Published by De Gruyter Mouton

Volume 2017 Issue 218 -

Issue of Semiotica

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Contents
Journal Overview

Publicly Available September 5, 2017

Frontmatter

Page range: i-vii

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August 15, 2017

Stroke systems in Chinese characters: A systemic functional perspective on simplified regular script

Xuanwei Peng

Page range: 1-19

Abstract

This article makes a preliminary attempt to account for the stroke systems of Chinese characters in simplified regular script. The framework utilized is the three meta-functions in Systemic Functional Linguistics. The description observes the cases from the perspectives of the experiential, appraisal (aesthetic), and thematic semiosis of strokes and their constitutional segments to figure out the relevant systems: the line system and the point system. This process witnesses comparisons to seek, in brief though, the traces and origins of stroke development along evolution, and hence the straightening of lines and squaring of character formation. This is the first step towards a rank model of Chinese writing, the whole project of which will highlight a way to study other writing systems in the semiotic respect.

September 1, 2017

Staying over-optimistic about the future: Uncovering attentional biases to climate change messages

Geoffrey Beattie, Melissa Marselle, Laura McGuire, Damien Litchfield

Page range: 21-64

Abstract

There is considerable concern that the public are not getting the message about climate change. One possible explanation is “optimism bias,” where individuals overestimate the likelihood of positive events happening to them and underestimate the likelihood of negative events. Evidence from behavioral neuroscience suggest that this bias is underpinned by selective information processing, specifically through a reduced level of neural coding of undesirable information, and an unconscious tendency for optimists to avoid fixating negative information. Here we test how this bias in attention could relate to the processing of climate change messages. Using eye tracking, we found that level of dispositional optimism affected visual fixations on climate change messages. Optimists spent less time (overall dwell time) attending to any arguments about climate changes (either “for” or “against”) with substantially shorter individual fixations on aspects of arguments for climate change, i.e., those that reflect the scientific consensus but are bad news. We also found that when asked to summarize what they had read, non-optimists were more likely to frame their recall in terms of the arguments “for” climate change; optimists were significantly more likely to frame it in terms of a debate between two opposing positions. Those highest in dispositional optimism seemed to have the strongest and most pronounced level of optimism bias when it came to estimating the probability of being personally affected by climate change. We discuss the importance of overcoming this cognitive bias to develop more effective strategies for communicating about climate change.

July 11, 2017

The embodiment of connotations: A proposed model

Yair Neuman, Newton Howard, Louis Falissard, Rafi Malach

Page range: 65-79

Abstract

The idea that abstract words are grounded in our sensorimotor experience is gaining support and popularity, as observed in the increasing number of studies dealing with “neurosemantics.” Therefore, it is important to form models that explain how to bridge the gap between basic bodily experiences and abstract language. This paper focuses on the embodiment of connotations, such as “sweet” in “sweet baby,” where the adjective has been abstracted from its concrete and embodied sense. We summarize several findings from recent studies in neuroscience and the cognitive sciences suggesting that emotion, body , and language are three factors required for understanding the emergence of abstract words, and (1) propose a model explaining how these factors contribute to the emergence of connotations, (2) formulate a computational model instantiating our theoretical model, and (3) test our model in a task involving the automatic identification of connotations. The results support our model pointing to the role of embodiment in the formation of connotations.

August 16, 2017

The semiotic abstraction

Russell Daylight

Page range: 81-90

Abstract

When we press the “A” key on our computer keyboard, an “a” appears on our screen almost simultaneously. In between those two points there are a number of layers of computer program which communicate with each other: the keyboard controller sends a message to the operating system which is interpreted by a word processor, which then returns a message to the operating system, which communicates with the video controller and the video board sends a message that it needs an “a” and this is mapped as a group of pixels which light up on the screen. Except that none of this actually happens. At the level of physical reality, all that happens is the shifting of magnetic fields and the passing of electrons. The electrons orbiting atoms slide from one atom to the next along wires, among silicon and metal. Entities like computer programs and operating systems are abstractions , layers of abstractions in fact, on top of a brute reality. In this paper I argue that this is the appropriate starting point for understanding the role of semiotics in negotiating reality. Taking examples from computer science, visual perception, and language, this inquiry considers what kind of abstraction we want semiotics to be. It is found that “the semiotic abstraction” allows us to understand semiotic systems as machines for creating differences , and semiotics itself as the primordial science of meaning.

