翻译《符号学理论 》.doc

3. 现代符号学另一个强大的源头是世纪初瑞士语言学泰斗索绪尔的教学讲稿普通语言学教程，索绪尔将符号分成 意符 Signifier 和 意指 Signified 两个互不从属的部分之后，真正确立了符号学的基本理论，影响了后来李维史陀和罗兰巴特等法国结构主义的学者，被誉为现代语言学之父。学派之争符号学(semiotics，semiologie，semiotic)是20世纪60年代以后由法国和意大利为中心重新兴盛至欧洲各国，它的源头不外乎胡塞尔的现象学，索绪尔的结构主义和皮尔斯的实用主义。如按理论形态也可分为：符号学其一，卡西尔哲学符号学(新康德主义)，以及皮尔斯哲学符号学；其二，索绪尔影响下的罗朗巴尔特的语言结构主义符号学；再细分：一曰：以索绪尔说“语言学只是符号学一部分”，二曰：以巴尔特所言“符号学只是广义语言学的一部分”，这符号学是扩大意义的语言学，更准确地说“元语言学”理论；其三，前苏联学者劳特曼的历史符号学，正好是索绪尔共时研究的反对等等。李幼蒸认为：“今日最为通行的一般符号学理论体系共有四家：美国皮尔斯理论系统，瑞士索绪尔理论系统，法国格雷马斯理论系统和意大利艾柯一般符号学。”符号学作为一个跨越学科研究的方法的学科，当然少不了思想学术的革命性。后现代思潮里，国人更易接受巴尔特之类。可我研习国学多年，跟随潮流的意识早已淡漠。静心而论，那些西传之学，国人不假思索的挪用，甚至鼓吹，倒早早使我厌倦。我们必须明白，在西方学界里的权威，可能在我们的语境里是错谬之极，符号学就有其特性，故愿能寻到一种较为合理的研究方法，拙文仅是粗劣的尝试。以文化为研究范围的是现代符号学的特质，当中包括了民俗学 Folklore Analysis人类学 Anthropology 敍事学 Narratology言谈分析 Discourse Analysis神话分析 Semiotics of Myth艺术符号学 Semiotics of Art另外，较为近代的应用有电影符号学 Semiotics of Cinema 、建筑符号学Semiotics of Architecture ，符号学的研究应分为以下几期：在标识设计中的运用 the application in sign design在皮尔斯看来，更是图像、标志和象征的东西。迄今读图盛趋，指示设计亦是所指的提炼，也许说标识是代表某种物体或可识对象的(能指)特征符号。一旦能指不复存在，标识将丧失其符号性，特征便随于物体或对象，恰如“符号意义只有在同使用符号的主体相关时才适合于符号符号本身并没有自己的绝对意义，这就是说，主体在它之中并没有被抛弃，主体总是直接存在物，符号在同其他存在物相联系时才有它的存在。” 也同卡西尔所言：“关系的思想依赖于符号的思想”。运用符号系统识别于指示者或使记号显形之物，所以指示标识对所指(概念)的把握尤为重要。若要把握所指就得明白“我们不能离开映像而思维，也不能离开概念(所指)去直观。概念无直观则空，直观无概念则盲”的道理。福柯认为：“符号与其所指的关系形式，通过适合、仿效、特别是同感这三者之间的相互作用。”又说：“为了让符号成其为所是，符号在呈现为被自己所指称的物的同时，还必须呈现为认识的对象”。 指示标识设计更应做到认识对象，否则，指示标识的符号性将失语。正如巴尔特的看法：符号首先就有传达信号的能力，同时具备代码(code)的能力，否则就无法界别语言和非语言记号(sign)、记号系统、意指关系。若是卡西尔则言：在符号思维的功能受到阻碍或遇到障碍的特殊情况下，现实性与可能性之间的区别也就变得不确定，不再被清晰地察觉。 如若不信，你在大街上胡乱大叫，谁也无法解读你在表达什么？另外，还有一种导致设计失语的因素，即就是忽视了符号的任意性，索绪尔认为：“能指和所指的联系是任意的，或者，因为我们所说的符号是指能指和所指相联结所产生的整体。” 所以说符号是任意性的，任意性的符号必定会加大我们设计指示标识的难度。更重要的是提炼、概括所指。故列一个设计到识读时思维次序表，以供学人参考。格雷马斯看来：“能指的视觉类包括面部表情、手势、文字、实物画、雕塑、交通信号等”。依据法相唯识学，八识中的前五识(眼、耳、鼻、舌、身)都是接受能指的系统，如果眼识里的色分、相分是符号的第一次感知裁决，那么指示标识里的符号就是再一次裁决。这次裁决将会产生常见的三类共识性符号。其一，象似符号指外部形式和内部结构与所代替的事物相似的符号。画一个上帝在门口，可以代指教堂；画五颗五角星代表五星级；在画的香烟头上打“”，表示禁止吸烟。这样的例子不胜枚举。有些是约定俗成的，如“”；有些是相似的，如星星、香烟头。倘若两者完全一样，那还是符号吗？固然不是。天上的星星绝对不是五角的，那烟头也不是照片。符号传递信息一看便知，绝不能模棱两可，让人捉摸不透。其二，相关符号指与所代替现象有各种相关联系的符号。如车转弯前的路标，风向旗表示风向，温度计的水银柱表示气温等等。有专家，譬如美国的皮尔斯把它称作索引式符号。所谓索引式符号就是通过相关联系推测符号的信息，勿须解释。欧洲人的剧院用假面具来代指就是鲜活的例子，这些必须是约定俗成的其三，规约符号指与所传递的信息之间无任何联系的，仅靠约定俗成的符号。譬如，交通运输上用红色和黄色喻指警示之意。数学当中的“+”“”“=”等。又如通讯电码、斑马线之类，这方面用得最多的仍是运输领域。皮尔斯把它命名为象征符号，有些专家又称为指号符号。总而言之，符号越相象或越接近对象就易于识别，凡是越抽象的或民族文化性的符号识别也就越难。譬如说，欧洲人常在杯子上缠绕蛇来代指医药，东方人难知其意。那些全世界能通用的，最好用相象或越接近对象的共识性符号。如果是文化类型，要根据能指或受指的思维去做。如果二者都无法，就必需使用强制性的规约符号。不过做设计也不需如此严格，用得巧妙是很需要灵感的，了解得越多产生灵感机会就越大，故知识是创造灵感的触点。Another powerful source of modern semiotics is the lecture notes called A Course in General Linguistics of the leading authority of Swiss Linguistics, Saussure, in the beginning of the century. Saussure divided semiotic into Signifier and Signified which are two mutually dependent parts, after which the basic theory of semiotics was truly established. Saussures theory also makes influences in French structuralism scholars, such as Lvi-Strauss and Roland Barthes, and thus Saussure was called the Father of modern linguistics. SchoolDisputesThe revival of semiotics (semiologie, semiotic) is centers on French and Italy to Europe. The source of Semiotics is nothing more than Husserls phenomenology, Saussures structuralism and Peirces pragmatism. According to the theoretical form, it can be divided into:SemioticsThe first is Cassirers philosophical semiotics (New Kantianism) and Peirces philosophical semiotics; the second