages);

Signed recording systems.

Below is given a brief description of of these types and describes the ways in which information is encoded and decoded in them.

Natural signs

Natural signs refer to things and natural phenomena. Of course, not all of them act as signs. An object cannot be a sign of itself; it becomes a sign when it points to some other objects and is considered as a carrier of information about them. Most often, a natural sign is an accessory, property, part of some whole and therefore provides information about this whole. Natural signs are signs-signs. The simplest example: smoke as a sign of fire.

To understand natural signs, you need to know what they are signs of and be able to extract the information they contain. Signs of the weather, tracks of animals, the location of heavenly bodies - all these are signs that can tell a lot to someone who is able to “decipher” them (the ability to understand signs is brilliantly demonstrated by the heroes of some literary works- Dersu Uzala from Arsenyev, Chingachgook from F. Cooper, Robinson from Defoe, Zadig from Voltaire). But if a person is not able to do this, then, most likely, he simply will not perceive them as signs.

The ability to understand and use natural signs to navigate natural environment was an essential component of the per-

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primitive culture. Unfortunately, this skill is gradually being lost with the development of civilization. Rural culture now still retains it to some extent, but in urban culture it is becoming more and more a rare occurrence. There are a great many natural signs, but in everyday experience they are usually not subject to systematization. The construction of systems of natural signs is, as a rule, the result of long-term development of practice and science. An example is the iconic system of medical diagnostics. Based on information accumulated over centuries of medical experience, it records and systematizes various signs and symptoms of diseases.

Functional signs

An object becomes a functional sign if the connection between it and what it points to arises in the process of human activity and is based on the way it is used by a person. For example, a weapon discovered by an archaeologist in a mound is a functional sign indicating that a warrior was buried in it. The furnishings of an apartment are a complex of functional signs (text) that carry information about the degree of wealth of the owners, and the selection of books on the bookshelf speaks of their tastes and interests. Glasses are a sign of weak vision; a shovel on the shoulder indicates that the person has been doing or is about to do earthworks.

Functional signs are also signs-attributes. But unlike natural signs, the connection of functional signs with what they point to is determined not by their objective properties and not by the laws of nature, but by the functions that they perform in human activity. After all, these signs are objects that have some kind of pragmatic purpose. They are created by man for practical use, and not with the aim of endowing them with a sign function, and can act as signs only because they are included in human activity and, as a result, carry some information about it. Of course, in order to extract this information from them; it is required to have some preliminary knowledge about the conditions of their application in human activity. Visual and effective examples showing how much information functional signs can provide to an astute observer can be found in the stories of A. Conan Doyle about Sherlock Holmes, Chesterton about Father Brown, and A. Christie about Poirot. In everyday life, functional signs are “deciphered,” perhaps not so cleverly, but every day and constantly.

Not only objects, but also the actions of people can act as functional signs. Every schoolchild knows: when learning

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The teacher begins to run his finger over the class magazine - this is a sign that he will now call someone to answer. By making involuntary and unconscious body movements, a person, as a rule, does not even suspect that he is giving these signs signaling his feelings, emotions, intentions, thoughts.

Functional signs, along with primary meanings associated with their pragmatic functions, can also take on secondary meanings, which are attributed to them more or less arbitrarily (most often on the basis of some analogies). They acquire such secondary meanings, for example, in many superstitious signs (a horseshoe nailed to the door; empty buckets from a woman walking towards him; a spoon or knife falling from the table - a woman or a man will come, etc.). In the “Dream Books” that were popular in the past - collections of dream interpretations - you can find a lot of secondary meanings that are attached to a wide variety of things seen in a dream.

Since objects and actions, acting as functional signs, represent means, results, methods of human activity, they are ordered and systematized by this very activity. A large and complex system of functional signs is, for example, production technology.

Iconic signs

This is a fundamentally different class of signs compared to natural and functional ones. Iconic (from the Greek eicon - image) signs are image signs. Their defining feature is their similarity to what they represent. This similarity can be greater or less - from similarity only in some respects to isomorphism (one-to-one correspondence of all elements and relations). Iconic signs are signs in the full sense of the word. If for objects that act as natural and functional signs, the sign function is secondary and is performed by them as if in combination with their main functions, then for iconic signs this function is the main and main one. They usually are artificially created so that they appearance reflected the appearance of the things they designate, although occasionally it is possible to use a naturally formed object as an iconic sign if it is very similar (by chance or not by chance) to what we would like to designate with it.

An iconic sign may be similar to the designated object in terms of the “material” from which they are both composed. Yes, in music

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sometimes the roar of waves, thunder, a car horn, etc. is simulated. Here, musical instruments reproduce the sounds that we hear in life in the same “sound material” (air vibrations). However, images similar to the designated object can be created in a completely different material than the one from which the object is composed. A sculpture or portrait on canvas gives us an image of a person, although it is made in stone or paint. Poets and writers use words to evoke in the reader vivid images of the people, phenomena, and events they describe.

