Art as a universal way of communication ART - CONDUCTOR OF SPIRITUAL ENERGY The special power of art lies not only in the fact that it conveys information to us, but also about what may be even more important: it is a conductor of spiritual energy. Art has a beneficial effect on human emotions: it inspires, inspires hope, makes you empathize. Viktor Popkov "Father's Overcoat" A kind of self-portrait of the artist. In the picture, the artist depicted himself in an old overcoat left over from his father who died in the war. In the background, the disembodied shadows of widows, made in mournfully crimson, hover. The canvas conveys the artist's personal experiences, but it also restores the spiritual kinship of generations, the continuity of heroic traditions, and pays a grateful tribute to the military past. The overcoat itself is a symbol of all those who mourn for those who died in the war. Vasily Surikov "Morning of the Streltsy Execution", 1881 Surikov did not show the execution itself, since he did not seek to shock the viewer, but wanted to tell about the tragic fate of the people at the time of the historical turning point. The artist focused on the state of mind of the condemned and what each of them experiences in the last minutes of his life. consciousness and feelings. There are two main characters in the picture - young Peter, sitting on a horse near the Kremlin walls, and a red-haired archer, angrily looking at the king. This frantic man is the emotional center of the composition. His hands are tied, his feet are stuffed into the stocks, but he did not resign himself to his fate. In his hands he clutches a candle with a tongue of flame rising up. Peter looks at the archers with a no less angry and implacable look. He is full of self-righteousness. A diagonal line can be drawn between the figures of the archer and Peter, which visually demonstrates the opposition of these characters. Spectators empathize with the archers, imbued with their state of mind. After all, each of them experiences the last minutes of his life in his own way: some - in a state of fear and despair, others - in impotent anger, disobedience to fate, others in tears and prayers. ART AS A UNIVERSAL WAY OF COMMUNICATION SIGNS AND SYMBOLS OF ART Since primitive times, various types of images (sculptural, pictorial, graphic) were symbolic and symbolic codes that were used by ancient people to perform rituals, preserve and transmit information. Any significant sound, gesture, thing, event can be either a sign or a symbol. SIGN AND SYMBOL How do you understand these terms? In what expressions do we use these words? How is a sign different from a symbol? Signs are generally accepted conventions for objects, phenomena, and actions. Examples of signs can be road signs or symbols on geographical maps, sound signals - SOS or an ambulance siren, a variety of gestures, etc. A sign is understood by everyone in the same way. A symbol is an object, action, etc., revealing some image, concept, idea. The symbol embodies common experiences and ideas for people. A symbol is a synthesis of a sign and an image. The symbol, like a riddle, is multi-valued, its meanings can be revealed indefinitely. Understanding the symbol depends on the erudition of a person and his intuition. A symbol can be denoted by a number, a property, a form. For example, the number 7 is a symbol of perfection and completeness (seven days in each phase of the moon, seven colors of the rainbow, seven notes, seven days of the week, seven virtues, seven deadly sins, seven sacraments Seven deadly sins that can destroy the soul: anger, pride, voluptuousness (lust), laziness, gluttony, avarice (greed) and envy Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1460 -1516) The Seven Deadly Sins There were eras in history when people especially often turned to symbols in art. to God. Therefore, the things that surrounded a person interested the artist only to the extent that they were connected with the meaning of Holy Scripture. Many medieval paintings depict a cup, grapes (wine) and bread - symbols of the sacrament of communion; lily or iris flowers - a symbol The Mother of God Simon Ushakov The Last Supper icon by S. Botticelli The Annunciation The choice of color, color is also symbolic: red-brown was a symbol of everything earthly (clay, earth), red is the color of shed sacrificial blood, the fire of faith; blue or blue symbolized everything heavenly, holy; green is the color of hope, the color of life, a symbol of consolation, rebirth to a new life. Trinity. Andrei Rublev. From the fifteenth century the things depicted in the picture are endowed with a double meaning at the same time - religious and everyday. In the religious, the traditional divine symbolism of the Middle Ages continues. Adrian van Utrecht. Still life with a bouquet and a skull. Carlo Crivelli "Madonna" In everyday