Semiotics and Communication: Signs, Codes, Cultures PDF
Preview Semiotics and Communication: Signs, Codes, Cultures
Semiotics and Communication: Signs, Codes, Cultures COMMUNICATION TEXTBOOK SERIES Jennings Bryant-Editor Intercultural Cornmunication w. Barnett Pearce-Advisor CARBAUGH • Cultural Cornmunication and Intercultural Contact LEEDS-HURWITZ • Semiotics and Communication: Signs, Codes, Cultures Semiotics and Communication: Signs, Codes, Cultures Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz of University Wisconsin-Parkside 11:& Lawrence Erlbaum Associates a=:::::l Taylor&FrancisGroup NewYork London Cover photo: Cunajaguar, in the collection ofthe Milwaukee Public Mus~um,catalognumber65951/28220. Photo by Don Lintner, University ofWisconsin-Parkside. Copyright © 1993 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. AH rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microfilm, retrieval system, or any other means, without the prior written permissionofthe publisher. LibraryoíCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Leeds-Hurwitz, Wendy. Semiotics and Communication :Signs, Codes, Cultures / Wendy Leeds Hurwitz. p. cm. Ineludes bibliographical references and indexo ISBN 0-8058-1139-7 (c) - ISBN 0-8058-1140-0 (p) 1. Semiotics. 2. Communication. 1. Title. P99.L44 1993 302.2-dc20 92-923 CIP Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability. Printed in the United States ofAmerica 10 9 8 7 Contents Acknowledgments vii Prelude: Why Semiotics? xi Introduction: Cornmunication and Semiotics xv PART I SEMIOTIC THEORY AND COMMUNICATION THEORY 1 1 Introducing Semiotics 3 2 Signs 22 3 Codes 51 PART II FROM SEMIOTIC THEORY TO COMMUNICATION BEHAVIOR 75 4 Food as Sign and Code 83 5 Clothing as Sign and Code 104 6 Objects as Sign and Code 127 PART III FROM COMMUNICATION BEHAVIOR TO SEMIOTIC THEORY 153 7 Cultures 155 v vi CONTENTS References 177 Author Index 203 Subject Index 211 FIGURES AND TABLE Fig. 1.1 Ukrainianpysanky. xxviii Fig. 1.2 Ukrainian basket with pysanky. xxviii Fig. 1.1 Ferdinand de Saussure. 5 Fig. 1.2 Charles Sanders Peirce. 5 Fig. 2.1 Large reliquary. 24 Fig. 3.1 Armadillo groom's cake from SteelMagnolias. 55 Fig. 3.2 DarryI Hannah as Annelle in SteelMagnolias. 56 Fig. 3.3 The relationship between langue and parole. 57 Table 3.1 Comparison ofcodes by type 67 Fig. 4.1 Cornish pasty. 93 Fig. 5.1 Mohandas Gandhi attending the Round Table Conference in London, September 1931. 121 Fig. 6.1 Kwakiutl bentwood box. 133 Fig. 6.2 Kwakiutl copper. 138 Fig. 6.3 Beaded sneakers by Victoria Firethunder. 141 Fig. 6.4 The University oíWisconsin System quilt. 146 Fig. 7.1 Cuna mola. 160 Fig. 7.2 Flag of India. 162 Fig. 7.3 Toyota Lexus ad by Team One Advertising. 163 Fig. 7.4 Cunajaguar. 164 Fig. 7.5 Chia Ker Lor making a Hmong basket. 166 Fig. 7.6 Beaded sneakers by Melody Lightfeather. 170 Fig. 7.7 Imitation Indian style beaded sneakers made in China. 171 Fig. 7.8 "The Cup ofTea" by Alfred Stevens. 174 Acknowledgments This book has taken several years to write with many people playing a role in the process. Barnett Pearce played instigator by asking what my next book was about before 1was fully ready to answer that question. By the time we finished talkingseveralhourslater, 1knewwhat1wantedtowrite. Hisconstructivecom ments on several drafts are greatIy appreciated. The first three chapters were written while 1was a Fellow at the Center for TwentiethCenturyStudiesattheUniversityofWisconsin-Milwaukee, and1thank theregularstaffthere(KathleenWoodward, Director, andCarolTennessen, Pro gramandPublicationsCoordinator)aswellastheotherFellowsfrom 1990-1991 (MarcusBullock, Gwynne Kennedy, PanivongNorindr, MarinaPerezde Men diola, Helena Pycior, Roby Rajan, and Rolando Romero) for creating an en vironment conducive to thinking and writing. When1returnedtotheUniversityofWisconsin-Parkside, myregularacademic home, my students were presented with an incomplete draft ofthis volume as their text in an advanced seminar on semiotics. They were remarkably patient with the process, actively contributing to it, both in the originality oftheir in sights and the questions they required me to answer. Through the