The images vary in the degree of their similarity to the original. Some of them are schematic, simplified in nature - these are the signs-drawings indicating pedestrian crossings, escalators, toilets, etc. Others are so similar to the person depicted that they create the complete illusion of her actual presence in front of us. For example, when looking at a landscape or still life drawn by an artist, we forget that we see a “flat”, two-dimensional image of it and perceive the picture as if its plane were a real three-dimensional space.

In art, images of reality are often created on the basis of an iconic reflection of some part of what is depicted, actions with it, its use, etc. In this case, the author usually strives not only to more accurately copy reality, but to express his subjective vision of things, his own point of view on them. Artistic images in works of art they differ in that they reflect not only the external appearance of people, phenomena, events, but also their inner content hidden from direct perception.

Conventional signs

Conventional (conventional) signs are artificially created signs. Usually they have little to do with what they indicate, and giving them a certain meaning is the result of an agreement, a contract (the word “conventional” comes from the Latin conventio - agreement, agreement, condition). A conventional sign designates a certain object not because - is connected with it in a way, like natural or functional signs, and not because it is similar to it, as is typical of iconic signs. It serves as a designation for an object "by condition"- because people agreed consider it a sign of this object. Conventional signs are created specifically to perform a symbolic function and are not needed for any other purpose.

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The simplest examples of conventional signs: school bell; red cross on the ambulance; zebra crossing at a pedestrian crossing; stars and stripes on shoulder straps.

There are two main types of conventional signs - signals and indices.

Signals -

Signals- notice or warning signs. The meaning that is attached to the most common and generally accepted signals in a given culture is acquired by people from childhood (for example, the meaning of the colors of a traffic light). The meaning of many special signals becomes known only as a result of training (such as, for example, flag signaling in the fleet and navigation signals).

Indexes -

Indexes- symbols of objects or situations that have a compact, easily visible appearance and are used to distinguish these objects and situations from a number of others. Sometimes (but not necessarily) they try to select them so that their appearance suggests what they mean. Examples of index signs: instrument readings, cartographic signs, various types of symbols in diagrams, graphs, professional and business texts.

Verbal sign systems

Verbal sign systems- the most important sign systems created by people 1: they form semiotic basis of culture. There are from 2500 to 5000 natural languages ​​in the world (their exact number is impossible to establish, since there are no unambiguous criteria for distinguishing different languages ​​from different dialects same language). Any natural language is a historically established sign system that forms the basis of the entire culture of the people speaking it. No other sign system can compare with it in its cultural significance 2 .

Undoubtedly, human language developed on the basis of the psychophysiological capabilities inherent in the biological nature of man. The structure of the brain, hearing organs, and larynx determines the number of distinguishable speech sounds (phonemes), methods of their combination, and the length of words and phrases. But the implementation and development of language skills

1 They are called “natural” to distinguish them from artificial - for example, formalized - languages.

2 It should be noted that the word “language” is used in two senses: narrow - to designate only natural languages, and broad - to designate other sign systems (for example, above we talked about “artistic language”). It is usually not difficult to understand from the context in which of these senses it is used.

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abilities occur in people only in conditions of communication. Observations of children who, for some reason, find themselves outside human society, showed that they do not know how to speak and, apparently, cannot learn to speak. Language is formed and developed by people only through joint public life. Therefore, although it has biological prerequisites, it is essentially a social phenomenon.

You can point to whole line advantages of language over other sign systems.

The language is economical and easy to use. Pronouncing the sounds of articulate speech does not require any noticeable expenditure of energy from a person, does not require preliminary preparation of any material means, leaves one’s hands free, and at the same time allows one to transmit a fairly large amount of information in a relatively short time.

An important advantage of language is its reliability as a means of storing and transmitting information. This is achieved due to the fact that, despite its efficiency, it is “redundant”, i.e. encodes information in more characters than is necessary for its perception. Redundancy makes it possible to correctly establish the content of language messages and avoid errors even when the message contains omissions and distortions.

The most important feature of language, which distinguishes it from all other sign systems, is its specific structural organization. Although it is so easy and simple for us to explain ourselves in native language, what we usually say without thinking about how we do it, language is actually far from so simple. He is polystructural, branched, hierarchical, multi-level system of signs. The basic structural unit is the word. Like atoms, words have an internal structure (root, suffixes, prefixes, etc.) and are built from “ elementary particles": they are sounds - phonemes (which, strictly speaking, are not signs, because they themselves have no meaning). “Atoms”—words—are combined into “molecules”—phrases, sentences, statements. And the latter make up texts - large and more or less integral “pieces” of speech. Thus, four main structural levels of language can be distinguished.

Phonetics -

1. Phonetics- sound, acoustic side of the language. Each language has its own phonetic features - its characteristic phonemes, forms and methods of their combination, intonation options, etc. The number of phonemes is relatively small: in different languages it ranges from 10 to 80. If a language were built at the level of phonemes (i.e., only phonemes were its signs), then it would be

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obviously very poor. But from a small number of phonemes you can create an endless variety of combinations. That is why the main structural components of a language are not phonemes, but their combinations - words. Only at the level of words do those advantages of language begin to appear that make it the main sign system of culture.

Vocabulary -

2. Vocabulary- vocabulary fund of the language. It numbers up to 400-500 thousand words in developed languages. However, only a small part of them is practically used in everyday use. The complete works of Pushkin consist of 600 thousand words. Moreover, it contains 21 thousand. different words. The lexical structure of the language is very complex. Considerable complexity is introduced into it polysemy- polysemy of words.

In modern languages, about 80% of words are polysemous. Even such a simple word as “table” has several meanings in Russian: it is a piece of furniture (there is a table in this room), and food, food (there is a wonderful table in this sanatorium), and a department in an institution (inquiry desk), and a negotiating table (you can sit at the negotiating table without a table!). Of course, polysemy makes language learning difficult. But at the same time, it enriches our speech, saturates it with additional, clearly not formulated content (“subtext”).

Grammar -

3. Grammar- structure of language, i.e. a system of forms and methods of formation, change and use of words. Vocabulary alone without grammar does not constitute a language. Individual words by themselves provide little opportunity for expression. Any complex thoughts require the orderly combination of many words into complete statements. The meaning of sentences depends not only on the words from which they are composed, it is largely determined by grammar. Moreover, grammatical structures themselves express the essential features of the content of a sentence, so that by understanding them, you can even understand what the words are about, even if you don’t know the words. we're talking about. Russian linguist L.V. Shcherba demonstrated this ability of grammatical structures to carry information famous phrase: “The glok kuzdra shteko has ruffled the bokr and is curdying the bokrenka.” The words here seem to be completely meaningless, but nevertheless the grammar tells us general meaning phrases: some female creature did something to some creature male, and then began to do something with his cub.

Stylistics -

4. Stylistics- a manner of speech presentation, characterized by the principles of selection and combination of linguistic means used. Modern literature is characterized by a variety of styles. Language also acquires various stylistic forms in the practice of human communication. Style can also be considered as individual manner

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speech, which to a greater or lesser extent reflects the level of education, occupation, range of interests, and attitude of the individual. As J. Buffon rightly noted, “style is the person himself.”

At all levels of language, there are norms that determine the construction of speech. People who speak the same language are able to understand each other because they adhere to the same norms. Failure to comply with these norms - phonetic deviations (pronunciation deficiencies), inaccurate use of vocabulary, grammatical errors, stylistic errors (for example, excessive cumbersomeness of phrases) - gives rise to confusion and misunderstandings. A clear example of this is the well-known expression “Execution cannot be pardoned,” which can take on two opposite meanings depending on where to put a comma (or, in oral speech, where to make an intonation pause). But at the same time, the boundaries of language norms are not rigid. They are flexible and changeable enough to give scope to the imagination and ensure that the language adapts to cultural innovations.

Natural language is an open system. It (in contrast to strict formalized systems, which will be discussed below) capable of unlimited development. In its changes, language records the shifts occurring in society. Physicists have revealed the secrets of the atom - the words “electron” and “atomic reactor” have entered everyday language. Radio technology appeared in our homes - “antenna” and “transistor” became familiar words for us. New trends in music arose - the language was enriched with the words “jazz” and “hard rock”. At the same time, words associated with living conditions that are becoming a thing of the past disappear from use or change the meaning and stylistic coloring: this is the fate of the words “krinitsa” (undug spring), “vyya” (neck), “vran” (raven), “tavern” and “floor” (servant in a tavern), “man” in the meaning of “footman”, “quarter” as a measure of volume.

But, despite the changes occurring in the language, it remains the same for centuries, and children understand their ancestors, and grandfathers understand their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, because along with a rapidly changing layer of vocabulary, the language has main vocabulary fund- the lexical “core” of a language, which has been preserved for centuries.

Iconic recording systems

The most important of them is writing, a system for recording signs of natural language and oral speech. This type of sign systems also includes musical notation, methods of recording dance, etc. Their peculiarity is that they arise on the basis of other sign systems - spoken language, music, dance - and are secondary in relation to them. Invent-

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The development of sign recording systems is one of the greatest achievements of human thought. The emergence and development of writing played a particularly important role in the history of culture. It can be said without any exaggeration that only its creation allowed human culture to emerge from its initial, primitive state. Without writing, the development of science, technology, art, law, etc. would be impossible.

Writing was preceded by the so-called “object writing” - the use of objects to convey messages, which arose in primitive society (for example, an olive branch as a sign of peace). Such methods of communication were sometimes resorted to in later times. However, this was still only the prehistory of writing. The first stage of its history was writing in drawings (pictography). Next, ideographic writing arose; in the process of its development, the drawings in it acquired an increasingly simplified and schematic character. And finally, at the third stage, an alphabetic letter was created, which uses a relatively small set of written signs that mean not words, but the sounds of oral speech that make them up.

