The design of text semiotics

Once art critics began to talk about semiotics as a kind of fashion, they may not be fully aware of the relationship between semiotics and linguistics. The Swiss scholar Saussure (1857-1913) was both the founder of semiotics and the founder of modern linguistics. He proposed to create a study symbol (Greek is semeion) of science: semiology ), and suggested linguistics as part of this general science [1]. In Saussure's view, language symbols are one of the symbols. In addition to language symbols, there are also a large number of social symbols, such as gestures, symbolic rituals, etiquette forms, military signals, and so on. After Saussure, semioticians not only studied the language symbols, but also studied non-verbal social symbols. For example, Roland Barth (1915-1980) used semiotics for objects such as clothing and advertising. Provides examples and pilots for semiotics to enter the field of art design.

Some domestic theorists propose that semiotics can be introduced into the study of calligraphy. Semiotics is the study of symbols. For calligraphy, the most obvious symbol is the system of Chinese characters on which calligraphy is a breeding ground. No matter how it evolves, the basis of calligraphy is ultimately Chinese characters. Compared to other symbol systems, the text symbols may be the closest to the language. The study of characters in the Han and Qing dynasties has developed to a relatively high level. The “Shuo Wen Jie Zi” written by Xu Shen of the East Han Dynasty included 9353 characters, plus a total of 10,516 characters. The “Kangxi Dictionary” compiled in the 18th century included 47043. The word [2] can be said that ancient scholars are as familiar with every word as they are familiar with the flowers in the backyard. However, the familiarity with the evolution of each of the fonts, forms, meanings and sounds does not mean that the ancients had a scientific understanding of the origin and development of Chinese characters. The Han Dynasty scholars made a lot of theoretical discussions on the symbols of Chinese characters, the most famous of which is the Six Books, which means that the word-building methods of Chinese characters are analyzed as finger-type, pictographic, formative, communicative, transliteration, and sham borrowed. However, whether it is the guessing of the origin of Chinese characters or the study of the construction of Chinese characters, if we leave the systematic study of language, it will still have no end. For example, to study the origin of Chinese characters, we must understand that only when a symbol is used to systematically record a language can it be called a literal; for example, if we want to study the construction of a Chinese character, we must first treat it as a symbol of language. The two levels of "words" and "symbols used in the text itself" are clearly separated from each other [3]. Following the advocacy of pioneers such as Saussure, this is common sense in modern linguistics. For the purposes of this article, it can be said that after the introduction of semiotics in the Chinese calligraphic world, a little linguistic common sense was added. Starting from these common senses, we may form a new understanding of the nature of calligraphy and the future of calligraphy.

As already mentioned, Saussure saw linguistics as part of semiotics. Here, we may call the semiotic study of the study of language symbols as linguistic semiotics and include it in its scope. Our first question is what does the symbol Saussure or later semiologists mean? Next, we will also ask, what are the characteristics of language symbols? What are the unique features of text symbols (especially Chinese characters)?

Whether in Chinese or in Spanish, there are not a few words that have similar meanings to “symbols.” Some people use symbol as the object of semiotics. Some people regard sign as the object of semiotics. In Chinese, “marks” , "symbols" or "signs" are all alternative expressions. However, here we don't have to fight over words. Saussure saw the sign as a combination of a signifier (signifier, signifier, also signifier) ​​and signifier (signifié, signified). The so-called signifier refers to the signifier; the so-called signifier refers to the signifier. By. In the case of roses, the image of the rose is the signifier, and love is what it refers to. The combination of the two forms the rose symbol of love. Saussure sees the symbol as the combination of the signifier and the signified, and is consistent with the usage of the sign by the average person: the sign refers to one thing to another. Mr. Chen Jiaying said that “everything that is characterized can be called 'symbol'” [4]. Mr. Li Youchang said: “The general symbol is 'something that represents another thing'” [5]. These statements are similar.

A common criterion for separating natural objects from symbols is whether they represent other things or they are not represented[6]. The table is the table. We use it to eat, write, and put things. We can also make it into various styles. But after all, we don’t say that it represents something else; but in some special cases, we can also put some kind of The style of the table is regarded as a representative of a certain culture. At this time, the table becomes a symbol. People are not accustomed to calling tables or stones as symbols, but they think that dark clouds and wild geese can be called symbols. The reason may be that the former is not usually used to mean that he is involved in other things, while the latter's meaning is gradually fixed in life. Dark cloud clouds are a sign of the storm, and the southern return of the geese implies a change of seasons. In literature and movies, dark clouds and geese can also have other fixed symbolic meanings.