life, the usual significance of a thing is manifested in Everyday life person. Many works of the seventeenth century are symbolic, which is often conveyed by the objects presented in them: glasses with wine, bread, fish, wilted flowers, watches, etc. Pieter Klas. Still life with crab Simon-Renard de Saint-André. Still life vanitas (vanitas - vanity of vanities), reminding a person of the frailty of his existence. Still life vanitas (vanitas) These still lifes depict: skulls, candles, flowers, clocks, sheets of music and musical instruments (the sound has ceased, then died) Jurian van Streck. Vanity of vanities The very name of the picture speaks of the frailty of earthly vanity - the pursuit of wealth, power, pleasures. In still life, the artist conveys the value of everyday life, the significance of simple things. His relationship to the world. A plumed helmet, a hunting horn and a sword symbolize military prowess and earthly entertainment. A skull entwined with an ear, a drawing depicting a boy's head, denote youth, death and the future resurrection. The edition of Sophocles' Electra in a Dutch translation by the poet Joost van Vondel alludes to the immortality of art in the face of the frailty of earthly glory. . The skull is a reminder of the inevitability of death. . Bubble- brevity of life and suddenness of death; a reference to the expression homo bulla - "man is a soap bubble." . cups, playing cards or bones, chess (rarely) - a sign of an erroneous life goal, a search for pleasure and a sinful life. . sand and mechanical watches- the speed of time. . Musical instruments, notes - the brevity and ephemeral nature of life, a symbol of the arts. . Weapons and armor are a symbol of power and might, a designation of what cannot be taken with you to the grave. . Crowns and papal tiaras, scepters and orbs, wreaths of leaves are signs of transient earthly domination, which is opposed to the heavenly world order. . Rotten fruits are a symbol of aging. Ripe fruits symbolize fertility, abundance, in a figurative sense, wealth and prosperity. . Smoking pipe- a symbol of fleeting and elusive earthly pleasures. . Books and maps (mappa mundi), the pen is a symbol of the sciences. . Globe, both the earth and the starry sky. . Portraits, anatomical drawings, letters symbolize human relationships.
Andrey Baturin, October 24, 2018WebEvolution studio develops logos according to 3 tariff plans: "Express", "Standard", "Trademark". They have features and differences. You can read more about this at. But now let's talk about what is the difference between a logo and a trademark, why we have allocated such a tariff and how the registration of company symbols is beneficial to the owner.
Logo
- a memorable graphic symbol of the company, which is one of the main components of corporate identity. It can be an inscription of the name of the company, an image, an abstract symbol-emblem. This definition follows from practice, the legislation does not contain the exact meaning.Trademark
- a designation that serves to individualize the goods of legal entities or individual entrepreneurs. A certificate is issued for it, the exclusive right is recognized for the owner. This concept and norm are enshrined in Art. 1477 GK.The same article of the Civil Code in part 2 points to another term. We are talking about a service mark, a way to individualize a work or service.
So what is the difference between a logo and a trademark? In fact, it turns out that a trademark is used to highlight a product, and a service mark is used for services or works. A logo can be ordered by any company that produces or sells goods, provides services, provides services, performs work.
This is an understandable, but simplified formulation. The differences between the concepts are deeper, and they are contained mainly within the boundaries of the legal field.
What is the difference between a trademark and a logo
In Russian laws that regulate copyright, the term "logo" is absent. There is no such legal procedure as registration of the logo. But there is and is regulated in detail the registration of a trademark. Why did it happen?
Intellectual property is protected by the state. Not everyone gets it, but only those who in due course apply for a sign. He can be:
- verbal.
- Graphic.
- Verbal-graphic.
Accounting for the "recorded" symbolism is carried out by spheres. MKTU distributes activities by classes. When a company selling washing powder wants to register the name of its product, say, "Chistin", it can no longer be registered by another organization dealing with household chemicals. But if the company earns something else, for example, it provides cleaning services, then it will be able to use the same name.
Simply put, the logo is an unregistered trademark. It is rarely covered by legal protection. Accordingly, a trademark is, among other things, a registered logo.
