signifying

Signifying is the act of indicating or conveying meaning through signs or symbols, and it is used in both general semiotics and linguistics. In semiotic theory, signification describes how a sign—such as a word, gesture, or image—relates to its referent or concept, and how meaning emerges from the interaction of sign, signifier, and signified. The process can operate at literal, figurative, or symbolic levels, and meaning can shift across contexts and cultures. In linguistic analysis, signifying often emphasizes how utterances imply more than their literal sense, including irony, metaphor, or connotation.

In African American linguistic and literary traditions, signifying (often spelled signifyin’ or signifyin) refers to a distinctive mode of indirect verbal exchange and rhetorical play. This practice relies on wordplay, allusion, metaphor, repetition, and coded references to convey messages, challenge opponents, or praise allies. Signifying is typically understood within a social and communal frame, requiring shared knowledge and interpretive skill from audience and performer. The concept has been explored as a central feature of Black vernacular aesthetics and is associated with theoretical discussions of influence, competition, and negotiation within discourse.

Historical and scholarly discussions of signifying often cite Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s work on the Signifying Monkey, which presents signifying as a culturally specific technique of signaling meaning through indirect, culturally resonant discourse. The term also intersects with broader semiotic concepts of how signs function in culture, language, and literature.

See also: semiotics, linguistics, Ferdinand de Saussure, Charles Peirce, Signifying Monkey.