Semiotics: The Basics

by Daniel Chandler

Overview

This fifth edition of the bestselling textbook is a major new revision, continuing to provide a concise introduction to the key concepts of semiotics in accessible and jargon-free language.

Demystifying what is a complex, highly interdisciplinary field, key questions covered include: What are signs and codes? What can semiotics teach us about representation and reality? What tools does it offer for analysing texts and cultural practices? Semiotics: The Basics focuses on its application to communication and cultural studies. The latest edition features a greatly extended treatment of core concepts, in particular traditional historical models of the sign, the semiotic triangle, and distinctions between ‘natural’ and conventional signs. There is also a greater emphasis on ‘the social life of signs’.

With an extensive index, a comprehensive glossary, suggestions for review and for further reading, and a list of online resources, this must-have guide is both the ideal introductory text and an essential reference for students of language, communication, media, and cultural studies at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781041016106
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/08/2025
Series:	The Basics
Edition description:	5th ed.
Pages:	418
Product dimensions:	5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x (d)

About the Author

Daniel Chandler is an emeritus faculty member at Aberystwyth University, UK, and a consultant in marketing semiotics. He is also the senior compiler of A Dictionary of Media and Communication (3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 2020) and A Dictionary of Social Media (Oxford University Press, 2016).

Table of Contents

List of illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Definitions

Relation to philosophy and linguistics

Structuralism

Why study semiotics?

1 Models

The semiotic triangle

Natural vs. conventional signs

The Saussurean model

The arbitrariness of the linguistic sign

The relational system

The Peircean model

Jakobson’s model

Sign relations

Symbolic relations

Iconic relations

Indexical relations

The case of photography

Mixed modes

Types and tokens

Rematerializing the sign

Hjelmslev’s model

Reflections

Further reading

2 Realities

Categorization

Language, thought, and reality

Referentiality

Referentiality

Modality

The sign is not the thing

Empty signifiers

Reflections

Further reading

3 Structures

Horizontal and vertical axes

The paradigmatic dimension

The commutation test

Oppositions

Markedness

Deconstruction

Conceptual alignment

The semiotic square

The syntagmatic dimension

Spatial relations

Sequential relations

Structural reduction

Langue and parole

Reflections

Further reading

4 Codes

The language model

Digital and analogue codes

Typologies

Social codes

Textual codes

Genre

Aesthetic realisms

Invisible editing

Interpretive codes

Ways of reading

Codification

Limitations

Reflections

Further reading

5 Ways of meaning

Rhetorical tropes

Metaphor

Metonymy

Synecdoche

Irony

Master tropes

Denotation and connotation

Myth

Reflections

Further reading

6 Interactions

Models of communication

Context and relevance

Communicative functions

The positioning of the subject

Modes of address

Intertextuality

Problematizing authorship

No text is an island

Intratextuality

Textual framing

Reflections

Further reading

7 Perspectives

Structuralist semiotics

Poststructuralist semiotics

The return of Saussure

Social semiotics

Cognitive semiotics

Cartesian dualism

Semiotic stances

Mental representation

Embodiment

Methodologies

An ecological and multimodal approach

Reflections

Further reading

Going further

Glossary

References

Index

Editorial Reviews

Praise for the fifth edition:

‘The successive editions of Daniel Chandler’s Semiotics since 2002 show a depth of vision and commitment that make these clear, precise, and well-documented works a real contribution to world research.’

Anne Hénault, Professor emerita, Sorbonne University

Praise for previous editions:

‘A very useful book, not only for those who wish to find out about semiotics, but also for those interested in finding out how language or any other sign system is far from being a neutral medium of communication.’

Juan A. Prieto-Pablos, University of Seville, Spain

‘The book is well written and up-to-date, without unnecessary verbosity or jargon, and yet reflects the complexity of the field and its problems.’

Journal of Pragmatics

‘It is no small task to present semiotics in a manner that makes it accessible to the beginning student, and Chandler achieves this, describing difficult concepts clearly and thoroughly.’

Donald J. Cunningham, Indiana University, USA

‘This book is, at once, highly accessible, extremely interesting, encyclopedic in scope, and authoritative. Highly recommended for all courses involving semiotics and its applications to media, culture and society.’

Arthur Asa Berger, San Francisco State University, USA

‘Daniel Chandler’s Semiotics is thorough, well organized, and well written. Provocative and informative, its range, depth, and erudition should make it of interest, not only to philosophers and theorists of art, language, and culture, but to anyone interested in the relation of signs to mind and reality and the relation of reality and mind to signs.’

Jeffrey Strayer, Purdue University Fort Wayne, USA

From the Publisher

This is the best introduction to semiotics I have read. Comprehensive, accessible and interesting, it is an invaluable resource for both beginners and more advanced students.

Guy Cook

It is no small task to present semiotics in a manner that makes it accessible to the beginning student, and Chandler achieves this, describing difficult concepts clearly and thoroughly.

Donald J. Cunningham

This book introduces a growing area of investigation with humor and insight. Eclectic rather than dogmatic, this is a book students should know about.

Tony Thwaites