Music recording—music writing—developed in a similar way. At first, musicians resorted to ideographic notations, in which the melody was drawn in the form of a broken or wavy line, then they began to use letters, hieroglyphs and special written signs. The modern form of musical notation is a product of the New Age. In the 20th century Other forms of recording music also appeared - on a gramophone record, magnetic tape, using computer digital codes.

Emergence and development writing creates fundamentally new opportunities for cultural progress. The basic sign of writing is not a word, as in spoken language, and the smaller and more abstract unit is the letter. The number of basic signs of the system decreases and becomes visible. This leads to fundamental changes in the logic of using the sign system. Qualitatively new ways of processing, perceiving and transmitting information are becoming possible.

Recording creates the opportunity to significantly increase the vocabulary of the language. In tribal unwritten languages, rarely used words simply disappeared from social memory and were replaced by new ones. The dictionary of such languages ​​contained no more than 10-15 thousand words. In modern languages, over the centuries-old history of the use of writing, words accumulate, and their number reaches half a million.

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With the advent of writing, language norms and rules began to take shape. This makes it possible to create a standardized literary language. It produces persistent grammatical forms, speech patterns and constructions become more complicated. Text processing techniques that are fundamentally impracticable in oral speech also appear: highlighting paragraphs and sections, separating the main content and comments, footnotes, indexes to it, introducing graphic design to facilitate understanding of the meaning, tables, text headings, etc. As a result, the ways of expressing thoughts in language are enriched and improved, and the accuracy and depth of conveying its subtlest nuances increases.

With the development of sign recording systems, the amount of information circulating in society increases immeasurably. Unwritten languages ​​could ensure the transmission of only that amount of knowledge that was stored in folklore - myths, oral epics, proverbs. This volume was limited by the memory capabilities of the individual acting as a priest or storyteller. Writing allows society to transmit information, the amount of which far exceeds the memory capacity of an individual. Libraries are emerging that serve as repositories of knowledge and make it accessible to future generations. Temporal and spatial boundaries of communication are removed: communication becomes possible between people living at great distances from each other and in different historical times. This made it possible, for example, to learn a lot about the life of long-vanished peoples - the ancient Egyptians, Hittites, Incas, to restore the Roman system of law several centuries after the death of the Roman Empire and to lay it as the basis of European jurisprudence.

Thanks to writing, the quality of information preserved in society changes. An original, non-standard thought, which does not meet with understanding among its author’s contemporaries and is therefore considered unworthy of memorization, without writing would have been forgotten after the death of the author, and descendants would not have known about it. Writing provides an opportunity to capture and preserve it. This opens up wide opportunities for the development of creativity, for the specialization of the intellectual efforts of its members in directions that go beyond generally accepted views and interests.

Writing opened the way to the replication of texts - book printing. They learned to make prints of what was written with paint on wooden and copper boards back in the 7th century. in China and India. And when the goldsmith Johann Gutenberg from Mainz invented the printing press and typing text from standard fonts,

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Mass reproduction of books was possible. Started new era cultural progress. The circle of readers has expanded enormously. There has been a democratization of written communication; it has become an everyday activity for millions of people. Conditions arose for mass education and enlightenment of the people. Schooling literacy has become an indispensable condition for the functioning of written speech, the preservation of linguistic traditions and the continuity of the existence of culture.

One of the important directions in the development of recording systems was the creation artificial formalized languages, playing a large role in modern logic and mathematics, and consequently in all sciences that use the logical-mathematical apparatus. Artificial languages ​​are created on the basis of natural ones. They are distinguished by strict formalization of the rules for constructing linguistic expressions and algorithms for transition from one expression to another.

The development of electronic computing technology is associated with the development of formalized languages. They become the languages ​​of human-computer communication. By recoding information expressed in natural language into a formalized language “understandable” for a computer with precisely formulated rules of language operations, we are able to “instruct” the computer to perform these operations and thereby process information in accordance with given rules. The inclusion of computers in human culture and the unusually rapid increase in their role in communication and information processes now largely determine the fate of the further cultural progress of mankind.

Familiar yavl. objects, actions and phenomena, i.e. any material objects, cat. can replace one or another reality. Sign is a two-way unit, a carrier of social information. A linguistic sign—a chain of phonemically divided sounds—means and the concept attached to it—the signified.

Language signs are distributed into three groups:

1. natural languages ​​(phonetic);

2. artificial languages(graphically written language, manual speech of the deaf and dumb);

3. signs associated with phonetic language (intonation, gestures, facial expressions, pauses).

The originality of the linguistic sign closing is that this is a primary non-conventional sign, objectively formed in the process of evolution of a person and human society in general. Among other types of signs used in human society, the linguistic sign occupies a special place:

1. its material and ideal nature;

2. the originality of its genesis, i.e. origin, evolution and functioning;

3. functions performed;

4. the form of its existence or expression;

5. its role in the life of society and many others. other signs.

Main. properties of the sign in general and linguistic sign in particular.

1. substitution function (any sign means something);

2. communicativeness (any sign is a medium of communication);

3. sociality (any signs arise and exist in society);

4. systematicity (any Z. is an element of some system);

5. materiality (any sign must be accessible to sensory perception - feel, see, sense).

