Signs: an Introduction to Semiotics - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1855671948 ISBN 13: 9781855671942

Synopsis

The interpretive science of semiotics offers powerful analytical tools for the application of many disciplines to the study of perception. Semiotics is the study of signs, and as such, is of relevance to a wide spectrum of scholars and professionals, including social scientists, psychologists, artists, graphic designers, and students of literature. Semiosis – the production and interpretation of linguistic and visual signs – is innate to human beings of all societies. From the simplest of hand gestures to the most complex diagrams and charts, the sign is key to the communication of ideas. Thomas A. Sebeok examines, in an engaging, readable style, how the sign mediates between bodily experience and abstract thought.

This updated second edition of Signs combines some of Sebeok's most important essays with a new general introduction, introductory passages at the outset of each chapter, a glossary, and brief biographies of the major semioticians. From an overview of the discipline to a more detailed exploration of sign categories, the author powerfully demonstrates the co-dependency of verbal and non-verbal communication.

Aimed primarily at undergraduate and graduate students, this engaging book also has plenty to offer any general reader who is interested in exploring and analyzing the complex sign systems we so often take for granted.

About this title

Synopsis

Semiotics, the science of signs, is at the heart of debates on the nature of human communication, cognitive processes and language. This volume is a synthesis of the most important work of Thomas Sebeok, one of this century's greatest semioticians. It covers fundamental issues of contemporary semiotics as it applies to the visual behavioural, cognitive and social sciences. It should be of interest to a wide range of scholars and students in linguistics, language, psychology and social anthropology.

About the Author

Thomas A. Sebeok is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Semiotics at Indiana University. He has written numerous articles and books, and is world-renowned as an authority on semiotics.

Edition details

• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1855671948
• ISBN 13: 9781855671942
• Binding: Paperback