the.com/signifier
the word 'dog' won't bite you — that's the whole magic trick of language.
means a signifier is the form a sign takes — a sound, word, or image — that points to a concept without being the thing itself.
from coined by swiss linguist ferdinand de saussure in his early 1900s lectures, later published as course in general linguistics (1916), splitting every sign into signifier (the form) and signified (the concept), forever ruining dinner parties for semiotics students.
paired conceptalways travels with its opposite, the signified
arbitrary linkno natural reason 'tree' means tree
later hijackedlacan made it slippery, meaning never fixed
not the thingthe map is not the territory, saussure style
for instance
the word dog — four letters, zero fur, saussure's favorite go-to example
red stop sign — octagon shape signifies halt even without the word
golden arches — mcdonald's logo signifies fast food across 100+ countries
wedding ring — a metal loop signifying marriage since roman times