signification

Signification is the process by which signs convey meaning within a system of signs. In linguistics and semiotics, a sign functions through its signifier, the form that presents itself (a sound pattern, a written word), and its signified, the concept or mental image it evokes. Signification thus links form and meaning in socially shared codes rather than in private mental representations alone.

In the structural analysis of language, Ferdinand de Saussure emphasized that the sign’s meaning arises from its difference from other signs within the system. The signified is not a direct image of the object but a culturally constructed concept, and signification depends on conventions of a given language community.

Charles Peirce offered a complementary model in which signs are triadic: a sign, its object, and an interpretant. For Peirce, signification unfolds through interpretation, and signs may be icons, indexes, or symbols, each achieving meaning in different ways.

Signification also encompasses denotation and connotation: the explicit content a sign denotes, and the associated feelings or associations that enrich its meaning. In discourse and media, signification extends to how signs are used to construct identities, ideologies, and power relations, not merely to convey factual information.

Scholarly attention to signification covers semantics, semiotics, rhetoric, and literary theory. Critics note that signification is often variable across cultures and contexts; meanings shift with usage, audience, and historical change, making signification a dynamic, communal process rather than a fixed attribute of signs.