Significations

Significations is a term used across linguistics, semiotics, philosophy, and related fields to refer to meaning itself or the act by which signs convey meaning. The noun derives from Latin significatio, and in English it is commonly used to discuss how signs point to, or stand for, something beyond their physical form.

In semiotics and linguistics, signification describes the process by which signs express meaning within a sign system. In the classic Saussurean framework, linguistic signs consist of a signifier (the form) and a signified (the concept or meaning); signification is the relation that links these elements, allowing speakers to convey ideas through language and other signs. The term can thus denote both the act of signaling and the content that is signified.

Signification is often distinguished from related notions such as denotation, connotation, and reference. Denotation refers to the literal, explicit meaning of a sign, connotation to associated or cultural meanings, and reference to the relation between signs and the real-world objects or concepts they stand for. In practice, signification can be broad, covering both literal meanings and broader symbolic or cultural meanings that signs acquire in use.

Examples illustrate signification in daily life: a red light sign signifies that vehicles must stop, while the word “tree” signifies a category of living organisms and evokes related concepts. In scholarly contexts, signification is central to analyses of how language, symbols, and signs produce understanding, interpretation, and communication.

See also: sign, signifier, signified, semiotics, semantics.