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I5
I n th is c h a p te rw e w ill b e c o n c e n tra tin go n o n e o f th e k e y p ro c e s s e in
s th e
'c u ltu ra l c irc u it' ( s e ed u G a y ,H a ll e t a l. , 1 9 9 7 ,a n d th e I n tro d u c tio nto th is
vo lu m e ) - th e p ra ctice so f re p re sen ta tio n . T h e a im o f th is ch a p te ris to
in tro d u c ey o u to th is to p ic , a n d to e x p ia in w h a t it is a b o u ta n d w h y w e g iv e it
su ch im p o rta n ce in cu ltu ra l stu d ie s.
T h e c o n c e p to f re p re s e n ta tio hn a s c o m e to o c c u p va n e w a n d im p o rta n tp la c e
in th e s tu d y o f c u ltu re . R e p re s e n ta tiocno n n e c tsm e a n in ga n d la n g u a g eto
c u ltu re . B u t w h a t e x a c tlyd o p e o p le m e a nb y it? W h a t d o e sre p re s e n ta tio n
h a ve to d o r,r'ithcu ltu re a n d m e a n in g ? O n e co m m o n - se n seu sa g eo f th e te rm
n e a n su s in g la n g u a g eto s a y s o m e th in g
is a s fo llo w s : 'R e p re s e n ta tiom
m e a n in g fu la b o u t,o r to re p re s e n t,th e w o rld m e a n in g fu lly to
, o th e r p e o p le . '
Y o u m a y w e ll a s k , 'I s th a t a ll? ' W e ll, y e s a n d n o . R e p re s e n ta tiois
n an
e s s e n tia pl a rt o f th e p ro c e s sb y w h ic h m e a n in gis p ro d u c e da n d e x c h a n g e d
b e tw e e nm e m b e rso f a c u ltu re . I I d o e sin v o lv e th e u s e o f la n g u a g eo, f s ig n s
a n d im a g e sw h ich sta n d fo r o r re p re se n tth in g s. B u t th is is a fa r fro m sim p le
o r s tra ig h tfo rw a rdp ro c e s sa, s y o u w ill s o o n d is c o v e r.
H o w d o e sth e c o n c e p to f re p re s e n ta tio cn o n n e c tm e a n in ga n d la n g u a g eto
c u ltu re ? I n o rd e rto e x p lo reth is c o n n e c tio nfu rth e r,w e w ill lo o k a t a n u m b e r
o f d iffe re n tth e o rie sa b o u th o w ia n g u a g eis u s e d to re p re s e n th
t e w o rld . H e re
w e w ill b e d ra w in g a d is tin c tio nb e tw e e nth re e d iffe re n ta c c o u n tso r th e o rie s :
Ih e re fle ctive ,th e in te n tio n a l a n d Ih e co n stru ctio n ista p p ro a ch e sto
re p re s e n ta tio nD. o e sla n g u a g es im p ly re fle c ta m e a n in gw h ic h a lre a d ye x is ts
o u t th e re in th e w o rld o f o b je cts,p e o p le a n d e ve n ts ( re fle ctive ) ?D o e s
la n g u a g ee xp re sso n ly w h a t th e sp e a ke ro r w rite r o r p a in te r w a n ts to sa y.h is
o r h e r p e rso n a lly in te n d e d m e a n in g ( in te n tio n a l) ? O r is m e a n in g co n stru cte d
in a n d th ro u g h la n g u a g e( co n stru ctio n isf) ?Y o u w ill le a rn m o re in a m o m e n t
a b o u tth e s eth re e a p p ro a c h e s .
M o s t o f th e c h a p te rw ill b e s p e n te x p lo rin gth e c o n s tru c tio n isaf p p ro a c h .
b e c a u s eit is th is p e rs p e c tiv ew h ic h h a s h a d th e m o s t s ig n ific a n tim p a c t o n
c u ltu ra l s tu d ie sin re c e n ty e a rs . T h is c h a p te rc h o o s e sto e x a m in etw o m a jo r
v a ria n tso r m o d e lso f th e c o n s tru c tio n isat p p ro a c h- th e s e m io lica p p ro a c h ,
g re a tlyin flu e n c e db y th e g re a tS w is slin g u is t, F e rd in a n dd e S a u s s u rea, n d
th e d iscu rsivea p p ro a ch ,a sso cia te dr,riithth e F re n ch p h ilo so p h e r a n d
h is to ria n ,M ic h e l F o u c a u it. L a te rc h a p te rsin th is b o o k w ill ta k e u p th e s etw o
th e o rie sa g a in ,a m o n go th e rs ,s o V o u w iil h a v e a n o p p o rtu n ityto c o n s o lid a te
yo u r u n d e rsta n d in go f th e m , a n d to a p p ly th e m to d iffe re n t a re a so f a n a lysis.
O th e r ch a p te rsw ill in tro d u ce th e o re tica lp a ra d ig m sw h ich a p p ly
c o n s tru c tio n isat p p ro a c h e sin d iffe re n tw a y s to th a t o f s e m io tic sa n d
F o u c a u lt. A ll, h o w e v e r,p u t in q u e s tio nth e v e ry n a tu re o f re p re s e n ta tio n .
W e tu rn to th is o u e stio n first.
|5
: - - r iE lI T A T o N : C U L T U P . ARLF P R E S E N T A T TAONNDSs tG N r F y r NPGR A CI r c E S
w h a t d o e sth e w o rd re p re se n ta tio nre a lly m e a n , in th is co n te xt? w h a t d o e s
th e p ro c e s so f re p re s e n ta tio in
n v o lv e ? H o w d o e sre p re s e n ta tio w
n o rk ?
T o p u t it b rie fly, re p re se n ta tio nis th e p ro d u ctio n o f m e a n in g th ro u g h
la n g u a g e . T h e sfio rfe r o xfo rd E n g lish D ictio n a ry su g g e ststw o re le va n t
m e a n in g sfo r th e w o rd ;
1
2
T o re p re s e n st o m e th in gis to d e s c rib eo r d e p ic t it, to c a ll it u p in th e m in d
b y d e s c rip tio no r p o rtra y a lo r im a g in a tio n to
; p la c e a lik e n e s so f it b e fo re
u s in o u r m in d o r in th e s e n s e sa; s ,fo r e x a m p le ,in th e s e n te n c e,,T h is
p ic tu re re p re s e n tsth e m u rd e r o f A b e l b y C a in . '
T o re p re s e n at ls o m e a n sto s y m b o liz e s, ta n d fo r, to b e a s p e c im e no f, o r to
su b stitu tefo r; a s in th e se n te n ce ,'In ch ristia n ity, th e cro ssre p re se n tsth e
su fT e rin ga n d cru cifixio n o f C h rist.'
T h e fig u re s in th e p a in tin g sta n d in th e p la ce o f, a n d a t th e sa m e tim e , sfo n d
fo r rh e sto ry o f ca in a n d A b e l. L ike w ise , th e cro sssim p ly co n sistso f tw o
w o o d e n p la n k s n a ile d to g e th e r;b u t in th e c o n te x to f c h ris tia n b e lie f a n d
te a c h in g ,it ta k e so n , s y m b o liz e so r c o m e sto s ta n d fo r a w id e r s e t o f
m e a n in g sa b o u tth e c ru c ifix io n o f th e s o n o f G o d , a n d th is is a c o n c e p tw e
c a n p u t in to w o rd s a n d p ic tu re s .
H e re is a sim p le e xe rcisea b o u t re p re se n ta tio n L. o o k a t a n y fa m ilia r
o b je ctin th e ro o m . Y o u w ill im m e d ia te ly re co g n iz ew h a t it is. B u t h o w
d o y o u k n o w w h a t th e o b je c tis ? W h a t d o e s're c o g n iz em
' e a n?
N o w try to m a ke yo u rse lf co n scio u so f w h a t yo u a re d o in g - o b se rvew h a t
is g o in g o n a s yo u d o it. Y o u re co g n iz ew h a t it is b e ca u seyo u r th o u g h tp ro c e s s e ds e c o d ey o u r v is u a l p e rc e p tio no f th e o b je c tin te rm s o f a
c o n c e p to f it w h ic h y o u h a v e in y o u r h e a d .T h is m u s t b e s o b e c a u s eif,
yo u lo o k a w a y fro m th e o b je ct,yo u ca n still tfrin k a b o u t it b y co n ju rin g it
u p , a s w e s a y ,'in y o u r m in d 's e y e '. G o o n - try to fo llo w th e p ro c e s sa s it
h a p p e n s T: h e re is th e o b je c t. . . a n d th e re is th e c o n c e p tin y o u r h e a d
w h ic h te lls y o u w h a t it is , w h a t y o u r v is u a l im a g eo f it m e o n s .
