A sign or representamen according to Charles Shanders Peirce is something that represents something else in some respect or capacity.
Something else refers to the interpretant. Named interpretant of the first sign, in turn, will refer to a particular object. Thus, according to Peirce, sign or
representamen has a triadic relation directly to the interpretant and its object. Semiosis process has the meaning as the process which combines the entity
such representamen with another entity that is referred to as Object. This process by Peirce called signification.
4. Peirces Classification of Signs
Peirce developed an elaborate typology of signs, beginning with a triadic classification of the sign correlates representamen, object, and
interpretant into three trichotomies. Considering the possibilities of combining firstness, secondness, and thirdness, he arrived at ten major classes
of signs.
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4.1 First Trichotomy
From the point of view of the representamen, Peirce subdivided signs into qualisigns firstness, sinsigns secondness, and legisigns
thirdness.
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24
Winfried Nöth, Op.Cit., p. 44.
25
Ibid .
The first, a Qualisign is a quality which is a sign. It cannot actually act as a sign until it is embodied. Such as the concept of color.
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The second is Sinsign singular sign. In this concept, sinsign is an actual
existent thing object which is formed by the real physical reality or the shape of a thing, it is actual thing or event.
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The third is a Legisign.
Every conventional sign is a legisign. Legisign is the law or rule of how the thing should be. Such as, the sound of whistle in the
soccer match. Mostly the legisign is made by human being to organize the social life, and because of that almost all the convention is the
legisign.
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4.2 Second Trichotomy: Icon, Index, Symbol
This trichotomy classifies signs with respect to the relation between the representamen and object. Peirce referred to this
trichotomy as the most fundamental division of signs. The three members of this trichotomy are icon firstness, index secondness,
and symbol thirdness.
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Peirces definition of the icon is the sign which has the resemblance with the fact of what it refers, or a sign which denotes and have the
character of the Object, whether the Object exists or not. Such as picture or drawing. For example, the map of DKI Jakarta is an icon of
the DKI Jakarta area which depicted in the map. Then, index is a sign
26
Ibid.
27
Ibid.
28
Ibid.
29
Ibid .
which relates to casuality effect. For instance, the smoke for fire. The last is symbol. Symbol is the sign which personates the sentence,
written text or language. According to Peirce, symbol is the category of arbitrary and conventional signs. For example is the word of
Bhineka Tunggal Ika. In Indonesia, it is the phrase that has a rich symbolic meaning. But for people who have different cultural
backgrounds, such as Eskimos, Bhineka Tunggal Ika refers simply as the ordinary phrase.
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4.3 The Third Trichotomy
According to the nature of the interpretant, a sign is either a rheme, a dicent, or an argument. This trichotomy corresponds to the old
division of logic. The rheme is the probability for interpretant such as a concept. The dicent is the fact of interpretant or the real description of
a thing. For example is a descriptive statement. Then, argument is a logical reasoning of interpretant or a sign of law. The law that the
passage from all such premises to such conclusions tends to the truth. For example is a proposition. While a dicent only affirms the existence
of an object, the argument proves its truth according to the agreement or convention of society.
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30
Ibid.
31
Ibid ., p. 45.
