English 2200F/G Study Guide - Final Guide: Signify, Unconscious Mind, Temne Language
14 Jan 2015
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Arbitrary nature of the sign: bond between signifier and signified is arbitrary ie. no natural reason that a certain word has a certain meaning, no two people have precisely the same concept of a word ie. the concept i get from the word ocean is different from the concept you get, bond exists because society has agreed to use the words in a particular and consistent way, arbitrary, but nonetheless imperative to the functioning of language and. It is a complete and full object, it is not broken or missing a piece, it is a whole table with physical presence: yet, it cannot be used to its full potential without the supplement of a chair, table is lacking chair but that doesn"t mean it is not whole and complete unto itself, chair is introduced to supplement the table to fill that absence, not a necessary component for the thing to exist and be whole but makes it more whole.