The uniqueness of language as a sign system closing in universality (linguistic knowledge is used in all spheres of human activity); primacy in relation to other sign systems; in constant development and perfection; in polysemy.

Types of sign systems

Signs are usually distinguished from signs (symptoms). The latter are not means of purposeful transmission of information by someone. In them, the plane of expression (signifier, exponent) and the plane of content (signified) are in a cause-and-effect relationship (for example, puddles of water on the ground as evidence of recent rain). In actual signs used for the purposeful transmission of information, the connection between two parties is not determined by natural, cause-and-effect relationships, but is often subject to the principle of convention (conventionality) or the principle of arbitrariness (arbitrariness). However, as already noted, there are numerous cases of one or another motivation of signs allowed by this system.

People use many different sign systems, which can be classified primarily taking into account the communication channel (the environment in which their transmission takes place). Thus, we can talk about sound (vocal, auditory), visual, tactile, etc. signs. People have, in addition to sound language as the main communication system, gestures, facial expressions, phonation means, which are a special use of the voice, etc. They have at their disposal both natural (spontaneously arisen) and artificial communication systems created by them (writing; signaling using technical devices and other means: traffic lights, methods of marking military distinctions, etc., symbol systems in logic, mathematics , physics, chemistry, technology, languages ​​like Esperanto, programming languages, etc.). In some communication situations, there is the simultaneous transmission of signs of various kinds, the use of different media (multimedia communication).

Question

Lingvosemiotics

Semiotics is the science of sign systems in nature and society. Osnovopol-com yavl. Pier. Directions in S-ka:

1. biosemiotics (studies natural signs that function in the animal world).

2. ethnosemiotics (studies the signs associated with a certain ethnicity - habits, customs, traditions).

3. linguosemiotics(focused on the study of natural language with its stylistics and accompanying sign systems).

Sign of the phenomenon. objects, actions and phenomena, i.e. any material objects, cat. can replace one or another reality. A sign is a two-sided unit, a carrier of social information. A linguistic sign—a chain of phonemically divided sounds—means and the concept attached to it—the signified.

1 type of signs, copies or images (iconic). This type of signs retains similarity with the designated objects. Type 2 – signs, signs or symptoms (indexical) – carry information about an object, a consequence of a natural and causal connection with it. Type 3 – signal signs – carry information by agreement. Type 4 - signs-symbols - carry information about an object in abstraction of any properties from the object (for example, a Dove is a symbol of peace).

The originality of the linguistic sign. is that it is a primary non-conventional sign, objectively formed in the process of evolution of people and human society in general. Among other types of signs used in human society, the ulcer sign occupies a special place. The originality of the language as a sign system is concluded. in universality (a linguistic sign is used in all spheres of human activity); primacy in relation to other sign systems; in constant development and perfection; in polysemy.

Lingvosemiotics– the science of the communicative function of language. The essence of this function is that language is a means for the speaker to convey his thoughts and feelings to the listener. This function is carried out due to the sign nature of language.

Revealing the sign nature of a language becomes possible when the language begins to be studied along with other sign systems - the alphabet for the deaf and dumb, the system of road signs, etc. These systems are studied by semiotics - the science of signs. Lingvosemiotics occupies an intermediate position between internal linguistics and semiotics. Hence its two-root name. The founder of modern linguosemiotics is F. de Saussure.

The main goal of linguosemiotics is to identify the sign nature of language. This goal can be achieved if the language system is compared with other sign systems. This comparison allows us to characterize language as a special system of signs.

Identifying the uniqueness of a language in comparison with other sign systems can be done using different levels:

Physical level. From point of view physical characteristics sign, and therefore, from the point of view of their perception by the senses, all systems are divided into four groups: tactile, visual, auditory and olfactory. People use visual cues extremely actively. Visual signs also include human language in its written form. In its oral form, human language belongs to the auditory sign systems.

Biological level. The physiological mechanisms of speech activity in humans are special. This is especially evident in the lack of symmetry between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. It has been noticed that for right-handed people (for left-handed people it’s the other way around) left hemisphere specialized as speech (verbal), and the right – as non-speech (non-verbal). Brain asymmetry is absent in animals. It is an anatomical and physiological result of human speech evolution.

Psychological level. The mental foundations of human speech activity are undoubtedly much more complex than similar mechanisms of any other sign activity in humans or animals. The explanation is simple: human language is a formation much more complex than any other sign system. If a language distinguishes a system of hierarchically organized levels of various units, then the composition of sign units included in non-linguistic sign systems is limited.

Cultural level. The uniqueness of the linguistic system of signs is that it is used in all spheres of culture, while other signs have narrow, special areas of application. The universal use of language indicates the much greater communicative capabilities of human language in comparison with other sign systems.

Language sign

According to F. de Saussure, a linguistic sign is not a connection between a thing and its name, but a combination of a concept and an acoustic image.