many excel lent projects and final exams they prepared, they demonstrated that undergraduatescanlearndifficulttheory, ifonlytheyareshownwhattodowithit. Manyofmyexamplesare the result ofclassdiscussionsofhowto ground the oreticalconceptsin specificdata. We applied semiotictheoryspecificallytowed dings, chosenbecausetheyarecomplexevents, carefullyplannedandorganized, yet readily accessible to analysis, and so weddings serve as a continuing theme throughout this volume. Though it would now be difficult to identify each case with the originating student, 1want at least to name them all and thank them vii viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS as a group. In the fall of1991 they were:Joanne Beardslee, Marie Boris, Karen Carlson, Jason Caspers, Ronda Coats, Margaret Coca, Sue Glanz, Eric Hall, DebraHalvorson, NicoleJanaky, SharonKowalke, Mark Lauer,Joel Meadow, SarahMinasian, MichelleMyles,]udithNeumil1er, MeIissaPatterson, Kimber IyPinti, KarenPitsouIakis, GeorgetteSampson, DanSchmidt, LenoraSchmidt, Karen Semonson, Robert Smith, Chris Summers, Carmen Tenuta, Christina Witt, and Darin Zimpel. And in the spring of 1992: Beth Adelsen, Suneeta Akkinapalli,Judy Bostet ter, GretchenCole, DaphneCook, DebbieDenjo, Rachel Donahue, Christopher Dunbar, RobFox,JordannaGastrow, HeatherGood, DianeHendrickson, Dennis Kaczanowski, Lisa Krebs, Sue Kusz, Amber Lundskow, Bill Ohm, Sharon Pastorino, Renee Pughsley, Tim Radke, Jennifer Rakowski, Becky Richards, Richard Sosa, Kirsten Tenges, and Laura WakefieId. Myfirst introductiontomanyoftheideaspresentedinthisvoIumecarnefrom graduatecourses attheUniversityofPennsylvaniain the 1970s. Dan Ben-Amos was the most explicit about the value ofsemiotic theory and the most adamant about the need to readearly, originalsources. Dell Hymescontinuestoquestion whatsemiotictheoryhastoofferthatcannotbediscoveredelsewhere; thisvolume providesalongeranswerthan1haveyetgivenhim, perhapsitwiUprovepersua sive. DonYoder, HenryGIassie, BarbaraKirshenblatt-Gimblett, KenGoldstein, and RayBirdwhistell all introduced me to the significanceoffood, clothing, and objectsascommunication, thougheachwasinterestedinsimilarmaterialforquite different reasons. Yves Winkin, Steve Murray, and Mort Leeds read an earIy draft of this manuscript, thefirst two forcontent, the third for fluency; manyoftheirsugges tions were incorporated. Stuart Sigman,John Stewart, and Klaus Krippendorff askedseriousquestionsabouttheendeavorasawhole, makingmethinkcareful Iy about what I was saying. In reading my final draft, Barnett Pearce suggested that photographs would be particularlyvaluable for sorne ofthe examples. Though his comment created a greatdeal oflast-minute work, it was a valid suggestion, and 1am grateful for it. 1haveenjoyedmymanyconversationswiththevariouscopyrightholdersand thankthemaHforpermissionstoincludeillustrativematerial. Formalacknowledg ments for permission to reprint photographs accompany the photos in the texto 1wouldlike to particularlythank two individuals for heIp above and beyond the callofduty: NancyLurie, attheMilwaukeePublicMuseum, fortheentiremorn ing she spent guiding me through their anthropology collection and Don Lint ner, from the media services department ofmy university, who not only took severalofthephotographsprintedhere(includingthecover)butreproducedmany ofthe others from photographs sent to me. In addition, Kate Owen took time out ofa family gathering to photograph an authenticpasty. Kim Averycreated Fig. 3.3 on shortnotice. Andmydepart ment secretary, Pam Barsuli, helped substantially in the typing offinal changes ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix tothemanuscript. Myeditor, HollisHeimbouch, wassupportivethroughoutthe entire process, but especially during the quest for appropriate illustrations. Beinganacademicisnota9-to-5jobandactivelyrequiresthesupportoffam iIy members. As with everything else 1have written, this volume would never have been finished without the considerable toIerance ofodd workinghours and numerous requests to "just wait until 1finish this page" on the part ofmy hus band, Marc, and son, Aaron.
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