is Roland Barthes linguistic structuralism semiotics under the influence of Saussure which can be subdivided according to: (1) Saussure says “Linguistics is a part of semiotics”. (2) Barthes says “Semiotics is a part of general linguistics”. This semiotics is the linguistics with expended meaning, or rather, “metalinguistic” theory. The third is the former Soviet Union scholars Trautmann historical semiotics, which happens to be the opposition of Saussures synchronic study. Li Youzheng says “Nowadays, in terms of the most widely accepted theory of general semiotics system, there are four: Pierce theoretical system in US, Saussure theoretical system in Switzerland, Grimes theory system in French and Ecos general semiotics in Italy.” Semiotics, as a discipline of cross-disciplinary research method, cannot dispense with the ideological and academic revolutionary. In the post-modern ideological trend, French people are more likely to accept Roland Barthes and so forth. However, I have studied Chinese culture for many years and my conscience of following the trend has long been indifferent. When meditation is concerned, Chinese people use the knowledge from western countries without thinking and even advocate it, which has made me tired for a long time. We must understand that the authority in Western academic circles may be wrong in our context. Semiotics has its own characteristics; therefore, we hope to find a more reasonable research method. Poor works is only poor attempt.With culture as the scope of study is the characteristic of modern semiotics, whichincludes:Folklore AnalysisAnthropologyNarratologyDiscourse AnalysisSemiotics of MythSemiotics of ArtIn addition, the more modern applications include Semiotics of Cinema and Semiotics of Architecture. Semiotics research and application should be divided into the following periods: In Peirces eyes, this is more applicable to images, signs and something symbolic. So far, interpreting drawings is still flourish and instructions are also the refinement of the signified and we might say that signs are characteristic symbols that stands for certain objects or identifiable objects (signifier). Once the signifier does not exist, the signs will lose its symbolic characteristics and its characteristics will be attached to the objects, just like “The symbolic meaning can be suitable for the symbol only when it is related to the subject that uses the symbol-the symbol itself does not its own absolute significance, that is to say, the subject in it did not be abandoned and the subject always exist directly while the symbol can exist only when they are related to other existence.” Just like Cassirer put it, “ The idea of relationship depend on that of symbols”. The symbol system is used to identify the instructors or something that makes visualized, so it is very important for the instruction signs to grasp the signified (concept). If we want to grasp the signified, we must understand the truth-“We cannot think without image and we cannot intuit without concept (signifier) and The concept will be empty without intuition while the intuition will be blind without concept ”. Foucault says, “The symbol and the relationship form of its signified interact with each other through consort, imitation, especially resonance.” and “To be a real symbol with its own meaning, the symbol itself should be rendered as the object