A concept is a generalized, schematic image of an object in our minds, the most important and characteristic features of a given object, as if the definition of an object. For example, a chair is a seat with a support (legs or leg) and a backrest.

An acoustic image is the ideal sound equivalent of sound in our minds. When we say a word to ourselves without moving our lips or tongue, we reproduce an acoustic image of the actual sound.

Both of these sides of the sign have a psychic essence, i.e. ideal and exist only in our minds.

The acoustic image in relation to the concept is to some extent material, since it is associated with real sound.

The argument in favor of the ideality of the sign is that we can talk to ourselves without moving our lips or tongue, and pronounce sounds to ourselves.

Thus, a sign is a two-sided mental entity consisting of a signified and a signifier.

Concept- signified (French signifié)

Acoustic image- meaning (French signifiant).

Sign theory suggests 4 components of the signification process.

The following example involves the following components:

The very real, material, real tree that we want to designate with a sign;

Ideal (mental) concept as part of a sign (designated);

Ideal (mental) acoustic image as part of a sign (signifying);

Material embodiment ideal sign: sounds of the spoken word tree, letters representing the word tree.1. Denotation (referent) 2. Concept 3. Acoustic 4. Incarnations

[´djεreve] Tree, Tree

Trees can be different, there are no two absolutely identical birches, we also pronounce the word tree differently (in different tones, with different timbres, loudly, in a whisper, etc.), we also write differently (with pen, pencil, chalk, different handwriting , on a typewriter, on a computer), but the two-sided sign in our minds is the same for everyone, since it is ideal.

English linguists Charles Ogden (1889-1957), Ivor Richards (1893-1979) in 1923 in their book “The Meaning of Meaning” visually presented the sign relation in the form of a semantic triangle (triangle of reference):

Sign (Symbol), i.e. a word in natural language;

Referent, i.e. the subject to which the sign refers;

Relationship, or reference (Reference), i.e. thought as an intermediary between symbol and referent, between word and object.

The base of the triangle is represented by a broken line. This means that the connection between a word and an object is not obligatory, conditional, and it is impossible without a connection with thought and concept.

However, the sign relation can also be expressed in the form of a square, if we take into account that the second member of the triangle - thought - can consist of a concept and a connotation. The concept is common to all speakers of a given language, and connotation, or connotation (Latin connotatio - “connotation”) is an associative meaning, individual for each person.

For example, a bricklayer may associate “brick” with his work, while an injured passerby may associate it with the trauma he suffered.

Signs of a linguistic sign:

1. Conditional connection between the signified and the signifier. The word itself does not indicate the subject.

2. Linear character. (Speech has a duration in time and space - we pronounce words sequentially, linearly, letter by letter.)

3. Variability/non-variability. (Variability (variability):

b) The signifier remains unchanged, but the signified changes. Changing the signified can lead to both improvement and deterioration of the meaning. For example, the word “girl” in the 18th-19th centuries. did not have a negative connotation, today we use it in expressions like “walking girl.” The word "guy" had a meaning in the 18th-19th centuries. negative derogatory connotation; In the 20th century, the word “youth” almost fell out of use, and its place was taken by the word “guy.”)

4. Agreement.

5. Asymmetry: one signifier can have several signifieds (as, for example, in homonymy). Also, one signified can have several signifiers. This phenomenon is called synonymy.

Properties (principles) of a linguistic sign. The difference between a linguistic sign and other types of signs

Properties of a linguistic sign: 1. A linguistic sign is material and ideal at the same time; represents the unity of the sound shell - the signifier (form), and what it denotes - the signified (content). The signifier is material (sound, letters), the signified is ideal (what is inherent in our metaconsciousness). 2. The linguistic sign is primary, the signs of other sign systems are secondary. 3. Arbitrariness. 4. Motivation - the presence of logical connections between the signifier and the signified. 5. Changeability (variability):

a) The signifier changes, but the signified remains unchanged; for example, earlier the month “February” was called “February”, over time this name was transformed into the familiar “February”; also “brow” - “forehead”.

b) The signifier remains unchanged, but the signified changes. Changing the signified can lead to either improvement or deterioration of the meaning. For example, the word “girl” in the 18th-19th centuries. did not have a negative connotation, today we use it in expressions like “walking girl.” The word "guy" had a meaning in the 18th-19th centuries. negative derogatory connotation; in the 20th century, the word “youth” almost fell out of use, and its place was taken by the word “guy”.

6. Asymmetry: one signifier can have several signifieds (as, for example, in homonymy). Also, one signified can have several signifiers. This phenomenon is called synonymy.

7. The linear nature of the signifier. Speech has a duration in time and space - we pronounce words sequentially, linearly, letter by letter.

8. Significance. Significance can only be identified in a system by comparing a linguistic sign with other linguistic signs.

