Semiotics (or semiology) is a theoretical framework for the study of the meaning of language, signs and symbols. It was first developed in the early 20th century, separately, by the Swiss Ferdinand Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce of the U.S.A.
Semiotics can be described as both a science and a technique. It is a science because it has its own theories. At the same time, it is a technique because it is a way of studying systems of representation and meaning. The meaning can be intentional, such as a word uttered with a specific meaning. It can also be unintentional, such as a symptom being a sign of a particular medical condition. Signs can communicate through any of the senses: visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, or gustatory.
The importance of signs and signification has been recognized throughout much of the history of philosophy and psychology. The term derives from the Greek: σημειωτικός, romanized: sēmeiōtikos, "observant of signs" (from σημεῖον sēmeion, "a sign, a mark"). For the ancient Greeks, "signs" occurred in the world of nature, while "symbols" occurred in the world of culture. Famous Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle explored the relationship between signs and the world.
The general study of signs began in Latin with Augustine. It concluded with the important 1632 Tractatus de Signis by John Poinsot. However, it began anew in late modernity with the attempt in 1867 by Charles Sanders Peirce to draw up a "new list of categories." More recently, Umberto Eco, in his Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language, has argued that semiotic theories are implicit in the work of most, perhaps all, major thinkers.
Semiotics is usually divided into three parts:
The major branches of semiotics include:
