Interpretant
Interpretant is a technical term from semiotics and thus belongs to the vocabulary of philosophy . As an aid to understanding, the interpretant translates the signifier and thereby brings an increase in knowledge by making the translated sign more precise in relation to what is designated, the signified .
Examples of interpreters are drawings, foreign language explanations, textual explanations or synonyms . They support the interpretation of a sign, that is, the signifier "house" can be replaced or supplemented by the synonym "building", the foreign language version "house" or the drawing of a house, which reveals further characteristics of the sign. For example, the drawing shows what the house looks like, or the translation into a foreign language makes it clear to someone who does not speak German what the sign "house" means.
An interpretant is thus an explanation for a sign. The caption “ Space shuttle Discovery at take-off ” under a picture of the space shuttle Discovery at take-off would be an interpreter, because someone who has never seen the space shuttle but has heard of it can assign these two pieces of information, which without the caption might be would not be possible.
In more recent representations of the semiotic triangle (among others by Charles Peirce and Umberto Eco ) the interpreter takes the place of the speaker .