Several types of signs are used in society. The most well-known are signs-attributes, signs-signals, signs-symbols and linguistic signs. Signs carry some information about an object (phenomenon) due to a natural connection with them: smoke in the forest can inform about a lit fire, a splash on the river - about fish playing in it, a frosty pattern on the glass of a window - about the temperature outside. Signs-signals carry information according to condition, by agreement, and do not have any natural connection with the objects (phenomena) they inform about: a green rocket can mean the beginning of an attack or the beginning of some kind of celebration, two stones on the shore show the place of a ford, a blow to the gong means the end of the work. Signs-symbols carry information about an object or phenomenon based on the abstraction of some properties and characteristics from it, which are recognized as representatives of the entire phenomenon, its essence; These properties and signs can be recognized in signs-symbols (a drawing of hands joined in a mutual shake is a symbol of friendship, a dove is a symbol of peace).

A very special place in the typology of signs is occupied by the signs of language.

A linguistic sign is connected not by a thing or a name, but by a concept and an acoustic image. Only meaningful units can be considered linguistic signs: a word (lexeme) and a morpheme.

Language is a universal sign system. It serves a person in all spheres of his life and activity and therefore must be able to express any new content that needs to be expressed. Artificial systems are special systems with narrow tasks that serve humans only in certain areas, in certain types of situations.

In addition, language is a system whose internal structure is much more complex than artificial systems. The complexity of the structure of the language is manifested in the fact that in the language there is not only a tier that lies “above” the iconic one - the tier of sentences and free (variable) phrases, but also a tier that lies “below” the iconic one, the tier of “non-signs”, or “figures”. ", from which the exponents of signs are constructed (and with the help of which they are distinguished).

"It was highlighted five types of sign systems:

Natural sign systems;
- figurative sign systems;
- linguistic sign systems;
- recording systems;
- code systems.

It is in this sequence, in our opinion, that these coding systems real life appear in the ontogenetic development of humanity and in the phylogenesis of the individual. The same sequence of systems is preserved in the organization of the learning process, although in a somewhat blurred form. The appearance of systems in this order is explained by several factors, the most important of which is the type of basic sign of a particular system.

All other features of sign systems (the main characteristics of systems will be mentioned below) are based on the degree of abstraction of the basic sign and its “distance” from the signified.

Of the five types of systems, four are primary and are designed to directly encode reality; recording systems are a secondary code designed to encode sign systems. Recording systems again have their own basic signs, which differ from the signs of the encoded system, and their own operating rules. The code systems that follow them cannot exist without the corresponding symbolism, which at the same time serves to record them. In this case, primary and secondary systems are not distinguished. Each type of sign systems develops in a wide range of specific sign codes, in which the same basic sign is modified and receives different semiotic content. From system to system of the same type one can trace the increasing “detachment” of the sign from the signified and, in addition, the different semiotic charge of the sign. The appearance of certain specific systems among their various modifications depends on the latter circumstance. This development can be shown in the history of systems of a certain type (history of sciences, arts, etc.) […]

An analysis of the same plan can be carried out in the phylogenetic aspect. All this multifaceted analysis leads us to the conclusion that sign systems realized the development potential inherent in a person. Man had to understand and use environment and your own intellectual capabilities. He did this with the help of sign systems. The hierarchy of sign systems reflects the cultural development of mankind: without mastering the previous level it was impossible to climb to the next one, and having climbed to the next level, a person could use the previous one in a new way... I tried to show that at certain points in the development of the previous type of system, the beginnings of a new one were already emerging; from that moment on, the parallel development of both the old and the emerging new system began. […]

Each type of system has its own basic sign:

Natural (natural) systems correspond to a sign in the form of a material real object or phenomenon;
- figurative systems correspond to an image;
- language systems - the word;
- writing systems - a letter or other similar symbol;
- for code systems - a symbol.

I also tried to differentiate terms that would mean how each type of sign reflects reality:

Natural sign - indicates;
- image - reflects;
- word - describes;
- letter - fixes;
- symbol - encodes.

The signs constructed in this hierarchy clearly differ from each other in the degree of their proximity to the signified and, consequently, in the degree of their abstraction. I derived a pattern that constantly helped in the specific analysis of systems: the more “separated”, “detached” a sign is from the signified, the more “tied” it is to the system and depends on it. In more abstract signs there is a natural tendency towards greater formalization of the systems of these signs and vice versa. Formalization is expressed in many characteristics of systems, such as: the presence in them of metalanguages, recording systems, the relationship between different logics in them, etc.

The dual affiliation of a semiotic sign - its connection with the signified and its belonging to a certain sign system and dependence on it - from our point of view, the most important characteristic of the sign.

The pattern formulated above reflects the dependence between man, code and extra-code reality. There is, however, another side to the issue. In our scheme (man - reality - human tools) there are not two, but three elements, each coding of reality is carried out through our brain. What happens in the brain during our direct encounter with reality is still unknown to us. We only know how our perceptions spill out through code systems. There is no doubt that the forms of reflection of reality in various signs have a reverse effect on the functioning of the brain, and our thinking itself can be studied from them. In the very same signs of the same type, different mental potentials are revealed, or, as I called it, different quantum charges.