N o w , te ll m e w h a t it is . S a y it a lo u d :'I t's a la m p ' - o r a ta b le o r a b o o k o r
th e p h o n e o r w h a te v e r.T h e c o n c e p to fth e o b je c th a s p a s s e dth ro u g h y o u r
m e n ta l re p re se n ta tio no f it to m e via th e w o rd fo r it w h ich yo u h a ve ju st
u s e d ,T h e w o rd s ta n d sfo r o r re p re s e n tsth e c o n c e p t,a n d c a n b e u s e d to
re fe re n c eo r d e s ig n a tee ith e r a 're a l' o b je c tin th e w o rld o r in d e e d e v e n
s o m e im a g in a ryo b je c t,lik e a n g e isd a n c in go n th e h e a d o f a p in , w h ic h
n o o n e h a s e v e ra c tu a llys e e n .
T h is is h o w yo u g ive m e a n in g to th in g s th ro u g h la n g u a g e T. h is is h o w yo u
'm a k e s e n s eo f'th e w o rld o f p e o p le ,o b je c tsa n d e v e n ts ,a n d h o w y o u a re a b le
to e x p re s sa c o m p le xth o u g h ta b o u tth o s eth in g s to o th e rp e o p le ,o r
C I A P I T _ R T I ]E W O R < O F R E P I T . E S E NOTNA I
17
co m m u n ica tea b o u t th e m th ro u g h la n g u a g ein w a ys w h ich o th e r p e o p ie a re
a b le to u n d e rs ta n d .
W h y d o w e h a v e to g o th ro u g hth is c o m p le r p ro c e s sto re p re s e n ot u r
th o u g h ts ?I f y o u p u t d o w n a g la s sy o u a re h o ld in g a n d rna lk o u t o f th e ro o m ,
v o u c a n s till / h in k a b o u tth e g la s s ,e v e nth o u g h it is n o lo n g e rp h y s ic a llv
th e re .A c tu a lly ,y o u c a n 't th in k w ith a g la s s .Y o u c a n o n lv th in k w ith tfte
c o n c e p to / th e g la s s A
. s th e lin g u is tsa re fo n d o f s a y in g ,'D o g sb a rk . B u t th e
c o n c e p to f "d o g " c a n n o tb a rk o r b ite . ' Y o u c a n 't s p e a kr, r- ithth e a c tu a lg la s s ,
e ith e r. Y o u ca n o n ly sp e a kw ith th e w o rd fo r g la ss- G L A S S - rnh ich is th e
lin g u is tic s ig n w h ic h w e u s e in E n g lis hto re fe rto o b je c tsrnh ic h y o u d rin k
w a te r o u t o f. T h is is w h e re re p re se n ta tio nco m e sin . R e p re se n ta tio nis th e
p ro d u c tio no f th e m e a n in go f th e c o n c e p tsin o u r m in d s th ro u g hla n g u a g eI.t
is th e lin k b e tw e e n co n ce p tsa n d la n g u a g ew h ich e n a b le su s to re le r fo e ith e r
th e 're a i' w o rld o f o b je c ts p, e o p ie o r e v e n ts ,o r in d e e d to im a g in a ryr, r. o rld os f
fic tio n a l o b je c ts p, e o p le a n d e v e n ts .
S o th e re a re tw o p ro c e s s e st., , t'os y s te m so f re p re s e n ta tio n ,in v o lv e d .F irs t,
th e re is th e 's y s te m ' b y - , t'h ic ha ll s o rtso f o b je c ts p, e o p le a n d e v e n tsa re
co rre la te dw ith a se t o f co n ce p tso r m e n fa l re p re se n ta tio n sr,t'h ichw e ca rry
a ro u n d in o u r h e a d s .W ith o u t th e m , w e c o u ld n o t in te rp re tth e w o rld
m e a n in g fu llya t a ll. in th e firs t p la c e ,th e n , m e a n in gd e p e n d so n th e s y s te mo f
c o n c e p tsa n d im a g e sfo rm e d in o u r th o u g h tsw h ic h c a n s ta n d fo r o r
're p re s e n t'th e w o rld , e n a b lin gu s to re fe rto th in g sb o th in s id e a n d o u ts id e
our he a ds.
', e
B e fo rew e m o v e o n to lo o k a t th e s e c o n d's y s te mo f re p re s e n ta tio nw
s h o u ld o b s e rv eth a t w h a t r. r'eh a v e ju s t s a id is a v e ry s im p le v e rs io no f a ra th e r
c o m p le xp ro c e s sI.t is s im p le e n o u g hto s e eh o - a u, , e m ig h t fo rm c o n c e p tsfo r
th in g s w e c a n p e rc e iv e- p e o p le o r m a te ria lo b je c ts lik
, e c h a irs ,ta b le sa n d
t in g s .
d e s k s . B u t'"r'ea ls o fo rm c o n c e p tso f ra th e ro b s c u rea n d a b s tra c th
ra
y
to
u
c
h
.
T
h
in
k
,
fo
r
w h ic h w e c a n 't in a n y s im p le \
s e e ,fe e l o r
e x a m p le ,o f
o u r c o n c e p tso f w a r, o r d e a th ,o r frie n d s h ipo r lo v e . A n d , a s u , 'eh a v e
re m a rk e d w
, e a ls o fo rm c o n c e p tsa b o u tth in g s \ v e n e v e rh a v e s e e n ,a n d
p o s s ib lyc a n 't o r w o n 't e v e r s e e ,a n d a b o u tp e o p le a n d p la c e sw e h a v e p la in ly
m a d e u p . W e m a y h a v e a c le a rc o n c e p to f, s a v ,a n g e ls m
, e rm a id s ,G o d , th e
D e v il, o r o f H e a v e na n d H e il, o r o f M id d le m a rc h( th e fic tio n a l p ro v in c ia l
to w n in G e o rg eE lio t'sn o v e l) ,o r E liz a b e thfth e h e ro in e o f fa n e A u s te n 'sP rid e
a n d P re ju d ice ) .
W e h a v e c a lle d th is a 's y s / e m o f re p re s e n ta tio nT'. h a t is b e c a u s eit c o n s is ts ,
n o t o f in d iv id u a l c o n c e p tsb, u t o f d iffe re n tw a y s o f o rg a n iz in g c, lu s te rin g .
a rra n g in ga n d c la s s ify in gc o n c e p ts a, n d o f e s ta b lis h in gc o m p le xre la tio n s
b e tw e e nth e m . F o r e x a m p le ,w e u s e th e p rin c ip le so f s im ila rity a n d
d iffe re n c eto e s ta b lis hre la tio n s h ip sb e tw e e nc o n c e p tso r to d is tin g u is hth e m
fio m o n e a n o th e r.T h u s I h a v e a n id e a th a t in s o m ere s p e c tsb ird s a re lik e
p la n e sin th e s k y ,b a s e do n th e fa c t th a t th e y a re s im ila r b e c a u s eth e v b o th flv
- b u t I a ls oh a v e a n id e a th a t in o th e rre s p e c tsth e y a re d iffe re n t.b e c a u s eo n e
is p a rt o f n a tu rew h ils t th e o th e r is m a n - m a d e T. h is m ix in g a n d m a tc h in g, , 1
I8
R E P R E S E N T A T CI oUNL T U R A L R E P R E S E N T A T I o N S A N D S I G N I F Y I N G P R A C T I C E S
re la tio n s b e tw e e n co n ce p tsto fo rm co m p le x id e a s a n d th o u g h ts is p o ssib le
b e ca u seo u r co n ce p tsa re a rra n g e din to d iffe re n t cla ssifyin gsyste m s.In th is
e xa m p le ,th e first is b a se do n a d istin ctio n b e tw e e n flyin g /n o t flyin g a n d th e
se co n dis b a se do n th e d istin ctio n b e tw e e nn a tu ra l/m a n - m a d e T. h e re a re
o th e r p rin c ip le so f o rg a n iz a tio nlik e th is a t w o rk in a ll c o n c e p tu a sl y s te m s :
fo r e xa m p le ,cla ssifyin ga cco rd in gto se q u e n ce- w h ich co n ce p tfo llo w s
w h ich - o r ca u sa lity- w h a t ca u se sw h a t - a n d so o n . T h e p o in t h e re is th a t
w e a re ta lk in g a b o u t,n o t ju s t a ra n d o m c o lle c tio no f c o n c e p tsb, u t c o n c e p ts
o rg a n iz e d ,a rra n g e da n d cla ssifie d in to co m p le x re la tio n s w ith o n e a n o th e r.