Not all logo owners agree to this legal operation. Although after it the trademark is guaranteed not to be able to be used by anyone else. More precisely, it can, but at the risk of being severely punished for the fact of detecting illegal use. Fines for this reach up to 5 million rubles.
The difficulty is that the trademark registration procedure:
- Not easy.
- Long.
- Not free, but quite expensive.
Therefore, many prefer to limit themselves to the logo. This is not to say that it is not protected by intellectual property law in any way. There are times when a company and its symbol are so famous that everyone understands whose logo it is. A striking example is Russian Railways. Well-known brand emblems may not be used by any other entities, even if they operate in a different field.
The logo must be unique! As well as other business attributes: names, slogans, site domain names. In order not to accidentally violate someone's rights, you need to check for the identity of the symbolism. Of course, it cannot be compared with the expertise of patent attorneys, but it will give its results. There are many online services for searching symbols.
How is a trademark registered?
Services help to find an exact copy of a symbol. Then it becomes clear that it cannot be used. But there is such a thing as similarity to the point of confusion. In other words, the logo does not repeat the "colleague" exactly, but uses a similar font, image, color scheme.
Rospatent, when registering trademarks, checks such similarity and will not issue a certificate for a mark that is similar to the registered one. Refusal can be received suddenly. You really may not know that someone has already developed and designed similar symbols. In case of refusal, the paid state fee is not refundable!
In order not to get into a similar situation, you can use the services of specialized organizations. Patent offices will check, perform a search, including for the presence of similar logos.
And now attention: important information! that we offer to clients includes pre-screening. This is done by a patent attorney who cooperates with us on an ongoing basis. Details are below.
The registration process is lengthy, taking from ten months to one and a half years. There is a plus - from the moment of filing an application until the issuance of a certificate, the owner receives a priority right to use the designation. A trademark certificate is issued for 10 years, then it must be renewed, which will also take long time- about a year.
But as a result of registration, you get full rights to your branding and can:
- Defend violated interests in court and demand compensation!
- Sell rights to use the mark to interested parties.
- Organize a franchise and profit from it.
- Develop and promote the brand without the risk that competitors may “take away” your logo.
Development of a logo according to the tariff "Trademark"
- Development begins with filling out a brief. When it is ready, the task is formed, and we sign the contract.
- The first step is to choose a logo concept together. Having decided on it, we work with the form, then we select the font and color. There are no restrictions on the number of edits!
- The next step is to search for similar trademarks.
- In five working days, we prepare at least three ideas for developing a logo and show it to you. Your comments will help move in the right direction.
- Step by step, we are working on the idea, we get feedback, finalizing the logo until you approve it. And then the search for the presence of similar signs is started again.
Development is carried out at a high professional level. All your ideas are embodied, and wishes are taken into account.
Please note that the preparation of documents and the fee to Rospatent are paid separately!
This tariff has an obvious plus: you get a trademark. At the same time, the probability of refusal of Rospatent in its registration is minimized. A patent attorney can help you in the future when communicating with the authority. Take the first step in this direction - call us!
Signs are common conventions objects, phenomena, actions. Examples of signs are road signs or symbols on geographical maps, sound signals - SOS or an ambulance siren, a variety of gestures, etc.
A symbol is an object, action, etc., revealing some image, concept, idea. The symbol embodies common experiences and ideas for people. A symbol is a synthesis of a sign and an image.
Since primitive times, various types of images (sculptural, pictorial, graphic) have been sign and symbolic codes that were used by ancient people to perform rituals, preserve and transmit information. Any significant sound, gesture, thing, event can be either a sign or a symbol.
Art speaks to people in the language of symbols. A symbol in art is an artistic image that embodies an idea. A symbol, like a riddle, is multi-valued, its meanings can be revealed indefinitely, unlike a sign, which is understood by everyone in the same way. The depth of understanding of the symbol depends on the person's ability to interpret, on his erudition and intuition.
