ДЕКОДИРОВАНИЕ ТЕКСТОВ ПЕЧАТНЫХ СМИ С ТОЧКИ ЗРЕНИЯ СЕМИОТИКИ

It is hard to imagine our modern society without media. Media forms diversity makes it possible to convey meanings verbally, visually, graphically and by interfaces. The way the messages are transmitted and interpreted by addressees is a matter for discussion

The process of addressee’s interpreting the message is called decoding. It is preceded by the process of addresser’s making the message, called encoding. The addresser’s mission will be completely possible if that message is sent through a transmitter. The transmitter is a necessary channel for communication, a medium such as a newspaper, a magazine, video and others. Its task to deliver a valuable message for further decoding

As soon as the addressees possess the message, they start decoding the meaning of it

In the print media course, the semiotic analysis is one of the critical issues. Semiotics studies signs in the culture how they deliver the meaning. It can be any aspect of print, audio-visual or digital media. Semiotics is a complex field in which you need to have basic knowledge and skills. When you use the semiotic analysis to decode a print media text, you should use it alongside with the theoretical framework and terminology compared with other linguistic fields.

Advanced research in the field of semiotics was done due to such outstanding scientists as Ferdinand de Saussure, Charles Pierce, Roland Barthes, Umberto Eco and others

F. de Saussure’s model of the sign and the signification process can be shown as follows: sign = signifier + signified

(signifier) sun → (signified) ☼

The signifier (acoustic image) cannot exist without the signified (meaning of the word). These two parts of the sign operate in tandem. The signified as the mental concept is triggered at the moment the signifier is perceived. Signs can be both simple and complex. Most analysed print media texts can be regarded as complex signs. They are comprised of a lot of signifiers and signifieds combined into a larger, united signification of the sign. Though in print advertisements, the simple signs can often be used as a very effective tool of persuasion.

Furthermore, there was a general tendency to categorize signs into 3 types: iconic signs, indexical signs and symbolic signs

• Iconic signs are like exact, obvious images of the signified (photos, maps, drawings etc.);

• Indexical signs point to a causal relationship between the signifier and the signified (footprints, traffic signs, a weather vane etc.);

• Symbolic signs are with no physical relationship between the signifier and the signified (mathematical symbols, numbers, Morse code, traffic lights etc.).

For most people, decoding has become the second nature to such an extent that they do not notice that they are decoding. E.g. Let us consider the car drivers, they interpret the colours of the traffic lights automatically. These symbolic signs as the non-verbal signals encoded by the addresser are the basis for the messages to be interpreted by the addressee. Therefore, a red light is an encoded signal prohibiting the addressees to move ahead. A green light is an encoded signal allowing the addressees to move ahead. It is the context-dependent meaning according to universally agreed upon social codes of road rules

Another remarkable contribution to semiotics was the research of the relationship between denotation and connotation in the signification process

In another example, the word “sun” and the concept it signifies (e.g. the star in the centre of the solar system) — is the first order of signification. Connotation is the meaning arising from the sign. In fact, it is the recognition of an agreed meaning of a sign. The second order of signification is when a signified becomes a new signifier which is an intricate process (e.g. light, warmth, happiness, guidance). In one print media text, there may be several layers of signification working at once. They give rise to much more complex hidden meanings than simply understanding the meaning of a word.

It should be noted that what is decoded does not simply follow from the interpretation of the message. For example, the addresser may have a secret intention to manipulate the addressees (audience) to achieve a desired goal. It is often done by the advertising industry to get more profit from the sales of special products or services.

Decoding is not a simple process for the addressee to interpret the addresser’s message. While decoding, it is the addressee who has to find the balance between a signifier and a signified. In fact, the addressees decode the information by means of their cultural signs

Fortunately, signs are known to have some sort of balance in them, called a symmetry

Let us consider the example of the least symmetrical decoding position.   Imagine you are not a Londoner, you hate playing golf and watching all its expensive equipment. The result is sure to be negative after looking through that National Club Golfer Magazine. Probably, you will reject the addresser’s message, even if the information is carefully presented in bright colours and with nice fonts. The oppositional reaction occurs because the addressee decodes the message as either deceptive or unreal for that moment. The negative reaction happens when the addressee is biased, has different social status or cultural background.

Another significant contribution to the field was the concept of a myth, which still remains essential in any study of culture

Myths are often created in the society to gain political goals in election or presidential campaigns. Such myths are called political or technological, which present a complex interaction of both individual and public consciousness

• “ruler” the main value is to be imperious, ruling, recognizable;

• “destroyer” — to be aggressive, destructive, dangerous;

• “creator” — to be ready to achieve and create something new.

This article proved the importance of doing the semiotic analysis in decoding the hidden meaning of the message in the print media sent to the addressee. The given scientific study emphasized the basic aspects of semiotics regarding such terms as: the sign, three types of the sign, the signifier and the signified as two sides of the sign, the denotation and the connotation in the signification process, the processes of encoding and decoding, the aberrant decoding, the symmetry and its two positions and the concept of a myth. Decoding print media texts in terms of semiotics by addressees is usually based on their individual experience, previous knowledge, cultural background, social status and even on their logic.