Code (semiotics)

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In semiotics , the term code is used for communication conventions . There are rules and restrictions - spoken or unspoken - that affect the meaning and interpretation of the characters used in the text . One of the tasks of semiotics is to identify them and understand their development.

Codes can be classified according to the type of knowledge the interpreter needs to decipher the text. A distinction is made between:

  • social codes ,
  • Text codes (also: representation codes; codes relating to the medium and the genre) and
  • Interpretation codes (codes relating to the relationships between social and text codes).

However, this classification is problematic because ultimately all codes are social codes.

Social codes

  • Language codes (pronunciation, sentence structure, vocabulary, dialect / slang )
  • Body codes (body contact, closeness, demeanor, facial expression, look, gestures, posture); Example: the gaze behavior: a.
    • gender-specific differences (women "may" only look at men briefly, men, however, longer) and
    • Differences between contact cultures (Arab countries, southern Europe, Latin Americans), in which avoiding the gaze can be interpreted as nervousness, tension, without self-confidence, even as dishonesty and rudeness, and non-contact cultures, in which looking at it for too long (“Staring “) Can be perceived as a threat or insult. In Kenya, for example, you can't look at your mother-in-law, and in Japan you should look at the neck instead of the face.
  • Codes related to lifestyle (fashion, clothing, car, apartment) and
  • Behavior codes (protocols, dress code / dress code , rituals, role plays)

Text codes

  • Codes about technical language (e.g. mathematics): Verifiability
  • aesthetic codes
  • Code regarding genre, style and rhetoric : narrative structure (plot, character, dialogue, environment, etc.), structure, argumentation
  • technical and formal codes via mass media (e.g. formats )

Interpretation codes

  • Perception codes: Reading behavior and even watching films are learned behavior and are therefore studied specifically.
  • Ideology codes : Some texts were written under certain social influences or are interpreted from certain points of view. These influences are often described with words that have the ending “ -ism ” (e.g. individualism, liberalism, feminism, racism, materialism, capitalism, socialism, objectivism , populism, consumerism , conservatism), but basically any knowledge can be considered ideological.

See also

Web links