Musical art speaks to us in the language of sounds and is filled with secrets. With amazing variety and depth, with the help of a system of signs and symbols, music expresses the richest world of human feelings. Even a single sound, taking into account all its aspects - pitch, duration, timbre, loudness - is a sign-intonation. It may indicate timidity or confidence, constraint or freedom, tenderness or rudeness.
We can also talk about plastic signs that reproduce gesture, movement. There is always a desire to create in the human nature - the need to explore, invent, build, solve complex, intricate problems. One of these problems was the scientific idea of creating a perpetual motion machine (perpetuum mobile). His invention would have had a huge impact on the development of the world economy. And only music as a temporary art is subject to the embodiment of the image of "perpetual motion". Its symbol was the instrumental pieces "Perretuum mobile" ("Perpetual Motion") by various composers: N. Paganini, F. Mendelssohn, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and others.
A musical sign that becomes a symbol can be called the motive of fate - the grain-intonation from which the entire Symphony No. 5 of L. Beethoven grows. And there are many such examples in the art of music.
National anthems are musical symbols that embody the unity of the people, their culture, pride in their country. There were eras in history when people especially often turned to symbols in art. An example is medieval Christian art. In the Middle Ages, the aspiration of man to God was of particular interest. Therefore, the things that surrounded a person interested the artist only to the extent that they were connected with the meaning of Holy Scripture. Many medieval paintings depict a bowl, grapes (wine) and bread - symbols of the sacrament of communion; lily or iris flowers - a symbol of the Mother of God.
The choice of color, color is also symbolic: red-brown was a symbol of everything earthly (clay, earth); red - the color of shed sacrificial blood, the fire of faith; blue or blue symbolized everything heavenly, holy; and green is the color of hope, the color of life, a symbol of consolation, rebirth to a new life.
From the fifteenth century the things depicted in the picture are endowed with a double meaning at the same time - religious and everyday. In the religious, the traditional divine symbolism of the Middle Ages continues, in everyday life, the usual significance of things in everyday life of a person is manifested.
Many works of the XVII century. are symbolic in nature, which is often conveyed by the objects presented in them: glasses with wine, bread, fish, withered flowers, watches, etc. Sometimes ordinary objects, unusually combined in one composition, are figurative codes that are difficult to decipher. This is especially true for the widespread in the 17th century. still life, called vanitas (vanitas - vanity of vanities) and reminding a person of the frailty of his existence. They depict skulls, candles, flowers, clocks, sheet music and musical instruments (the sound has died out, which means it has died), which are perceived as encrypted messages. The artists working in the subjects of vanitas spoke about the futility of earthly existence, about the transience of being. The very name of the painting "Vanity of Vanities" speaks of the frailty of earthly vanity - the pursuit of wealth, power, pleasures.
In still life, the artist conveys the value of everyday life, the significance of simple things. His attitude to the world is different in that he sees and feels the obvious or hidden life that is poured into everything that exists, in nature, in matter itself. That is why another name for still life is shtilleben (Dutch stillleven, German stilleben, Eng. still life) - a quiet (silent) life.
For the artist, there are no "silent things", for him everything is "expressive and speaking being" (M. Bakhtin).
Portraits, landscapes, still lifes, genre scenes by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) reflect his rebellious, lonely soul, independent of canons and norms. His work is permeated with a sense of acute anxiety and confusion. Difficult inner world the artist is often revealed through symbols. Van Gogh sought to reflect content through expressive, psychologically rich colors.
“I tried to express in red and green the terrible passions of man,” said the artist. The emotional intensity was amplified many times over thanks to the technique used by the master of overlaying paint with small dashed lines and the undulating rhythm of their movement.
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) also used symbolism in his works. The subjects of his still lifes were often musical instruments. Perhaps this is due to the sophistication of their forms, or perhaps with the desire to synthesize painting and music.
Culture, beginning with organization, with order, with ritual, structures the world around a person in certain forms. These forms are sign-symbolic in nature. When it comes to symbols and signs, the question always arises: a sign - what? symbol of what? This question means that the meaning of these concepts can be revealed only by analyzing their relation to something third, to the original, which may not have (and most often has) nothing in common in terms of physical, chemical and other properties with the reflection carrier. But all are in some connection, being the result of human knowledge, clothing this result in certain forms. The concepts of "sign" and "symbol" are often used in the same semantic context, but this is far from always justified. Consider the specifics of their origin and functioning.