July 25, 2017

Analyzing the fictional worlds of Pixar with an eye on digital humanities

Daniel Candel, Marta Giuliani Pedraza, Slavka Madarova, Paula Rubio Cáceres, Marta Ruiz Sanz, María Victoria Troyano Fernández, Kristīne Treija

Page range: 91-117

Abstract

The present article tries to close the gap between the digital humanities and traditional criticism. It does so by moving between distant and close reading, constructing visualizations, opening perspectives for coding, and analyzing a large corpus: the Pixar movies up to The Good Dinosaur . This is done with the help of a tool of analysis which studies fictional worlds and is wedged between value and method. After introducing the tool (Section 2), the main Pixar characters are placed within a spatiotemporal visualization of the tool and their semantic distribution is interpreted. This includes the organization of main characters, antagonists and remaining characters, and the gendering of characters and semantic spaces (Section 3). The article then discusses the limits of allocating characters in the visual diagram, above all by focusing on vertical and horizontal relationships, and complex semantic patterns (Section 4). It then discusses the differential aspects which make of Inside Out a different movie within the Pixar corpus (Section 5). The article closes by summarizing the different semantic patterns of Pixar movies, and by reflecting on the place of high abstraction, textual and visual, in this scheme, as well as on the complementarity of digital and traditional strategies.

August 18, 2017

Void of sign

Kumiko Tanaka-Ishii

Page range: 119-135

Abstract

This article examines the concept of void with the question of whether the concept forms a sign. A void in this article is defined as a spatio-temporal empty space existing in a representation. The aim of the analysis is to consider the hidden nature of signs, which cannot be highlighted only through an analysis of typical signs within social convention. As a semiotic tool to conduct the discussion, the notion of a zero sign of Lévi-Strauss is introduced. The article considers all possible zeros that can exist within the Saussurian sign model and introduces three cases: an omitted sign, an ambiguous signified, and an ambiguous sign. After examining the features of each kind, the concept of void is considered in these terms, with the conclusion that it belongs to the ambiguous sign case. Analysis of void with respect to the zero sign highlights the nature of signs as being reflexive, holistic and speculative. Because the signifier is barely delimited, it influences the surrounding sign systems, including the one existing at the meta-level. An ambiguous sign is deemed to allow for concept sharing among people even when the signifier and the signified remain ambiguous.

July 11, 2017

Towards a dynamic model of the sign

Ersu Ding

Page range: 137-144

Abstract

This paper argues that a linguistic or any other type of sign should not be viewed as a static unit in a synchronic system, but rather as a dynamic entity that appears in real communicative events. As discrete entries in a dictionary, words are given definitions as their meanings, but these definitions may lead to interpretations that have not been sanctioned by a language community and yet are totally reasonable and understandable. In this way, “old” words can be used to stand for “new” segments of our life experience through which some meanings are born and others modified. It is through our inferential use of this living sign that we keep adapting to an ever expanding world.

July 19, 2017

Toy stories: On the disciplinary regime of vibration

George Rossolatos

Page range: 145-164

Abstract

Sex toys promote a new consumptive ethos whose significance may be adequately outlined by attending to the institutional implications of this product category’s consumption. By drawing on Foucault’s theory of sexuality and the technologies of the self that materialize with the aid of discursive formations about sexuality, as well as on relevant sociological and ethnographic insights, I undertake a qualitative content analysis on a corpus of 100 sex toys’ product reviews from popular magazines and web sites in order to identify how the discourse about sex toys is articulated in terms of three dominant categories of sexual scripts (Simon and Gagnon 2007, Sexual scripts. In Richard Parker & Peter Aggleton (eds.), Culture, society, and sexuality: A reader , 29–38. London: Routledge), namely, cultural scenarios, interpersonal and intrapsychic scripts. By opening up the discussion to a broader cultural terrain, I outline how the consumption experience of sex toys, as articulated in the reviews’ discursive formations, facilitates the emergence of new consumer trends, particularly with reference to orgasm-on-the-go and no-touch-orgasm, while redefining existing ones.

