1.1 What is language?

Question 1

My definition of a language for activity 1.1 and other possible definitions. 4 points

Answer 1

1-My definition: It’s a set of elements (words, sounds, symbols…) that can be used according a set of rules in order to share information.
2-Language is the main means the humans use to communicate
3-Language is what we use to transmit our thoughts and ideas to other people
4-Language is a communication system using the voice, gestures or written symbols

Question 2

Activity 1.2 Why can a statue be considered a “sign”?: 2 points.
What field studies the sign systems? According to it does a statue count as s sign?

Answer 2

1-Because it conveys meaning
2-For this reason images, clothing, gestures, languages can all be regarded as signs.
——
Semiotics, yes

Question 3

Activity 1.2
-What does it mean “iconic” in semiotic terms
-What allows us to guess the meaning of the statue

Answer 3

-it means it resembles the thing it represent
@
Cultural indicators and cultural knowledge of the world (we know about memorials, and the use flowers, also the posture of the soldier…

Question 4

Activity 1.2
What does “symbolic” means in semiotic terms? 2 points

Answer 4

1- A sign is symbolic when they are purely arbitrary in that their meanings are established by convention rather than reason or logic.
2-There is no resemblance between the sign and the thing it stands for. You cannot work out the meaning of the sign from the symbols alone

Question 5

Activity 1.3
In what way is a toilet sign meaning not so obvious?
In semiotic terms what type of sign is this?3 points

Answer 5

1-The meaning of the sign is not obvious as the sign doesn’t represent the toilets themselves but the people that use the toilets. You need some cultural knowledge to make this association.
2-You also need some cultural knowledge to understand which figure is the man and which one is the woman
@
Indexical

Question 6

In semiotic terms, what is an indexical sign?

Answer 6

The sign has some casual or associative relationship with the thing it represents

Question 7

What type of signs are these:
-statue
-road traffic lights
-bus stop sign
-a knife as a restaurant sign

Answer 7

-Iconic
-Symbolic
-Iconic
-Indexical