T h a t is w h a t o u r co n ce p tu a lsyste m a ctu a lly is like . H o w e ve r,th is d o e s n o t
u n d e rm in e th e b a sic p o in t. M e a n in g d e p e n d so n th e re la tio n sh ip b e tw e e n
th in g s in th e w o rid - p e o p le ,o b je c tsa n d e v e n ts ,re a l o r fic tio n a l- a n d th e
co n ce p tu a lsyste m ,w h ich ca n o p e ra tea s m e n ta l re p re se n ta tio n so f th e m .
N o w it co u ld b e th e ca seth a t th e co n ce p tu a lm a p w h ich I ca rry a ro u n d in m y
h e a d is to ta lly d iffe re n t fro m yo u rs, in w h ich ca seyo u a n d I w o u ld in te rp re t
o r m a ke se n seo f th e w o rld in to ta lly d iffe re n t w a ys. W e w o u ld b e in ca p a b le
o f sh a rin g o u r th o u g h ts o r e xp re ssin gid e a s a b o u t th e w o rld to e a ch o th e r. In
fa ct, e a ch o f u s p ro b a b ly d o e su n d e rsta n da n d in te rp re t th e w o rld in a u n iq u e
a n d in d ivid u a l w a y, H o w e ve r,w e a re a b le to co m m u n ica teb e ca u sew e sh a re
b ro a d ly th e sa m e co n ce p tu a lm a p s a n d th u s m a ke se n seo f o r in te rp re t th e
w o rld in ro u g h ly sim ila r w a ys. T h a t is in d e e d w h a t it m e a n sw h e n w e sa y w e
'b e lo n g to th e sa m e cu ltu re '. B e ca u sew e in te rp re t th e w o rld in ro u g h ly
sim ila r w a ys, w e a re a b le to b u ild u p a sh a re dcu ltu re o f m e a n in g sa n d th u s
co n stru cta so cia lw o rld w h ich w e in h a b it to g e th e r.T h a t is w h y 'cu ltu re ' is
so m e tim e sd e fin e d in te rm s o f 'sh a re dm e a n in g so r sh a re dco n ce p tu a lm a p s'
( s e ed u G a y ,H a ll e t a l. , 1 9 9 7 ) .
H o w e ve r,a sh a re dco n ce p tu a lm a p is n o t e n o u g h . W e m u st a lso b e a b le to
re p re se n to r e xch a n g em e a n in g sa n d co n ce p ts,a n d w e ca n o n ly d o th a t w h e n
w e a lso h a ve a cce ssto a sh a re dla n g u a g e L. a n g u a g eis th e re fo reth e se co n d
syste m o f re p re se n ta tio nin vo lve d in th e o ve ra ll p ro ce sso f co n stru ctin g
m e a n in g .O u r sh a re dco n ce p tu a lm a p m u st b e tra n sla te din to a co m m o n
Ia n g u a g e so
, th a t w e ca n co rre la teo u r co n ce p tsa n d id e a s w ith ce rta in w ritte n
l rm w e u s e fo r w o rd s ,
w o rd s , s p o k e ns o u n d so r v is u a l im a g e s T. h e g e n e ra te
so u n d s o r im a g e sw h ich ca rry m e a n in g is s1 g n s.T h e se sig n s sta n d fo r o r
re p re se n tth e co n ce p tsa n d th e co n ce p tu a lre la tio n s b e tw e e n th e m w h ich w e
ca rry a ro u n d in o u r h e a d s a n d to g e th e rth e y m a ke u p th e m e a n in g - syste m os f
o u r cu ltu re .
S ig n s a re o rg a n iz e din to la n g u a g e sa n d it is th e e xiste n ceo f co m m o n
la n g u a g e sr,r,h iche n a b le u s to tra n sla te o u r th o u g h ts ( co n ce p ts)in to r,to rd s,
, e x p re s s
s o u n d so r im a g e s a, n d th e n to u s e th e s e ,o p e ra tin ga s a la n g u a g eto
m e a n in g sa n d co m m u n ica teth o u g h ts to o th e r p e o p le . R e m e m b e rth a t th e
' b e in g u s e d h e re in a v e ry b ro a d a n d in c lu s iv e w a y . T h e
te rm 'la n g u a g eis
w ritin g syste m o r th e sp o ke n syste m o f a p a rticu la r la n g u a g ea re b o th
, h e th e rp ro d u c e db v h a n d .
o b v io u s ly'la n g u a g e s '.B u t s o a re v is u a l im a g e s w
m e c h a n ic a l,e le c tro n ic ,d ig ita l o r s o m e o th e r m e a n s ,w h e n th e y a re u s e d to
e x p re s sm e a n in g . A n d s o a re o th e rth in g s w h ic h a re n 't'lin g u is tic 'in a n v
C .IAP IE R
T IE W O R ,( O F R E P R ,E S E N IAT IO N
I9
o rd in a ry s e n s e :th e 'la n g u a g e ' o f fa c ia l e x p re s s io n s o r o f g e s tu re , fo r e x a m p le ,
o r th e 'la n g u a g e ' o f fa s h io n , o f c lo th e s , o r o f tla ffic lig h ts . E v e n m u s ic is a
'la n g u a g e ', w ith c o m p le r re la tio n s b e t'"t'e e nd iffe re n t s o u n d s a n d c h o rd s ,
th o u g h it is a v e ry s p e c ia l c a s e s in c e it c a n 't e a s ilv b e u s e d to re f'e re n c ea c tu a l
th in g s o r o b je c ts in th e w o rld {a p o in t fu rth e r e ia b o ra te d in d u G a y , e d . , rg g z ,
a n d M a c k a y , e d . , 1 9 9 7 ) . A n y s o u n d , w o rd , im a g e o r o b je c t w h ic h fu n c tio n s
a s a s ig n , a n d is o rg a n iz e d w ith o th e r s ig n s in to a s y s te m rv h ic h is c a p a b le o f
c a rry in g a n d e x p re s s in g m e a n in g is , fro m th is p o in t o f v ie w , 'a la n g u a g e '. I t is
in th is se n se th a t th e m o d e l o f m e a n in g r, r, h ich I h a ve b e e n a n a lysin g h e re is
o fte n d e s c rib e d a s a 'lin g u is tic ' o n e ; a n d th a t a ll th e th e o rie s o f m e a n in g
w h ic h fo llo r, r,th is b a s ic m o d e l a re d e s c rib e d a s b e lo n g in g to 'th e lin g u is tic
tu rn ' in th e s o c ia l s c ie n c e sa n d c u ltu ra l s tu d ie s .
A t th e h e a rt o f th e m e a n in g p ro c e s s in c u ltu re , th e n , a re tw o re la te d 's y s te m s
o f re p re s e n ta tio n '. T h e firs t e n a b le s u s to g iv e m e a n in g to th e w o rld b y
c o n s tru c tin g a s e t o f c o rre s p o n d e n c e so r a c h a in o f e q u iv a le n c e sb e tw e e n
th in g s - p e o p le , o b je c ts , e v e n ts , a b s tra c t id e a s , e tc . - a n d o u r s y s te m o f
c o n c e p ts , o u r c o n c e p tu a l m a p s . T h e s e c o n d d e p e n d s o n c o n s tru c tin g a s e t o f
c o rre s p o n d e n c e sb e tw e e n o u r c o n c e p tu a l m a p a n d a s e t o f s ig n s , a rra n g e d o r
o rg a n iz e d in to va rio u s la n g u a g e s w h ich sta n d fo r o t re p re se n t th o se
c o n c e p ts . T h e re la tio n b e tw e e n 'th in g s ', c o n c e p ts a n d s ig n s lie s a t th e h e a rt
o f th e p ro d u c tio n o f m e a n in g in la n g u a g e .T h e p ro c e s s w h ic h lin k s th e s e
th re e e le m e n ts to s e th e r is w h a t w e c a ll 're o re s e n ta tio n '.