Sometimes you can come across the statement that signs are what distinguishes a person from the animal world. The definition of a sign as a watershed between the behavior of animals and humans is the result of a confusion of the concepts of sign and symbol. However, there is reason to believe that proto-languages arose from sign systems formed in the animal world. The researchers argue that these systems can be quite differentiated. So, for example, dominant males in a flock of vervets can make six different danger signals. Some of these signals mean "simply" danger, some are separate "kinds" of danger ("man" or "snake", "danger from above", "leopard", "danger from below").
The line between culture and nature is generally not as obvious as those who absolutize the shortest of the definitions of culture: "culture is everything that is not nature." K. Levi-Strauss, who conducted field research in the tropical jungles of Central Brazil among the tribes, where the layer of culture is still very thin and one can trace the connection between man and nature, when the signifier was not yet completely separated from the signified, concluded that the taboo on incest turned out to be that boundary. after which nature passed into culture. However, the German ethnologist Bischof proved that the same taboo exists in gray geese and that a similar behavioral pattern is most likely due to hormonal processes.
Based on this kind of research, we believe that human culture begins where and when the ability of consciousness to symbolize appears. Signs and symbols, wrote E. Cassirer, "belong to two different discursive universes: a signal [E. Cassirer uses this term as a synonym for a sign. – N. B. ] is part of the physical world of being, while the symbol is part of the human world of meaning. Signals are 'operators', symbols are 'designators'... A symbol is not only universal, but extremely variable... A sign or signal is related to the thing it refers to in a fixed, unique way."
So, sign - this is a material object (phenomenon, event), acting as an objective substitute for some other object, property or relationship and used to acquire, store, process and transmit messages (information, knowledge). This is a materialized carrier of the image of an object, limited by its functional purpose. The presence of the sign makes it possible to transmit information through technical communication channels and its various - mathematical, statistical, logical - processing.
A symbol is one of the most ambiguous concepts. They believe that the word simbolon a half of a shard was called, which was given to the guest and served as his identity card during subsequent visits to the house. Symbol in culture, it is a universal, multi-valued category, revealed through a comparison of the objective image and deep meaning. Turning into a symbol, the image becomes "transparent", the meaning, as it were, shines through it.
The aesthetic information that a symbol carries has a huge number of degrees of freedom, far exceeding the possibilities of human perception. “I call any structure of meaning a symbol,” P. Ricoeur wrote, “where the direct, primary, literal sense means at the same time another, indirect, secondary, allegorical meaning, which can be understood only through the first. This circle of expressions with double meaning constitutes the hermeneutical field proper.
In table. 6.1 an attempt is made to systematize information about the sign and symbol. It also includes information about such an important category of language as metaphor.
Table c. 1
Comparative characteristics of the categories "sign", "symbol", "metaphor"
|
Criteria |
Metaphor |
||
|
Origin |
From the animal kingdom |
Arises with the development of the psyche, when the division into reason and feeling is realized, the real world and its reflection in artificial forms are distinguished |
Arises spontaneously in the process of artistic development of the world as a result of an intuitive feeling of the similarity of matter and spirit (water flows, time flows), areas perceived by different senses (solid metal and solid sound) |
|
Place of stay |
It exists in the animal world, in various spheres of society: science, religion, art, communications, etc. |
Culture as a whole is at the stage when its unity is formed, through the forms of art, science, religion. It exists in personal life, in society, state, ethnic, etc. commonality |
Artistic, everyday and scientific speech (except for business discourse, where accuracy and unambiguity are required). Does not belong to any personal or social sphere |
|
Purpose of application |
Informing, communication |
Representation of objects, events or ideas |
Coventionalization of meaning |
|
Both non-groinness and targeting, the desire for classification, a direct connection between the sign and the signified |
Denotes not itself, but something else, opens access to consciousness, expresses general ideas, extralinguistic, imperative. It has a generalized form. Easily overcomes "earthly gravity", seeking to designate the eternal and elusive, leads beyond reality. Decomposes the image into symbolic elements, turning it into "text" |
Verbal structure, seme! accuracy, does not seek classification. Image-individualization. Places a bet on value. It is used within meanings that are directly or indirectly related to reality, and thus deepens the understanding of reality. Preserves the integrity of the image |
|
|
Archetypal meanings: based on the unchanging properties of nature and man |
|||
|
gravitate towards a graphic image, stabilize the form |
|||
Everyday life of a person is filled with symbols and signs that regulate his behavior, allowing or forbidding something, personifying and filling it with meaning. In symbols and signs, both the external "I" of a person (self) and the inner "I" (I), the unconscious, given to him by nature, are manifested. K. Levi-Strauss claimed that he had found a way from symbols and signs to the unconscious structure of the mind, and consequently, to the structure of the Universe.
