Definition of Semiotics Theoretical Description

Saussure‟s opinion affects some thoughts such as Derrida, Barthes and Baudrillard. According to Peirce as the master of the philosophy, human reasoning is always done through sign. It means human beings only can think through the sign. In his thought, logic is same with semiotics and semiotics can be applied to all types of sign. In a further development, the word Semiotics is more popular than Semiology. Semiotics according to Pierce the another name of logic refers to formal doctrine of signs. 17 Pierce saw there are three important things in semiotics which can be explained through sign, object, and interpretant. He wrote that sign is something that stands for someone or something which reflects a certain capacity or interest. 18 Aart Van Zoest as quoted by Sudjiman said, Semiotics is the study of sign and everything connected with it; how the functioning, its relationship with other signs, and the recipient, and the recipient by those who use it. Semiotics can be applied in any field where the sign is used and includes both a representation and interpretation, a denotantum and interpretant. 19 Semiotics is the study of sign. The signs convey information communicatively. It can replace something else which you can think or imagine. This branch of science originally developed in the field of language, 17 Kris Budiman, Semiotika Visual, Yogyakarta: Penerbit Buku Baik, 2004, p. 3. 18 Arthur Asa Berger, Media Analysis Technique: Second Edition, Yogyakarta: Penerbitan Universitas Atma Jaya, 2000, p. 4. 19 Umberto Eco, “Sebuah Pengantar Menuju Logika Kebudayaan” in Panuti Sudjiman and Aart van Zoest, Serba-serbi Semiotika, Jakarta: PT. Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 1992, p. 38. then developed in the field of art and visual communication design. Meanwhile, Charles Sanders Pierce, insists that we can only think with the medium sign. Human can only communicate through the sign. Sign of human life could be a sign of movement or gesture. A wave hand that could mean calling or nod of the head can be translated to agree something. Sign of sounds, such as whistles, trumpets, drums, human voices, ringing phones. Sign of text, including letters and number. It could also a sign in the traffic lamp, and many more. From some opinions above, semiotics is the science of detecting the truth of sign and the essence of social conventions which previously formed from its sign that makes it has a certain meaning for the certain capacity or interest.

2. Semiotic Theory of Ferdinand De Saussure

Ferdinand de Saussure 1857 –1913 is called as the father of modern linguistics. Saussure was born in Geneva in 1857. He attended science classes at the University of Geneva before turning to language studies at the University of Leipzig in 1876. Saussure‟s model of sign is in the dyadic tradition in which the two parts of sign consist of a sign vehicle and its meaning. Focusing on linguistic signs, such as words, Saussure defined a sign as being composed of a significant signifiersound pattern and a signifié signifiedconcept. It is important to remember that, according to Saussure, the sign is completely arbitrary. 20 Figure 1. Saussure‘s Model of the Sign De Saussure saw a sign as the relationship between form which described in human cognition and meaning or content, to be understood by human as sign users. He used the term of signifier for sign„s form and signified for its meaning. So he saw signs as a structure the meaning process is the relationship between signifier and signified and structured the result of the process in human cognition. In his theory, signifier is not the real language sound, but it„s an image acoustic. Everything in human life is seemed as a form which has a certain meaning and the relationship between the two is based on social conventional. 21

3. Semiotic Theory of Charles Sanders Peirce

Charles Sanders Peirce was an American philosopher who lived from 1839 to 1914. Peirce also known as the most original and multidimensional argumentative thinker and philosopher of America. As a philosopher, Pierce 20 http:www.parrottime.comindex.php?i=1a=3p=all accessed on Thursday, 3 September 2015 at 09.16 p.m. 21 Benny Hoed, Loc.Cit. wanted to examine what and how the human think logically. Peirce was born in an intellectual family in 1839. His father, Benjamin is a professor of mathematics in Harvard University. Peirce developed rapidly in education in Harvard. In 1859 he received the BA degree, then in 1862 and 1863 respectively he received the MA and B.Sc degree from Harvard University. 22 Theory of Peirce is often called as the grand theory in semiotics. It is caused the idea of Peirce is comprehensive, structural description of all tagging system. Peirce wanted to identify the fundamental particles of the signs and merge back all the components in a single structure. 23 Unlike the dyadic models offered by Ferdinand de Saussure which consists of signifier and signified, Charles Sanders Peirce offered the triadic models, consists of representamen, objects and interpretant. Representamen [R] Object [O] Interpretant [I] Figure 2. Triadic Semiosis Concept of Peirce 22 http:www.britannica.combiographyCharles-Sanders-Peirce accessed on Thursday, 3 September 2015 at 09.30 p.m. 23 Indiawan Seto Wahyu Wibowo, Semiotika Komunikasi, Aplikasi Praktis Bagi Penelitian dan Skripsi Komunikasi Edisi 2, Jakarta: Penerbit Mitra Wacana Media, 2013, p.17.