J u s t a s p e o p le w h o b e lo n g to th e s a m e c u ltu re m u s t s h a re a b ro a d ly s im ila r
c o n c e p tu a l m a p , s o th e y m u s t a ls o s h a re th e s a m e w a y o f in te rp re tin g th e
sig n s o f a la n g u a g e , fo r o n ly in th is w a y ca n m e a n in g s b e e ffe ctive ly
e x c h a n g e d b e tw e e n p e o p le . B u t h o w d o w e k n o w w h ic h c o n c e p t s ta n d s fo r
w h ic h th in g ? O r w h ic h w o rd e ffe c tiv e ly re p re s e n ts w h ic h c o n c e p t? H o w d o I
kn o w w h ich so u n d s o r im a g e s w ill ca rrv, th ro u g h la n g u a g e , th e m e a n in g o f
m y co n ce p ts a n d w h a t I w a n t to sa y u 'ith th e m to yo u ? T h is m a y se e m
re la tiv e ly s im p le in th e c a s e o f v is u a l s ig n s , b e c a u s e th e d ra w in g , p a in tin g ,
ca m e ra o r T V im a g e o f a sh e e p b e a rs a re se m b la n ce to th e a n im a l w ith a
w o o lly c o a t g ra z in g in a fie ld to w h ic h I w a n t to re fe r. E t'e n s o , w e n e e d to
re m in d o u rs e lv e s th a t a d ra w n o r p a in te d o r d ig ita l v e rs io n o f a s h e e p is n o t
e x a c tly lik e a 're a l' s h e e p . F o r o n e th in g , m o s t im a g e s a re in tw o d im e n s io n s
w h e re a s th e 're a l' s h e e p e x is ts in th re e d im e n s io n s .
V is u a l s ig n s a n d im a g e s , e v e n w h e n th e y b e a r a c lo s e re s e m b la n c e to th e
th in g s to w h ich th e y re fe r, a re still sig n s: th e v ca rry m e a n in g a n d th u s h a ve to
b e in te rp re te d . I n o rd e r to in te rp re t th e m , w e m u s t h a v e a c c e s sto th e tw o
s y s te m s o f re p re s e n ta tio n d is c u s s e d e a rlie r: to a c o n c e p tu a l m a p w h ic h
c o rre la te sth e s h e e p in th e fie ld w ith th e c o n c e p t o f a 's h e e p '; a n d a la n g u a g e
s y s te m w h ic h in v is u a l la n g u a g e ,b e a rs s o m e re s e m b la n c e to th e re a l th in g o r
'lo o k s lik e it' in s o m e w a y . T h is a rg u m e n t is c le a re s tif w e th in k o f a c a rto o r. r
d ra w in g o r a n a b s tra c t p a in tin g o f a 's h e e p ', w h e re w e n e e d a v e rv
20
R�PRESFNTATION CULTURAL REPRESENTATIONS AND SIGNIFYING PRACTICES
FIGURE I.I
William Holman
Hunt, Our English
Coasts ('Strayed
Sheep'), 1852.
sophisticated conceptual and shared linguistic system to be certain that we are
all 'reading' the sign in the same way. Even then we may find ourselves
wondering whether it really is a picture of a sheep at all. As the relationship
between the sign and its referent becomes less clear-cut, the meaning begins to
slip and slide away from us into uncertainty. Meaning is no longer
transparently passing from one person to another ...
So, even in the case of visual language, where the relationship between the
concept and the sign seems fairly straightforward, the matter is far from
simple. It is even more difficult with written or spoken language, where
words don't look or sound anything like the things to which they refer. In
part, this is because there are
different kinds of signs. Visual signs
are what are called iconic signs.
That is, they bear, in their form, a
certain resemblance to the object,
person or event to which they refer.
A photograph of a tree reproduces
some of the actual conditions of our
visual perception in the visual sign.
Written or spoken signs, on the other
hand, are what is called indexical.
FIGURE 1.2
Q: When is a sheep not a sheep?
A: When it's a work of art.
(Damien Hirst, Away from the Flock, 1994).
C I I A P T E R T H E W O R . KO F R E P R E S E N T A T I O N 2 I
T h e y b e a r n o o b vio u s re la tio n sh ip a t a ll to th e th in g s to w h ich th e y re fe r.T h e
le tte rsT , R , E , Ed, o n o t lo o k a n y th in glik e tre e sin N a tu re ,n o r d o e sth e w o rd
'tre e 'in E n g lis hs o u n d lik e 're a l' tre e s( if in d e e d th e y m a k e a n y s o u n d a t a ll!) .
T h e re la tio n s h ipin th e s es y s te m so f re p re s e n ta tio bn e tw e e nth e s ig n ,th e
c o n c e p t a n d th e o b je c tto w h ic h th e y m ig h t b e u s e d to re fe ris e n tire ly
a rb itra ry. B y 'a rb itra ry' w e m e a n th a t in p rin cip le a n v co lie ctio n o f le tte rs o r
a n y so u n d in a n y o rd e r w o u ld d o th e trick e q u a lly w e ll. T re e sr,vo u ldn o t
m in d if w e u s e d th e w o rd S E E R T- 'tre e s 'w ritte n b a c k w a rd s- to re p re s e n t
th e co n ce p t o f th e m . T h is is cle a r fro m th e fa ct th a t, in F re n ch , q u ite d iffe re n t
le tte rs a n d a q u ite d iffe re n t so u n d is u se d to re fe r to w h a t, to a ll a p p e a ra n ce s,
is th e sa m eth in g - a 're a l' tre e - a n d , a s fa r a s w e ca n te ll, to th e sa m e co n ce p t
- a la rg e p la n t th a t g ro w s in n a tu re . T h e F re n ch a n d E n g lish se e mto b e u sin g
th e s a m ec o n c e p t.B u t th e c o n c e p tw h ic h in E n g lis his re p re s e n te db y th e
w o rd , T R E E ,is re p re s e n te din F re n c hb y th e w o rd , A R B R E .
E t. l
H o lm a n
'r E n g lish
S vo ye d
T h e q u e s tio n th
, e n , is : h o w d o p e o p lew h o b e lo n gto th e s a m ec u ltu re ,w h o
sh a reth e sa m e co n ce p tu a im a p a n d w h o sp e a ko r w rite th e sa m e la n g u a g e
( E n g lish )kn o w th a t th e a rb itra ry co m b in a tio n o f le tte rs a n d so u n d sth a t
m a ke su p th e w o rd , T R E E , w ill sta n d fo r o r re p re se n tth e co n ce p t 'a la rg e
p la n t th a t g ro w sin n a tu re '? O n e p o s s ib ilityw o u ld b e th a t th e o b je c tsin th e
w o rld th e m s e lv e se m b o d ya n d fix in s o m ew a y th e ir'tru e 'm e a n in g .B u t it is
n o t a t a ll cle a r th a t re a l tre e skn o w th a t th e y a re tre e s,a n d e ve n le ss cle a r th a t
th e y kn o w th a t th e w o rd in E n g lish w h ich re p re se n tsth e co n ce p to f
th e m se lve sis w ritte n T R E E w h e re a sin F re n ch it is w ritte n A R B R E I A s fa r a s
th e y a re c o n c e rn e dit, c o u ld ju s t a s w e ll b e w ritte n C O W o r V A C H E o r in d e e d
X Y Z . T h e m e a n in gis n o f in th e o b je c to r p e rs o no r th in g , n o r is it in th e w o rd .
It is w e w h o fix th e m e a n in g so firm ly th a t, a fte r a w h ile , it co m e sto se e m
n a tu ra l a n d in e vita b le . T h e m e a n in g is co n stru cte db y th e syste m o f
re p re se n ta tio nIt
. is co n stru cte da n d fixe d b y th e co d e ,w h ich se tsu p th e
co rre la tio nb e tw e e n o u r co n ce p tu a lsyste m a n d o u r la n g u a g esyste m in su ch
a w a y th a t, e v e rytim e w e th in k o f a tre e ,th e c o d e te lls u s to u s e th e E n g lis h
w o rd T R E E ,o r th e F re n c hw o rd A R B R E .T h e c o d e te lls u s th a t, in o u r c u ltu re
- th a t is , in o u r c o n c e p tu a al n d la n g u a g ec o d e s- th e c o n c e p t'tre e 'is
re p re s e n te db y th e le tte rsT , R , E , Ea, rra n g e din a c e rta ins e q u e n c eju
, s t a s in
M o rse co d e , th e sig n fo r V ( w h ich in W o rld W a r II C h u rch ill m a d e 'sta n d fo r'
o r re p re s e n 'V
t ic to ry ')is D o t, D o t, D o t, D a s h ,a n d in th e 'la n g u a g eo f tra ffic
I ig h ts ',G re e n= G o ! a n d R e d = S to p !