referred to by itself and at the same time, it must be rendered as the object of knowledge” . The design of the instruction signs should have a better understanding of the objects, otherwise, the symbolic characteristic of the instruction signs will suffer from aphasia. This is just like Barthes opinion that symbols have the ability to convey signals in the first place and at the same time they have the ability to code, otherwise they cannot make a distinction between lingual and non-lingual signs, token system and signified relationship.Cassirer thinks that in the special circumstances when the symbolic thinking function is hampered or encounters obstacles, the difference between reality and possibility becomes uncertain and no longer be clearly perceived. If you do not believe, you just shout in the street and no one can understand what you are expressing. In addition, another factor that leads to design aphasia is that we ignore the arbitrariness of the signs. Saussure says, “The relationship between signifier and signified is arbitrary, or because the signs that we are talking about are the whole which is the combination of signifier and signified.” Therefore, the signs are arbitrary and the arbitrary symbols are bound to make it more difficult for us to design instruction signs. The more important thing is to refine and summarize the signified. So I list a thinking order table from design to reading as the reference for the learners. Greimas says, “The visual types of the signifier include facial expressions, gestures, words, physical painting, sculpture, traffic signal and etc.” according to the methods for learning knowledge, all the five consciousnesses (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body) of the eight are accepted signifier systems. If the hues separation in the eye consciousness is the first adjudication of the symbols, the symbol in the instruction signs is another adjudication which will produce three common types of consensus symbol. The first type is iconicity symbol which refers to the symbol that is similar to something replaced by the external form and the internal structure. By drawing a God at the door we can refer to the church; five five-pointed stars, we can refer to five-star; playing on the cigarette butts in the picture says no smoking. The list goes on. Some of them are conventional, such as ; some of them are similar, like stars, cigarette butts If both are exactly the same, can they be symbols? Certainly not. The stars in the sky are definitely not the pentagon and the cigarette butts are not photos. The information that symbols convey must be easy to understand rather than be ambiguous and unpredictable.。The second is related symbol which refers to the symbols that are related to the replaced phenomenon. For example, the landmark before a car turn and the wind flag represents the wind direction, and the mercury of a thermometer indicates the temperature, etc. Some experts, such as the United States scholar, Pierce called it indexed symbol. The indexed symbol means that speculating information of the symbol through the related contact, without explanation. In European theatres, masks refer to living things, and these examples must be conventional. The third is the conventional symbol which refers to the symbol that has nothing to do with the information to convey and only depends on convention.