Sign and Symbol

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Sign and Symbol

Introduction:-

In Language studies, the sign and symbol help to understand what language is. The linguistic sign consists of two parts, the signifier and the signified.

Sign:-

The sign is a physical marker which gives a direct, brief and precise meaning. The signifier in the sign is the word which signifies and the signified is the object that is signified. The word 'tree' does not signify the object that is 'tree' because the object tree has different names in different languages. The word tree represents only the concept or image of the object that we have in our minds. If the word tree signifies the actual object tree, then in all languages the word for the object would have been 'tree'.

A word is made by joining some sound image and then it is used to represent the concept or the object that exists in the mind. There is no logical reason why a certain combination of sounds is chosen to represent the concept. The relationship between the word and the object that it signifies is an arbitrary one.

The word is the signifier and the concept that is signified is the signified .Sign which is composed of both the signifier and the signified consists of the relationship between the signifier and the signified .When the relationship is once established, it continues for a long time. It is an arbitrary and not a logical relationship that is established by the society and it is accepted because of social agreement. That is why linguistic sign is said to be arbitrary.

The system of a language is made up of many signs .Signs are relational entities which exist only in terms of relation to each other. There is a complex relationship between the signs and it is this relationship that makes up the system of language. As signs are based on arbitrary relationships they differ from language to language. Every society makes concepts of its own and connects these concepts to certain signifiers and signified in an

arbitrary manner. But once the relationships are made, the individuals cannot choose any arbitrary signifiers on own choice.

Symbol:-

A Symbol means more than mere indication. It contains more information. A Symbol is a sign that signifies several concepts on the basis of the primary relationship between the signifier and signified. For example, the word 'tree' signifies the concept of tree which is the primary relationship. But it also has other meanings. It signifies life, growth etc. So the word tree is not only a sign but also a symbol. So a symbol is made up of several associative relationships between the signifiers and the signified.

"Symbols are the language of something invisible spoken in the visible world."

Conclusion:-

So a language is a system of symbolic signs because there are often very complex associative relationships between the signifiers and the signified in a Language 

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