This is for now nothing more than a statement of fact, since I cannot draw practical applications from this conclusion, as I do from the first sign pattern. But this conclusion goes in line with the brilliant hypothesis Condillac And de Saussure, who long ago stated that our thinking seems to be syncretic, while language (and I add other sign systems) is discrete.

As a species, we simply have no other physiological capabilities other than those that provide discrete signals. However, these signals have different “mental” charges. When I built a continuum for the signs of figurative systems, this was clearly felt. Natural objects as images - “icons” - conventional images ( to varying degrees conventional) affect us differently. Apparently, only on this type of system can we test our hypothesis, because figurative systems strongly influence not only the rational, but also the emotional sphere. From sign to sign in these systems its “emotional charge” increases and its semiotic potential changes. Obviously, this problem requires serious improvement and experimental confirmation.”

Abram Solomonik, Philosophy of sign systems and language, Minsk, “MET”, 2002, p. 131-133.

| 8th grade | Planning lessons for the school year (according to the textbook by N.D. Ugrinovich) | Sign systems

Lesson 4
Sign systems

§ 1.2. Encoding information using sign systems

1.2.2. Sign systems

The sign system is based on a set of signs called the alphabet. These signs have a certain physical nature. You are well familiar with some sign systems and use them constantly (languages, numbers, road signs), you will meet others in this paragraph.

Each sign system is built on the basis of a specific alphabet (set of signs) and rules for performing operations on signs.

Natural languages. Humans widely use sign systems called languages ​​to represent information. Natural languages ​​began to form back in ancient times in order to ensure the exchange of information between people. Currently, there are hundreds of natural languages ​​(Russian, English, Chinese, etc.).

In oral speech, which is used as a means of communication in direct communication between people, various sounds (phonemes) are used as signs of language.

The basis of written speech is the alphabet, i.e. a set of signs (letters) that a person distinguishes by their pattern. In most modern languages, letters correspond to specific sounds in spoken language. The Russian alphabet is called Cyrillic and contains 33 characters, English language uses the Latin alphabet and contains 26 characters.

Based on the alphabet, according to the rules of grammar, the main objects of language - words - are formed. The rules according to which sentences are constructed from words of a given language are called syntax. It should be noted that in natural languages, the grammar and syntax of the language are formulated using a large number of rules, to which there are exceptions, since such rules have developed historically. In addition, natural languages ​​allow many options for conveying the meaning of messages by signs. The same information can be conveyed in different sentences.

Formal languages. In the process of the development of science, formal languages ​​were developed (number systems, algebraic language, programming languages, etc.), the difference between which and natural languages ​​lies in the existence of a limited number of strict rules of grammar and syntax and in the unambiguous recording of the meaning of a message by signs.

For example, the decimal number system can be considered as a formal language that has an alphabet (numbers) and allows you to name and write objects (numbers) and perform arithmetic operations on them according to strictly defined rules.

There are formal languages ​​in which not letters and numbers are used as signs, but other symbols, for example symbols chemical elements, musical notes, images of elements of electrical or logical circuits, road signs, dots and dashes (Morse code).

Physical implementation of signs in natural and formal languages may be different. For example, text and numbers can be printed on paper, displayed on a computer monitor, or recorded on a magnetic or optical disk.

Genetic alphabet. It is used by living organisms to build a unified system for storing and transmitting hereditary information.

Genetic information is stored in the cells of living organisms in special molecules. These molecules consist of two long chains twisted together into a spiral, built from molecular fragments of four various types. These fragments form the “genetic alphabet” and are usually designated by Latin capital letters (A, G, C, T) (Fig. 1.10).

Rice. 1.10. Model of a DNA molecule containing genetic code


Just as words in languages ​​are written using letters, genes consist of signs of the genetic alphabet. In the process of evolution from the simplest organisms to humans, the number of genes constantly increased, since it was necessary to encode the increasingly complex structure and functionality of living organisms.

Binary sign system. In the processes of storing, processing and transmitting information in a computer, a binary sign system is used, the alphabet of which consists of only two characters (O, 1). Physically, signs are realized in the form of electrical impulses (no impulse - 0, there is an impulse - 1), as well as states of RAM cells and sections of the surfaces of storage media (one state - 0, another state - 1).

It is the binary sign system that is used in the computer, since existing technical devices can reliably store and recognize only two different states (signs).

In the 60s of the 20th century in the USSR, scientists from the Moscow state university them. M.V. Lomonosov developed and put into production the Setun computer (a total of 50 copies were produced) (Fig. 1.11). “Setun” used ternary coding of information and, accordingly, consisted of devices capable of being in one of three possible states.

Rice. 1.11. Computer "Setun"

Control questions

1. Give examples of sign systems. What could be the physical nature of signs?

2. What is the difference between natural and formal languages?

3. Do plants have a genetic code? Animals? Human?

4. Why do computers use the binary sign system to encode information?

Tasks for independent completion

1.1. A task with a detailed answer. Fill out the table: enter the alphabet and list the possible physical nature of signs for various sign systems.