Semiotics deals with symbols. According to the type of relationship between signifiers and referents, semiotics classify symbols. Here, Saussure also proposed a key classification criterion: the principle of arbitrariness. The signifier of a linguistic sign is a voice, which refers to a concept (meaning), which voice is used to represent which concept, which is arbitrary. The so-called arbitrary, that is to say, there is no reason to speak, for example, in the Chinese language "horse" voice to represent the horse, English but use horse, whether it is "horse" or "horse", their voice will not and they There is something similar in what you are referring to. On the contrary, roses, dark clouds and wild geese. They can be characterized, but there is a certain reason to speak (although this principle is not valid for all cultures). Specifically, roses and blazing love have In similar places, dark clouds and heavy rain have temporal proximity. There is a kind of sensible connection between these signifiers and the signified. Fundamentally speaking, any symbol in human society has a degree of arbitrariness or arbitrariness, but some agreements are artificial, mandatory (such as traffic lights, flags, artificial language), and some conventions It is natural and spontaneous (such as the Big Dipper, roses, natural language). The language symbol represents the most contractual or arbitrarily end, and its symbolism is the strongest. Traffic lights are more arbitrarily arbitrarily compared to dark clouds, but they are weaker than languages. If a person does not know the meaning of the traffic light, at least it can be seen whether the red light is on or the green light is on. If a person does not understand Arabic, he can only hear a series of bizarre acoustics.

Language is a division of the world. Different languages ​​can have different ways of division. This is at the level referred to. The “signifier” used by the language is the human voice. These acoustic forms can be well matched as long as they satisfy the basic conditions of the vocal cords and are clearly distinguishable from each other (eg, the vowel a is distinguished from the consonant p). "As directed" to complete the task. The traffic light chooses three easily distinguishable colors: red, green, and yellow. It also includes this principle. However, the signification (prohibition and passage) of the traffic lights is very simple, and the meaning (concept) of the language is highly complex and systematic. We often say that language is the world, or that we cannot imagine the world beyond language, and that we are talking about the system and the language of language.

Each language divides the world into interconnected concepts and categories in a unique, “arbitrary” manner [7]. The mystery of language is completely at the level of the reference. However, there must always be a means to express the language's ability. This is the human voice. Humans "choose" the auditory image rather than the visual image as the first carrier of language [8], with its own physiology and physics reasons. Here we must respect this fact. The generation of language was far earlier than the production of words. At least over two million years ago, the language phenomenon had appeared on the earth. Candidates' painting activities appeared in the late stages of the ice age in Europe and Asia, between 45,000 and 12,000 years ago. Left and right [9], the emergence and development of the text is synchronized with the history of civilization of just five or six thousand years. Only by keeping this linguistic fact in mind will we not misunderstand the nature of the text.

In ancient China, reading literacy was an important symbol of social status. The written language is elegant and oral language is common. For a Chinese who likes reading and writing, Saussure’s words are inevitably harsh—“Language and writing are two different symbol systems. The only reason for the latter is to express former". [10]

For Chinese linguists, it is a common sense that words are used to record language symbols. Until today, some of us are still saying that Chinese is hieroglyphic or pictorial text, or in a disguised way by default in this argument. Whether they are letters or pictures, as long as they are used to systematically record languages, they no longer maintain their original nature. They become the second symbol of language, and their meaning is entirely given by language. In principle, whether they are meaningful (picomorphic) or meaningless (letters), as long as they can be distinguished from each other, and if they are less complex, they can serve as a recording language. What needs to be specifically clarified here is that even the most typical pictographs in ancient Chinese characters, such as Japan, People, and Shooting, are firstly a kind of recording of speech, followed by the illustration of the sun, people, and shots. Implied.

If you just want to represent the sun in the sky, we can express it in a more visual way without having to add a dot to the circle. Conversely, if the picture book meets all needs, why should we create another set of words? At this point, Mr. Yan Xigui is worthy of everyone. He said, “According to the general idea, the first words that should be created should be the most typical pictographs.” However, “people first need to equip them with official words. Its meaning is probably hard to express in general pictographic methods, such as words, words, words that represent the attributes of things, and other words that represent abstract meanings.In addition, some specific things are difficult to express with simple pictures. For example, birds of various shapes, beasts, fish, grass, and wood have different names, but it is often impossible to express their nuances with simple pictures."[11]

In fact, far away in the Han Dynasty, some scholars have pointed out that Chinese characters are not all hieroglyphs [12]. However, these scholars did not clearly distinguish between the two levels of “words as symbols of the language” and “symbols used in the text itself” (that is, “characters”). Pictograms, phonograms, confessions, and illusions are all related to the latter level. However, even at this level, the semantic and pictographic connections of Chinese characters are getting weaker and weaker.

In a mature text system, text and language are exactly matched. How many concepts in a language can be expressed in pictograms? The number of words created through the misappropriation of pictographic figures will never exceed this number: According to statistics of experts, in the Oracle, the number of knowing words is 22.33% weak, the phonetic words are 27.27% weak, and the pictographs are only 22.53% strong [13]. After Chinese characters form a complete writing system, new pictographs are becoming rarer and rarer. Characters that have evolved from the picture either lose the simple notation that their image becomes a literal or a phonetic symbol, or use a symbol or an ideogram. Identity participates in the composition of the new word. The phonogram is the main method of Chinese character making [14]. In fact, the “form” in the phonogram is essentially linked to the ideogram instead of the ideogram. "Bird" is the symbol of "chicken". The symbol can carry either an image or no image. Even if it is originally an image, it tends to disappear. [15] Drawings and texts can be combined or mixed in the original stages of text development. However, once the text matures, it is bound to separate from the drawings. [16]

Strictly speaking, in a continuous context, we are not pushing for a word that looks like the sun