O n e w a y o f th in k in g a b o u t'c u ltu re ',th e n , is in te rm s o f th e s es h a re d
co n ce p tu a lm a p s, sh a re dla n g u a g esyste m sa n d th e co d e s w h ich g o ve rn th e
re la tio n sh ip s o f tra n sla tio n b e tw e e nf.h e m .C o d e sfix th e re la tio n sh ip s
b e tw e e n co n ce p tsa n d sig n s.T h e y sta b iliz e m e a n in g w ith in d iffe re n t
la n g u a g e sa n d cu ltu re s. T h e y te ll u s w h ich la n g u a g eto u se to co n ve y w h ich
id e a .T h e re v e rs eis a ls o tru e . C o d e ste ll u s w h ic h c o n c e p tsa re b e in g re fe rre d
to w h e n w e h e a r o r re a d u ,h ich sig n s.B y a rb itra rily fixin g th e re la tio n rh ip t,n ,* t
,
22
R EPR ESEN TATC
I oUNL: T U R ARL E P R E S E N To A
N TS A N D S G N I r y I N GP R A C] C E S
b e tw e e n o u r co n ce p tu a lsyste m a n d o u r lin g u istic syste m s( re m e m b e r,
'lin g u is tic 'in a b ro a d s e n s e )c, o d e sm a k e it p o s s ib lefo r u s to s p e a ka n d to
h e a r in te llig ib ly, a n d e sta b lishth e tra n sla ta b ility b e tw e e n o u r co n ce p tsa n d
o u r la n g u a g e sw h ich e n a b le sm e a n in g to p a ssfro m sp e a ke rto h e a re ra n d b e
e ffe ctive ly co m m u n ica te dw ith in a cu ltu re . T h is tra n sla ta b ility is n o t g ive n
b y n a tu re o r fix e d b y th e g o d s .I t is th e re s u lt o f a s e t o f s o c ia lc o n v e n tio n sI.t
is fixe d so cia lly,fixe d in cu ltu re . E n g lish o r F re n ch o r H in d i sp e a ke rsh a ve ,
o v e r tim e , a n d w ith o u t c o n s c io u sd e c is io no r c h o ic e ,c o m e to a n u n w ritte n
a g re e m e n t,a so rt o f u n w ritte n cu ltu ra l co ve n a n tth a t, in th e ir va rio u s
la n g u a g e s,ce rta in sig n s w ill sta n d fo r o r re p re se n tce rta in co n ce p ts.T h is is
w h a t c h ild re n le a rn ,a n d h o w th e y b e c o m e n, o t s im p ly b io lo g ic a lin d iv id u a ls
b u t cu ltu ra l su b je cts.T h e y le a rn th e syste m a n d co n ve n tio n so f
re p re se n ta tio n th
, e co d e so f th e ir la n g u a g ea n d cu ltu re , w h ich e q u ip th e m
w ith cu ltu ra l 'kn o w - h o w ' e n a b lin g th e m to fu n ctio n a s cu ltu ra lly co m p e te n t
s u b je c tsN. o t b e c a u s es u c h k n o w le d g eis im p rin te d in th e ir g e n e s b, u t
b e c a u s eth e y le a rn its c o n v e n tio n sa n d s o g ra d u a llyb e c o m e , c u ltu re d
p e rs o n s -r i. e . m e m b e rso f th e ir c u ltu re .T h e y u n c o n s c io u s lyin te rn a liz eth e
c o d e sw h ic h a llo w th e m to e x p re s sc e rta inc o n c e p tsa n d id e a sth ro u g h th e ir
s y s te m so f re p re s e n ta tio -n w ritin g , s p e e c h g, e s tu re v, is u a liz a tio n ,a n d s o o n
- a n d to in te rp re t id e a s w h ich a re co m m u n ica te dto th e m u sin g th e sa m e
s y s te m s .
Y o u m a y fin d it e a sie rto u n d e rsta n d ,n o w , w h y m e a n in g ,la n g u a g ea n d
re p re se n ta tio na re su ch critica l e le m e n tsin th e stu d y o f cu ltu re . T o b e lo n g to
a cu ltu re is to b e lo n g to ro u g h ly th e sa m e co n ce p tu a la n d lin g u istic u n ive rse ,
to kn o w h o w co n ce p tsa n d id e a s tra n sla te in to d iffe re n t la n g u a g e s,a n d h o w
la n g u a g eca n b e in te rp re te d to re fe r to o r re fe re n ceth e w o rld . T o sh a reth e se
th in g s is to se eth e w o rld fro m w ith in th e sa m e co n ce p tu a lm a p a n d to m a ke
se n seo f it th ro u g h th e sa m e la n g u a g esyste m s.E a rly a n th ro p o lo g istso f
la n g u a g e ,like sa p ir a n d w h o rf, to o k th is in sig h t to its lo g ica l e xtre m e w h e n
th e y a rg u e dth a t w e a re a ll, a s it w e re , lo cke d in to o u r cu ltu ra l p e rsp e ctive so r
'm in d - s e ts ',a n d th a t la n g u a g eis th e b e s tc lu e w e h a v e to th a t c o n c e p tu a l
u n ive rse .T h is o b se rva tio n ,w h e n a p p lie d to a ll h u m a n cu ltu re s, lie s a t th e
ro o t o f w h a t, to d a y, w e m a y th in k o f a s cu ltu ra l o r lin g u istic re la tivism .
Y o u m ig h t like to th in k fu rth e r a b o u t th is q u e stio n o f h o w d iffe re n t
cu ltu re s co n ce p tu a lly cla ssify th e w o rld a n d w h a t im p lica tio n s th is h a s
fo r m e a n in g a n d re p re se n ta tio n ,
T h e E n g lish m a ke a ra th e r sim p le d istin ctio n b e tw e e n sle e ta n d sn o w .
T h e In u it ( E skim o s)w h o h a ve to su rvive in a ve ry d iffe re n t, m o re
e xtre m e a n d h o stile clim a te , a p p a re n tly h a ve m a n y m o re w o rd s fo r sn o w
a n d sn o w y w e a th e r.C o n sid e rth e list o f In u it te rm s fo r sn o w fro m th e
S co ttP o la r R e se a rchIn stitu te in T a b le 1 .1 . T h e re a re m a n y m o re th a n in
E n g lish , m a kin g m u ch fin e r a n d m o re co m p le x d istin ctio n s. T h e In u it
h a ve a co m p le x cla ssifica to ryco n ce p tu a lsyste m fo r th e w e a th e r
co m p a re dw ith th e E n g lish . T h e n o ve list P e te rH o e g ,fo r e xa m p le ,w ritin g
C
- iA P
I H L . 4 O R r O i R T P R L S L NA I I O N
TL R
23
a b o u t G re e n la n din h is n o ve l, M iss S m illa 's F e e lin gF o r S n o w ( 1 9 9 4 ,
p p , 5 - 6 ) , g ra p h ica lly d e scrib e s'fta z z il ice ' w h ich is 'kn e a d e dto g e th e rin to
a so a p ym a sh ca lle d p o rrid g e ice , w h ich g ra d u a lly fo rm s fre e - flo a tin g
p la te s ,p a n c a k eic e , w h ic h o n e ,c o ld , n o o n d a yh o u r, o n a S u n d a y fre
, ezes
in to a s in g le s o lid s h e e t'.S u c h d is tin c tio n sa re to o fin e a n d e la b o ra te
e ve n fo r th e E n g lish w h o a re a lw a ys ta lkin g a b o u t th e w e a th e r!T h e
q u e stio n ,h o w e ve r,is - d o th e In u it a ctu a lly e xp e rie n cesn o w d iffe re n tly
fro m th e E n g lish ?T h e ir la n g u a g esyste m su g g e ststh e y co n ce p tu a liz eth e
w e a th e r d iffe re n tly. B u t h o w fa r is o u r e xp e rie n cea ctu a lly b o u n d e d b y
o u r lin g u is tic a n d c o n c e p tu a ul n iv e rs e ?