August 18, 2017

3D printing: Of signs and objects

John Perkins-Buzo

Page range: 165-177

Abstract

3D printing has surely come of age. Widely available, and integrated into many computer-based design and animation curricula, it almost seems to have become a simple extension of what we already had in 2D printing. A 2D image (e.g., of a pipe) acts as the basis of a sign, which, perhaps upon further twists of the semiotic spiral, may lead one to cognition of a 3D physical pipe. But then, perhaps not. And only in a rare case would the physical pipe in turn find use as a sign of the aforesaid 2D image. With 3D printing, this order of semiosis no longer applies. Since 3D printing mainly occurs as a non-mass-production manufacturing technique, a 3D-printed artifact acts as a physical object – and generally it is printed to act precisely in that manner. It is a being that has an ontic difference from its digital source. The case of 3D printing provides an intriguing, complex, case study for semiosis, since the printables move in and out of the virtual and physical.

About this journal

Objective
Semiotica is published in six annual issues, in two languages (English and French). From time to time, Special Issues, devoted to topics of particular interest, are assembled by Guest Editors. The publishers of Semiotica offer an annual prize, the Mouton d'Or, to the author of the best article each year. The article is selected by an independent international jury.

Topics
We welcome papers reporting results of research in all branches of semiotic studies.

Article formats
Research articles, in-depth reviews, guest editorials, reports

Mouton D’Or Winner 2022

"Semiotricité et corps en jeu", Parlebas, Pierre, 248, 9-35.

The judges commented: "The Committee members made this decision based on many appreciations. First, the article contains a concise theory on semiotics of movement, synthesizing decades of research of the author. It opens an exciting framework for the contribution of many other authors. The theoretical grounds of semiotircity are built on the most classical semiotic approaches and represent a genuine development. Second, the article refreshes semiotics methodology in very original way, by engaging the applied semiotics for furtive and instantaneous activities analysis. Third, the article is pretty clear and well structured, written in very comprehensible French. The theoretical frame it opens is thorough and far reaching. Fourth, the semiotic theory of movement comes in a very special moment when the whole world is football, but it covers also many other areas of applicability which reflect major trends such as the general gamification of life thanks to new media and digital technologies. It is crucial for semiotic theory to open its theoretic scope towards significant cultural trends and become more attractive for young researchers."

Les membres du comité ont pris leur décision en fondant leur appréciation sur quatre éléments principaux. Premier élément : l'article, en peu de mots, en prenant appui sur des décennies de recherche de la part de l'auteur, déploie de manière précise les termes d'une sémiotique du mouvement. Les fondements théoriques de la sémiotricité sont construits sur des approches sémiotiques bien établies et représentent un véritable développement dans le domaine. En cela, le texte ouvre un cadre passionnant pour les contributions de nombreux autres chercheurs. Deuxièmement, l'article renouvelle la sémiotique appliquée de manière très originale, l'engageant dans une approche efficace des actions instantanées et furtives; la méthodologie sémiotique en général en tire donc aussi profit. Troisième point, en plus d'être profond, avec un cadre théorique d'ampleur et de grande portée, l'article est particulièrement bien structuré et écrit dans un français très compréhensible, ce qui est un véritable gain pour sa diffusion. Enfin, quatrièmement, s'il est indéniable que le texte pourrait bénéficier d'une visibilité complémentaire due à la ferveur liée au contexte récent de la coupe du monde de football au Qatar, il couvre surtout de nombreux autres domaines d'applicabilité qui reflètent des tendances majeures telles que la gamification générale de la vie, portée par les nouveaux médias et les technologies numériques. L'on y voit une belle opportunité pour la théorie sémiotique d'ouvrir son champ à la faveur de tendances culturelles significatives; ceci est une garantie pour continuer à attirer de nouvelles générations de chercheurs.