The unity of man and the universe is one of the most ancient and mysterious themes in culture. In legends, people are stars, the spirality of celestial nebulae is repeated many times in the ornaments of all terrestrial cultures, red blood owes its color to iron, and all the iron that is on earth, according to astronomers, arose in stellar matter. Or let's take the spiral structure of many areas of the human body: the auricle, the iris of the eye... It was this sense of unity that allowed the mathematician and poet V. Khlebnikov to create his own model of a metalanguage consisting of seven layers.
Approaching the riddle, however, only increases its mystery. But this feeling of mystery is “the most beautiful and deepest experience that falls to the lot of a person,” as A. Einstein claims, “underlies religion and all the deepest trends in art and science. Anyone who has not experienced this feeling, it seems to me if not a dead man, then at least a blind one"
Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
FGBOU "Buryat State University"
Faculty of Foreign Languages
Department of Translation and Intercultural Communication
Ivankina Elena Olegovna
Differences between the concepts of "symbol" and "sign"
/abstract/
Checked:
Kalenykh E.V.
Ulan-Ude, 2013
Introduction 3
Chapter 1. The difference between a symbol and a sign 4
- Definition of the concept of "sign", its main
characteristics, classification of characters 4
- Symbol as a kind of sign, sign difference
from character 9
Conclusion 13 List of used sources and literature 14
Introduction
The relevance of this work is explained by the personal interest of its authors in the problem of distinguishing between the concepts of "sign" and "symbol", since symbols in a poetic work are the subject of the authors' research.
The subject of this work is the difference between a symbol and other types of signs.
The purpose of this work is to identify the differences between the symbol and other signs. In accordance with the goal, we have set the following tasks:
- to study the theoretical material relating to the concepts of "sign" and "symbol",
- to consider the main characteristics of the concepts of "sign" and "symbol", to identify the differences between a symbol and a sign in general.
When writing this work, we used the works of such researchers as S.S. Averintsev, V.I. Ivanov, A.F. Losev and others.
The work consists of an introduction, one chapter, including two paragraphs, and a conclusion.
In the introduction, the relevance of the topic of the abstract is substantiated, the goals and objectives of the work are defined, the materials used, the structure of the abstract is indicated.
In the first paragraph, the concept of a sign is revealed, the classification of signs is given.
The second paragraph gives the concept of a symbol, its main characteristics from the point of view of various authors, such as S.S. Averintsev, Yu. Lotman, A. Losev, M. Girshman, V. Ivanov, as well as the differences between the concepts of "sign" and "symbol".
In conclusion, generalized conclusions are given regarding the differences between the concepts of "sign" and "symbol".
The list of used literature contains sources.
Chapter 1. The difference between a symbol and a sign
1.1. Definition of the concept of "sign", its main characteristics, classification of signs
The concept of a sign is studied not only in linguistics, but also in all other areas of science.
Any object, its property or sign can be a sign of something, therefore there can be an infinite number of signs, and they can differ so much from each other that they cannot be combined into one general classification no matter how detailed it is.