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O n e im p lica tio n o f th is a rg u m e n ta b o u t cu ltu ra l co d e sis th a t, if m e a n in g is th e
re su lt, n o t o f so m e th in gfixe d o u t th e re , in n a tu re ,b u t o f o u r so cia l,cu ltu ra l
a n d lin g u istic co n ve n tio n s,th e n m e a n in gca n n e ve rb e fin a llyfixe d . W e ca n
a ll 'a g re e 'to a llo w w o rd s to ca rry so m e w h a td iffe re n t m e a n in g s- a s w e h a ve
fo r e x a m p le w
, ith th e w o rd 'g a y ',o r th e u s e ,b y y o u n g p e o p le ,o f th e w o rd
'w ic k e d !' a s a te rm o f a p p ro v a l.O f c o u rs e th
, e re m u s t b e s o m efix in g o f
24
R EPR ESEN TATC
I oUNL: T U B , ARLE P R E S E N TOANI S A N D 5 G N I F Y I N G
P R A CI I C E S
m e a n in g in la n g u a g e o, r w e w o u ld n e ve r b e a b le to u n d e rsta n do n e a n o th e r.
w e c a n 'tg e tu p o n e m o rn in g a n d s u d d e n lyd e c id eto re p re s e nth
t e c o n c e p to f
a 'tre e ' w ith th e le tte rso r th e w o rd v Y x z , a n d e x p e c tp e o p leto fo llo w w h a t
w e a re sa yin g .o n th e o th e r h a n d , th e re is n o a b so lu teo r fin a l fixin g o f
m e a n in g .s o c ia l a n d lin g u is tic c o n v e n tio n sd o c h a n g eo v e rtim e . I n th e
la n g u a g eo f m o d e rnm a n a g e ria lis mw, h a t w e u s e dto c a il 's tu d e n ts ',, c lie n ts , ,
'p a tie n ts 'a n d 'p a s s e n g e rsh'a v e a ll b e c o m e'c u s to m e rs '.L in g u is ticc o d e sv a ry
sig n ifica n tly b e tw e e no n e la n g u a g ea n d a n o th e r.M a n y cu ltu re s d o n o t h a ve
w o rd s fo r c o n c e p tsw h ic h a re n o rm a l a n d w id e lv a c c e p ta b leto u s . w o rd s
c o n s ta n tlyg o o u t o f c o m m o nu s a g e a, n d n e w p h ra s e sa re c o in e d .th
: in k , fo r
e x a m p le ,o f th e u s e o f 'd o w n - s iz in g to
' re p re s e nth
t e p ro c e s so f firm s la y in g
p e o p le o ff w o rk . E v e n w h e n th e a c tu a lw o rd s re m a in s ta b le th
, e ir
co n n o ta tio n ssh ift o r th e y a cq u ire a d iffe re n t n u a n ce .T h e p ro b le m is
e s p e c ia llya c u tein tra n s la tio n F. o r e x a m p ie ,d o e sth e d iffe re n c ein E n g lis h
b e tw e e nkn o w a n d u n d e rsta .n dco rre sp o n de xa ctly to a n d ca p tu re e xa ctly th e
sa m e co n ce p tu a ld istin ctio n a s th e F re n ch m a ke b e tw e e nsa vo ir a n d
co n n a itre ?P e rh a p s;b u t ca n w e b e su re ?
T h e m a in p o in t is th a t m e a n in g d o e sn o t in h e re in th in g s, in th e w o rld . It is
c o n s tru c te dp, ro d u c e d .I t is th e re s u lto f a s ig n ify in gp ra c tic e- a p ra c tic eth a t
p ro d u ce sm e a n in g ,th a t m o ke s th in g s m e o n .
T h e re a re b ro a d iys p e a k in gth re e a p p ro a c h e to
s e x p la in in gh o w re p re s e n ta tio n
o f m e a n in gth ro u g h la n g u a g ew o rks. w e m a y ca ll th e se th e re fle ctive ,th e
in te n tio n a la n d th e c o n s tru c tio n isot r c o n s tru c tiv is at p p ro a c h e sy.o u m ig h t
th in k o f e a cha s a n a tte m p tto a n sw e rth e q u e stio n s,'w h e re d o m e a n in g sco m e
fro m ? 'a n d 'h o w c a n w e te ll th e "tru e " m e a n in go f a w o rd o r im a g e ? '
In th e re fle ctive a p p ro a ch , m e a n in g is th o u g h t to lie in th e o b je ct,p e rso n ,id e a
o r e ve n t in th e re a l w o rld , a n d la n g u a g efu n ctio n s like a m irro r , ro re fle ctrh e
tru e m e a n in ga s it a lre a d ye x is tsin th e w o rld . A s th e p o e t G e rtru d eS te in o n c e
s a id ,'A ro s eis a ro s e is a ro s e '. I n th e fo u rth c e n tu ryB C ,th e G re e k su s e dth e
n o tio n o f m im e sisto e xp la in h o w la n g u a g e e, ve n d ra w in g a n d p a in tin g ,
m irro re d o r im ita te d N a tu re ;th e y th o u g h t o f H o m e r'sg re a tp o e m , T h e llia d , a s
'im ita tin g ' a h e ro ic se rie so f e ve n ts.so th e th e o ry w h ich sa ysth a t la n g u a g e
w o rks b y sim p iy re fle ctin g o r im ita tin g th e tru th th a t is a lre a d yth e re a n d fixe d
in th e w o rld , is s o m e tim e sc a lle d 'm im e tic '.
O f c o u rs eth e re is a c e rta ino b v io u stru th to m im e tic th e o rie so f re p re s e n ta tio n
a n d la n g u a g eA. s w e 'v e p o in te d o u t, v is u a i s ig n sd o b e a rs o m ere la tio n s h ipto
th e sh a p ea n d te xtu re o f th e o b je ctsw h ich th e y re p re se n t.B u t, a s w a s a lso
p o in te d o u t e a rlie r,a tr, r, o - d im e n s io nvaisl u a l im a g eo f a ro s e is a s ig n - it
s h o u ld n o t b e c o n fu s e dw ith th e re a l p la n t w ith th o rn sa n d b lo o m sg ro w in gin
th e g a rd e n .R e m e m b e ra lso th a t th e re a re m a n y w o rd s, so u n d sa n d im a g e s
w h ich w e fu lly w e il u n d e rsta n db u t w h ich a re e n tire ly fictio n a l o r fa n ta sya n d
re fe r to w o rld s w h ich a re w h o lly im a g in a ry - in clu d in g , m a n y p e o p le n o w
C H APTER
T H E W O R ( O F R E P R E S EI N
A I 'I O N
th in k , m o s t o f T h e I lia d ! O f c o u rs e I, c a n u s e th e w o rd 'ro s e 'to re le rto re a l,
a c tu a lp la n tsg ro w in gin a g a rd e n ,a s w e h a v e s a id b e fo re .B u t th is is b e c a u s eI
k n o w th e c o d ew h ic h lin k s th e c o n c e p t w ith a p a rtic u la rw o rd o r im a g e .I
ca n n o t th in k o r sp e a k o r d ra w w ith a n a ctu a lro se .A n d if so m e o n esa ysto m e
th a t th e re is n o s u c h w o rd a s 'ro s e 'fo r a p la n t in h e r c u ltu re ,th e a c tu a lp la n t
in th e g a rd e nca n n o tre so lve th e fa ilu re o f co m m u n ica tio nb e tw e e nu s. W ith in
th e co n ve n tio n so f th e d iffe re n t la n g u a g eco d e sw e a re u sin g , w e a re b o th rig h t
- a n d fo r u s to u n d e rsta n de a ch o th e r, o n e o f u s m u st le a rn th e co d e lin kin e
th e flo w e r w ith th e w o rd fo r it in th e o th e r'scu ltu re ,
T h e s e c o n da p p ro a c hto m e a n in gin re p re s e n ta tio an rg u e sth e o p p o s itec a s e .
It h o ld s th a t it is th e sp e a ke r,th e a u th o r, w h o im p o se sh is o r h e r u n iq u e
m e a n in g o n th e w o rld th ro u g h la n g u a g e W
. o rd s m e a n r,r'h a th
t e a u th o r
in te n d s th e y sh o u ld m e a n . T h is is th e in te n tio n a l a p p ro a ch . A g a in , th e re is
s o m ep o in t to th is a rg u m e n ts in c e w e a ll, a s in d iv id u a ls ,d o u s e la n g u a g eto
co n ve y o r co m m u n ica teth in g s w h ich a re sp e cia lo r u n iq u e to u s, to o u r w a y
o f s e e in gth e w o rld . H o w e v e r,a s a g e n e ra th
l e o ry o f re p re s e n ta tio th
n ro u g h
la n g u a g eth
, e in te n tio n a la p p ro a c his a ls o fla w e d .W e c a n n o tb e th e s o le o r
u n iq u e s o u rc eo f m e a n in g sin la n g u a g es, in c e th a t w o u id m e a n th a t w e c o u id
e x p re s so u rs e lv e sin e n tire ly p riv a te la n g u a g e sB. u t th e e s s e n c eo f la n g u a g eis
co m m u n ica tio n a n d th a t, in tu rn , d e p e n d so n sh a re dlin g u istic co n ve n tio n s
a n d s h a re dc o d e s L. a n g u a g ec a n n e v e rb e w h o lly a p riv a te g a m e .O u r p rirra te
in te n d e dm e a n in g sh, o w e v e rp e rs o n a to
l u s , h a v e I o e n te rin to th e ru le s ,c o d e s
a n d c o n v e n tio n so f la n g u a g e lob e s h a re da n d u n d e rs to o d L. a n g u a g eis a
so cia lsyste mth ro u g h a n d th ro u g h . T h is m e a n sth a t o u r p riva te th o u g h tsh a ve
to n e g o tia tew ith a ll th e o th e r m e a n in g sfo r w o rd s o r im a g e sw h ich h a ve b e e n
sto re d in la n g u a g ew h ich o u r u se o f th e la n g u a g esyste mw ili in e vita b ly trig g e r
in to a c tio n .
