Introduction to Communication Science week 4: 4.2 Message Construction
-
0:11 - 0:16I explained in our first class that in the nineteen
sixties communication scientists -
0:16 - 0:19started to pay more attention to message
construction and -
0:19 - 0:24deconstruction under the influence of semiotics
and literature studies. -
0:24 - 0:27We adopted from literary theory the idea that
everything that -
0:27 - 0:30communicates something is a ‘text’ that can be
‘read’. -
0:30 - 0:36The most influential model from semiotics was
perhaps this nineteenth century model by -
0:36 - 0:42Ferdinand de Saussure in which he explained
that a sign was made up of two things. -
0:42 - 0:47First of all, a signifier, which is the form of the
sign. -
0:47 - 0:52Secondly, the concept it represents, the
signified. -
0:52 - 0:59The word: ‘love’ is a set of black lines to a white
background, -
0:59 - 1:04in this case on your computer screen. That’s the
signifier. -
1:04 - 1:10The signified is the concept of love. If we take a
traffic light. -
1:10 - 1:13The signifier is a red light hanging over the road.
-
1:13 - 1:20The signified is the idea that you have to stop.
But, the process of giving meaning to this sign, -
1:20 - 1:24in other words 'the signification', is not the same
for everyone. -
1:24 - 1:28Although it’s quite clear for most people that
they have to stop for a red light, -
1:28 - 1:33for Judith it also means that she will arrive late
at her job interview. -
1:33 - 1:41She will react very differently to the red light than
Meg, who was not in a hurry at all. -
1:41 - 1:46Semiotics tells us that there are two levels of
signification: Denotation and connotation. -
1:46 - 1:49Denotation is the first order of signification,
-
1:49 - 1:54the explicit meaning of a sign, in this case a red
light. -
1:54 - 2:00Connotation is the second level of signification,
it is what the denotation represents, -
2:00 - 2:07all associated meanings, in this case it means
stopping, but is also results in anger -
2:07 - 2:11and frustration for Judith because she might be
late at her interview. -
2:11 - 2:15We can easily imagine different people reacting
very differently to this sign, -
2:15 - 2:20adding their own unique background to the
signification process. -
2:20 - 2:24So embedded in this model is the idea of
polysemic messages. -
2:24 - 2:28Messages with a different meaning for different
people. -
2:28 - 2:31Some signs have a widely shared connotation.
-
2:31 - 2:36On a denotative level it’s a black little drawing
against a white background. -
2:36 - 2:41On a conative level most people will recognize
this as the representation for the ladies room. -
2:41 - 2:44Of course on a very personal level
-
2:44 - 2:49the connotation will still vary depending on how
bad someone needs to go. -
2:49 - 2:53The Jacobson model from 1960 is a clear
example of -
2:53 - 2:57how these ideas were adopted by
communication scientists. -
2:57 - 3:01It combined the well-known transmission
perspective, sender, message, and receiver, -
3:01 - 3:07with several of the elements we just discussed,
but with a different name. -
3:08 - 3:11Each message, according to the Jacobson
model refers to something -
3:11 - 3:13outside of the message: a context.
-
3:13 - 3:16A red traffic light refers to the concept of
stopping. -
3:16 - 3:20A love letter refers to the concept of ‘love’.
-
3:20 - 3:24Another new element was the explicit mention of
the ‘code’ of a message, -
3:24 - 3:30which is the form that a message takes, in
semiotics the ‘signifier’. -
3:30 - 3:33So, in our two examples the codes are a red
light -
3:33 - 3:37and a letter consisting of words written in a
specific language. -
3:37 - 3:40This latter code requires a complicated skillset.
-
3:40 - 3:46One has to be able to read but also know the
specific language in which it was written. -
3:46 - 3:49Then, when the explicit meaning was read, the
-
3:49 - 3:55individual audience member can add his or her
own associations to the signification process. -
3:55 - 3:58Creating a unique outcome on a receiver level.
- Title:
- Introduction to Communication Science week 4: 4.2 Message Construction
- Description:
-
Download links
1. not in the Coursera site:
Transcript of all Week 4 videos: https://d396qusza40orc.cloudfront.net/commscience/transcripts%2FTranscript_Week_4_Coursera.pdf
This lecture in .webm: http://d396qusza40orc.cloudfront.net/commscience/recoded_videos%2F4.2.86217295efe6366734bf2c71d7908d65.webm
2. In the Coursera site, but apparently unaffected by the login block, for this lecture:
Subtitle text: https://class.coursera.org/commscience-001/lecture/subtitles?q=61_en&format=txt
Video mp4: https://class.coursera.org/commscience-001/lecture/download.mp4?lecture_id=61
*****Week 4 description:
The reception and signification perspective
This week we'll cover some basic theories on message construction and (selective) processing. We will see that scholars are working towards theoretical models that give audiences a more active role in communication processes. - Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Captions Requested
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Introduction to Communication Science week 4: 4.2 Message Construction | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Introduction to Communication Science week 4: 4.2 Message Construction |