The definition of a sign as part of a certain message can be represented as follows: the addressee is presented not with the subject of the message itself, but with a certain representative that allows him to recognize this subject. Such a representative of the subject will be a sign. At the same time Yu.S. Maslov notes the difference between a syndrome, which the recipient can interpret in his own way, and a sign that is given to the recipient intentionally, in order to communicate any specific information.
Thus, it can be said that any systems of means used by a person for the purpose of exchanging any information are sign or semiotic systems, and they obey certain rules.
The addresser must understand the sign he uses, and the sign must be perceived in some way, that is, it must be a material object. The meaning acquired by a sign under certain conditions can be both a real object, a phenomenon, and a fictional thing, an abstract concept.
F. de Saussure in his writings calls the sign not only the "signifier", but also the "signified", speaking of the two-sided essence of the sign. In this case, the "signifier" will be the form or "plane of expression", and the "signified" will be the "plane of content", content, meaning and meaning. Signs include words, awards, road signs, money, signals, gestures, etc.
The structure of a sign is closely related to such concepts as denotation and concept. A denotation is a plan of content, a set of all objects denoted by a sign. As for the concept or plan of expression, it is a collection of information about the object denoted by a certain sign, and its relationships with other objects. This is both the information that the sign carries, and the totality of knowledge about the object and phenomenon denoted by this sign.
Usually one sign corresponds to one meaning, and one meaning - one denotation. However, there are signs that coincide in form, but denote different objects or phenomena. This phenomenon is called "homonymy" - the coincidence of signs denoting different entities. Along with homonymy, there is also synonymy of signs - a phenomenon in which, on the contrary, several signs correspond to one denotation. These phenomena are typical not only for natural languages, but also for any other sign systems.
According to A.A. Reformed, if we compare the sign and the thing, the sign has the following features:
- the sign must be material, that is, like any thing, it must be accessible to sensory perception;
- the sign has no meaning, but it is aimed at the meaning, for which it exists, therefore the sign belongs to the second signal system;
- unlike the content of a thing, the content of a sign does not coincide with its material characteristics;
- the content of a sign is determined by its distinguishing features, which are singled out and separated analytically from non-distinctive ones;
- a sign and its content are determined by the place and role of a given sign in a given system of a similar order of signs.
In addition, the sign has certain properties. These include:
- intentionality: the sign is purposefully used to convey a certain meaning;
- two-sidedness - the presence of an ideal side - meaning, meaning - and a material side - a form perceived by any sense organs;
- conventionality: the basis of the name of various objects in different words, for example, is a certain agreement;
- conditionality: a sign does not exist in isolation, it is part of its sign system.
As for a large number of classifications of signs based on differences in form, content, connection of form with content and other parameters, the classic classification is based on the typology of the relationship between form and content, Charles Sanders Peirce, who divides signs into three groups: icons, indices and symbols.
Any sign, according to C. Pierce, has the following main characteristics:
- material shell;
- designated object;
- human rules of interpretation.
Thus, icons (or iconic signs) are signs whose form and content are qualitatively or structurally similar, that is, the expression plan is similar to the content plan. For example, a picture depicting a battle or a battle plan are signs-icons, if the battle itself is considered their content. It can also be portraits, photographs.
Indexes (or index signs) are signs whose form and content are relatively similar, that is, adjacent in space or time. disease. In this case, it is more correct to speak about the presence of certain causal relationships between the sign and the designated object. In addition, personal and demonstrative pronouns and some other pronominal words (I, you, this, here, now, etc.) are traditionally referred to as indexical language signs.
Symbols (or symbolic, conventional, conventional signs) are signs for which the connection between form and content is established arbitrarily, by agreement regarding this particular sign, that is, the plan of expression has nothing to do with the plan of content.
As for iconic and indexical signs, here the shape of the sign allows even an addressee who is not familiar with it to guess its content. The form of symbolic signs in itself does not give any idea of the content. In such cases, according to F. de Saussure, we are talking about the unmotivated choice of the signifier or the absence of a natural connection between the signified and the signifier. For example, the subtraction sign "-" is in no way connected with the arithmetic operation itself: neither similarity, nor adjacency, nor causal relationships. Their connection is arbitrary, that is, determined by a special agreement that determines the use of the corresponding symbol to convey this meaning. Most linguistic signs refer specifically to symbols, allowing us to speak of the arbitrariness of a linguistic sign. For example, there is nothing in common between the English word "glasses", the French "lunettes" and the Russian "glasses", but they all refer to the same object.
At the same time, it should be taken into account that the arbitrariness of a symbol does not mean the freedom to choose the form of a sign, since within the framework of one sign system this choice is limited: for example, in English the corresponding meaning is expressed only by the word “glasses”, the very connection between the signified and the signifier, established and determined language convention, and not some natural causes.
However, there are also words in languages whose content is similar to their form. Such words are iconic signs. These words are onomatopoeia, or ideophones: “meow-meow”, “brr-r”, “apchi”, “cock-a-doodle-doo”, “splash”, etc. Not only one word can be an iconic sign . So, according to R.O. Jacobson, the word order in the phrase “I came, I saw, I conquered” is iconic, since the word order repeats the sequence of actions indicated.
1. 2. A symbol as a kind of sign, the difference between a sign and a symbol.
Being a kind of sign, a symbol, of course, has almost the same features and properties as other types of sign. However, the symbol also has significant differences from them.
The etymology of this word dates back to the times of Ancient Greece: the word “symbol” comes from the Greek σύμβολα, (from the Greek “sign, identification mark”), which meant halves of one plate matching each other along the break line. By putting these halves together, people, bound by an alliance of hereditary friendship, identified each other. According to S.S. Averintsev, unlike an allegory that anyone can recognize, a symbol can only be deciphered by “initiates”. Thus, the symbol not only unites the subject and the meaning, but also the people who understand this meaning. This is the meaning of the symbol as the central concept of culture and a sign of cultural identity, since the totality of symbols expresses the totality of views on the surrounding reality and its conceptualization.
A symbol contains many semantic shades, and, unlike, for example, an image that expresses a single phenomenon, it has a number of meanings, sometimes multidirectional and opposite, but at the same time being a single whole. The poet and theorist of symbolism V. Ivanov believed that the symbol marks not one, but different entities, A. Bely defined the symbol as "connecting the heterogeneous together." This is, according to S.S. Averintseva, the difference between a symbol and a sign: if for a sign system polysemy is an obstacle to the rational functioning of a sign, then in the case of a symbol, polysemy determines its content. The multi-layered nature of the symbol is designed for the active work of the perceiver. The meaning in the symbol does not appear as a given, it is given, that is, the meaning cannot be reduced to a certain logical formula, it can be explained with the help of further symbolic linkages, clarifying its rational clarity, but at the same time, in its interpretation it is impossible to come to pure concepts. According to S.S. Averintsev, a symbol is “an image taken in the aspect of its symbolism, and it is a sign endowed with all the organic nature of the myth and the inexhaustible ambiguity of the image”.
A.F. Losev connected the symbol with reality in the following way:
1. The symbol is a function of reality, which can be decomposed into an infinite series of members spaced at various distances from each other and capable of entering into infinitely diverse structural associations.
2. The symbol is the meaning of reality, a reflection that reveals the meaning of what is reflected, and this reflection in the mind is quite specific and is not reduced to what is reflected. But due to this property, the reflecting not only does not break with the reflected, but, on the contrary, allows one to penetrate deeper into the reflected, which is not accessible to its external sensory reproduction.
3. A symbol is an interpretation of reality, its specific processing, that is, one or another understanding of reality.
4. The symbol is a signification of reality: it must denote reality, that is, in some way be reflected back into reality.
The concept of a symbol is of great importance in aesthetics. A symbol has the property of evoking a multitude of ideas with an ordinary sign, without passing, like an allegory, into the realm of the abstract, it acts on consciousness, on feelings, that is, it affects aesthetically. Therefore, the rich symbols of life are not only taken over by art and, in particular, by poetry, but also further expanded. The symbol is a further reinforcement of the image or metaphor; it does not simply replace one representation with another, homogeneous representation, but gives a representation with a richer content than the original.