T h e th ird a p p ro a c hre c o g n iz e th
s is p u b lic , s o c ia lc h a ra c te or fla n g u a g e I.t
a ckn o w le d g e sth a t n e ith e r th in g s in th e m se lve sn o r th e in d ivid u a l u se rs o f
Ia n g u a g eca n fix m e a n in g in la n g u a g e T. h in g s d o n 't m e cn : w e co n stru ct
m e a n in g ,u s in g re p re s e n ta tio n asly s te m s- c o n c e p tsa n d s ig n s .H e n c eit is
ca lle d th e co n stru ctivisto r co n stru ctio n ista p p ro a ch to m e a n in g in la n g u a g e .
A cco rd in g to th is a p p ro a ch ,w e m u st n o t co n fu se lh e m a te ria l w o rld , w h e re
th in g s a n d p e o p le e xist, a n d th e sym b o lic p ra ctice sa n d p ro ce sse sth ro u g h
w h ic h re p re s e n ta tio nm, e a n in ga n d la n g u a g eo p e ra te C
. o n s tru c tiv is tsd o n o t
d e n y th e e x is te n c eo f th e m a te ria lw o rld . H o w e v e r,it is n o t th e m a te ria l
w o rld w h ich co n ve ysm e a n in g :it is th e la n g u a g esyste m o r w h a te ve r syste m
w e a re u s in g to re p re s e n ot u r c o n c e p ts .I t is s o c ia la c to rsw h o u s e th e
c o n c e p tu a sl y s te m so f th e ir c u ltu re a n d th e lin g u is tic a n d o th e r
re p re s e n ta tio n asly s te m sto c o n s tru c tm e a n in g ,to m a k e th e w o rld
m e a n in g fu la n d to co m m u n ica tea b o u tth a t w o rld m e a n in g fu lly to o th e rs.
O f c o u rs e s, ig n sm a y a ls oh a v e a m a te ria ld im e n s io n .R e p re s e n ta tio n a l
s y s te m sc o n s is to f th e a c tu a ls o u n d sw e m a k e w ith o u r v o c a l c h o rd s ,th e
im a g e sw e m a ke o n lig h t- se n sitivep a p e r w ith ca m e ra s,th e m o rks w e m a ke
w ith p a in t o n ca n va s,th e d ig ita l im p u lse s w e tra n sm it e le ctro n ica lll,.
R e p re s e n ta tiois
n a p ra c tic e ,a k in d o f 'w o rk ', w h ic h u s e sm a te ria lo b je c tsa n d
26
R E P R E S F N T A T oCNt_: . lL T U RR;\ELp R E S E N T A T O N S AsNGDN lF y tN Gp R A C tc ts
e ffe c tsB
. u t th e m e o n in gd e p e n d s n, o t o n th e m a te ria lq u a lity o f th e s ig n ,b u t
o n its sym b o licfu n ctio n It is b e ca u sea p a rticu la r so u n d o r w o rd sta n d sfo r,
syn b o liz e s o r re p re se n tsa co n ce p tth a t it ca n fu n ctio n , in la n g u a g e ,a s a sig n
a n d c o n v e ym e a n in g- o r, a s th e c o n s tru c tio n is tss a y ,s ig n ify ( s ig n - i- fy ) .
T h e s im p le s te x a m p leo f th is p o in t, rn h ic h is c ritic a l fo r a n u n d e rs ta n d in go f
h o w la n g u a g e fu
s n c tio n a s re p re s e n ta tio n asly s te m sis
, th e fa m o u stra ffic
lig h ts e xa m p le .A tra ffic tig h t is a m a ch in e w h ich p ro d u ce sd iffe re n t
co lo u re d lig h ts in se q u e n ce T. h e e ffe ct o f lig h t o f d iffe re n t w a ve le n g th so n
th e e ye - r,vh ichis a n a tu ra l a n d m a te ria l p h e n o m e n o n- p ro d u ce sth e
s e n s a tio no f d iffe re n tc o io u rs .N o w th e s eth in g s c e rta in lyd o e x is t in th e
m a te ria l w o rld . B u t it is o u r cu ltu re w h ich b re a ksth e sp e ctru m o f lig h t in to
d iffe re n tc o lo u rs ,d is tin g u is h e sth e m fro m o n e a n o th e ra n d a tta c h e sn a m e sR e d , G re e n ,Y e llo w , B Iu e - to th e m . W e u se a w a y o f cla ssifyin gth e co lo u r
sp e ctru m to cre a te co lo u rs '"r,h icha re d iffe re n t fro m o n e a n o th e r.W e
re p re se n to r sym b o liz e th e d iffe re n t co lo u rs a n d cla ssify th e m a cco rd in gto
d iffe re n tc o lo u r- c o n c e p tsT.h is is th e c o n c e p tu a cl o lo u r s y s te mo f o u r
c u ltu re .w e s a y 'o u r c u ltu re 'b e c a u s eo, f c o u rs e ,o th e r c u ltu re sm a y d iv id e th e
co lo u r sp e ctru m d iffe re n tly.w h a t's m o re , th e y ce rta in iy u se d iffe re n t a ctu a l
w o rd s o r |e tte rsto id e n tify d iffe re n t co lo u rs:w h a t e ca ll 're d ', th e F re n ch ca ll
- "t
'ro u g e 'a n d s o o n . T h is is th e lin g u is tic c o d e- th e o n e w h ic h c o rre la te sc e rta in
) 'ithc e rta inc o lo u rs( c o n c e p ts )a, n d th u s e n a b le su s to
w o rd s ( s ig n s rn
c o m m u n ic a tea b o u tc o lo u rsto o th e r p e o p le ,u s in g 'th e la n g u a g eo f c o lo u rs '.
B u t h o w d o w e u s e th is re p re s e n ta tio n aolr s y m b o lics y s te mto re g u la teth e
tra ffic? C o lo u rs d o n o t h a ve a n y 'tru e ' o r fixe d m e a n in g in th a t se n se .R e d
d o e sn o t m e a n 'S to p 'in n a tu re ,a n y m o re th a n G re e nm e a n s'G o ', I n o th e r
s e ttin g sR
, e d m a y s ta n d fo r, s y m b o liz eo r re p re s e n 'B
t lo o d ' o r 'D a n g e r'o r
'C o m m u n is m ';a n d G re e nm a y re p re s e n 'It re ia n d 'o r'T h e C o u n try s id e o' r
'E n v iro n m e n ta lis m E
'. v e n th e s em e a n in g sc a n c h a n g e I. n th e 'la n g u a g eo f
e ie c tricp lu g s ',R e d u s e d to m e a n 'th e c o n n e c tio nw ith th e p o s itiv e c h a rg e '
b u t th is n a s a rb itra rily a n d w ith o u t e xp la n a tio n ch a n g e dto B ro w n ! B u t th e n
fo r m a n y y e a rsth e p ro d u c e rso f p lu g s h a d to a tta c ha s lip o f p a p e rte llin g
p e o p le th a t th e c o d e o r c o n v e n tio nh a d c h a n g e d o, th e rw is eh o w w o u ld th e y
k n o w ? R e d a n d G re e nw o rk in th e la n g u a g eo f tra ffic lig h ts b e c a u s e, S to p ,a n d
'G o 'a re th e m e a n in g sw h ic h h a v e b e e na s s ig n e dto th e m in o u r c u ltu re b y th e
c o d e o r c o n v e n tio n sg o v e rn in gth is la n g u a g ea, n d th is c o d e is w id e ly k n o w n
a n d a im o st u n ive rsa llv o b e ye din o u r cu ltu re a n d cu ltu re s like o u rs - th o u g h
w e c a n w e ll im a g in e o th e r c u ltu re s. 'r. h ic hd id n o t p o s s e s sth e c o d e ,in w h ic h
th is la n g u a g ew o u id b e a c o m p le tem y s te ry .
L e t u s sta y w ith th e e xa m p le fo r a m o m e n t, to e xp lo re a little fu rth e r h o w ,
a c c o rd in gto th e c o n s tru c tio n isat p p ro a c hto re p re s e n ta tio nc,o lo u rsa n d th e
'la n g u a g eo f tra ffic lig h ts' w o rk a s a sig n ifyin g o r re p re se n ta tio n a syste
l
m.
R e ca ll rh e tw o re p re se n ta tio n a syste
l
m sw e sp o ke o f e a rlie r.F irst, th e re is th e
c o n c e p tu a m
l a p o f c o lo u rsin o u r c u ltu re - th e w a y c o lo u rsa re d is tin g u is h e d
C H A P T E R T H E W O R KO F R E P R E S F N T A T I O N 2 7
fio m o n e a n o th e r,cla ssifie da n d a rra n g e din o u r m e n ta l u n ive rse .se co n d ly,
th e re a re th e w a ys w o rd s o r im a g e sa re co rre la te dw ith co lo u rs in o u r
la n g u a g e- o u r Iin g u istic co lo u r- co d e s.A ctu a lly, o f co u rse ,a la n g u a g eo f
co lo u rs co n sistso f m o re th a n ju st th e in d ivid u a l w o rd s fo r d iffe re n t p o in ts o n
th e co lo u r sp e ctru m .It a lso d e p e n d so n h o w th e y fu n ctio n in re la tio n to o n e
a n o th e r- th e so rts o f th in g s w h ich a re g o ve rn e db y g ra m m a ra n d syn ta x in
w ritte n o r sp o ke n la n g u a g e s,w h ich a llo w u s to e xp re ssra th e r co m p le x id e a s.
In th e la n g u a g eo f tra ffic lig h ts, it is th e se q u e n cea n d p o sitio n o f th e co lo u rs,
a s w e ll a s th e co lo u rs th e m se lve s,w h ich e n a b leth e m to ca rrv m e a n in e a n d
th u s fu n ctio n a s sig n s.
D o e sit m a tte r w h ich co lo u rs w e u se ?N o , th e co n stru ctio n istsa rg u e .T h is is
b e ca u sew h a t sig n ifie s is n o t th e co lo u rs th e m se lve sb u t ( a ) th e fa ct th a t th e y
a re d iffe re n t a n d ca n b e d istin g u ish e dfro m o n e a n o th e r;a n d ( b ) th e fa ct th a t
th e y a re o rg a n iz e din to a p a rticu la r se q u e n ce- R e d fo llo w e d b y G re e n ,w ith
so m e tim e sa w a rn in g A m b e r in b e tw e e nw h ich sa ys,in e ffe ct, 'G e t re a d y!
L ig h ts a b o u t to ch a n g e .'co n stru ctio n istsp u t th is p o in t in th e fo llo w in g w a y.
w h a t sig n ifie s,w h a t ca rrie sm e a n in g - th e y a rg u e- is n o t e a ch co lo u r in
itse lf n o r e ve n th e co n ce p to r w o rd fo r it. It is th e d iffe re n ceb e tw e e n R e d a n d
G re e nw h ich sig n ifie s.T h is is a ve ry im p o rta n t p rin cip le , in g e n e ra l,a b o u t
re p re se n ta tio na n d m e a n in g ,a n d w e sh a ll re tu rn to it o n m o re th a n o n e
o cca sio nin th e ch a p te rsw h ich fo llo w T h in k a b o u tit in th e se te rm s. If yo u
c o u ld n 't d iffe re n tia teb e tw e e nR e d a n d G re e n ,y o u c o u ld n 't u s e o n e to m e a n
'S to p 'a n d th e o th e rto m e a n 'G o '.I n th e s a m ew a y , it is o n ly th e d iffe re n c e
b e tw e e nth e le tte rs P a n d T w h ich e n a b leth e w o rd sH E E p to b e lin ke d , in th e
E n g lish la n g u a g eco d e , to th e co n ce p t o f 'th e a n im a l w ith fo u r le g s a n d a
w o o lly c o a t',a n d th e w o rd S H E E Tto 'th e m a te ria lw e u s e to c o v e ro u rs e lv e s
in b e d a t n ig h t'.
In p rin cip le , a n y co m b in a tio n o f co lo u rs - like a n y co lle ctio n o f le tte rs in
w ritte n la n g u a g eo r o f so u n d s in sp o ke n la n g u a g e- w o u ld d o , p ro vid e d th e y
a re su fficie n tly d iffe re n t n o t to b e co n fu se d .co n stru ctio n ists e xp re ssth is
id e a b y s a y in gth a t a ll s ig n sa re 'a rb itra ry '.'A rb itra ry 'm e a n sth a i th e re is n o
n a tu ra l re la tio n sh ip b e tw e e n th e sig n a n d its m e a n in g o r co n ce p t.sin ce R e d
o n ly m e a n s'S to p 'b e c a u s eth a t is h o w th e c o d e w o rk s , in p rin c ip le a n y
co lo u r w o u ld d o , in clu d in g G re e n .It is th e co d e th a t fixe s th e m e a n in g ,n o t
th e co lo u r itse lf. T h is a lso h a s w id e r im p lica tio n s fo r th e th e o ry o f
re p re se n ta tio na n d m e a n in g in la n g u a g e It
. m e a n sth a t sig n s th e m se lve s
ca n n o t fix m e a n in g .In ste a d ,m e a n in g d e p e n d so n fh e re la tio n b e tw e e na sig n
a n d a c o n c e p tw h ic h is fix e d b y a c o d e .M e a n in g ,th e c o n s tru c tio n is ts
w o u ld
s a y ,is 'r e la t io n a l'.
W h y n o t te st th is p o in t a b o u t th e a rb itra ry n a tu re o f th e sig n a n d th e
im p o rta n ce o f th e co d e fo r yo u rse lff C o n stru cta co d e to g o ve rn th e
m o ve m e n to f tra ffic u sin g tw o d iffe re n t co lo u rs - Y e llo w a n d B lu e - a s in
th e fo llo w in g :
28
R EPR ESEN TATC
I OUNLIT U R ARL E P R E S E N To A
N TS A N D S I G N ]F Y ]NPGR A C T I C E S
W h e n th e y e llo w lig h t is s h o w in g ,. , .
N o w a d d a n in s tru c tio na llo w in g p e d e s tria n sa n d c y c lis tso n ly to c ro s s ,
u sin g P in k.
P ro v id e dth e c o d e te lls u s c le a rlyh o w to re a d o r in te rp re te a c hc o lo u r,a n d
e ve ryo n ea g re e sto in te rp re t th e m in th is w a y, a n y co lo u r w ill d o . T h e se a re
ju s t c o lo u rs ,ju s t a s th e w o rd S H E E Pis ju s t a ju m b le o f le tte rs .I n F re n c hth e
sa m e a n im a l is re fe rre dto u sin g th e ve ry d iffe re n t lin g u istic sig n M O U T O N .
S ig n s a re a rb itra ry.T h e ir m e a n in g sa re fixe d b y co d e s.
A s w e sa id e a rlie r,tra ffic lig h ts a re m a ch in e s,a n d co lo u rs a re th e m a te ria l
e ffe ct o f lig h t- w a ve so n th e re tin a o f th e e ye . B u t o b je cts- th in g s - ca n a lso
fu n c tio n a s s ig n s ,p ro v id e d th e y h a v e b e e n a s s ig n e da c o n c e p ta n d m e a n in g
w ith in o u r c u ltu ra l a n d lin g u is tic c o d e s .A s s ig n s ,th e y w o rk s y m b o lic a llyth e y re p re se n tco n ce p ts,a n d sig n ify. T h e ir e ffe cts,h o w e ve r,a re fe lt in th e
m a te ria l a n d so cia l w o rld . R e d a n d G re e n fu n ctio n in th e la n g u a g eo f tra ffic
lig h ts a s sig n s,b u t th e y h a ve re a l m a te ria l a n d so cia l e ffe cts.T h e y re g u la te
th e so cia lb e h a vio u r o f d rive rs a n d , w ith o u t th e m , th e re w o u ld b e m a n y m o re
tra ffic a ccid e n tsa t ro a d in te rse ctio n s.
W e h a ve co m e a lo n g w a y in e xp lo rin g th e n a tu re o f re p re se n ta tio n It
. is tim e
to su m m a riz ew h a t w e h a ve le a rn e d a b o u t th e co n stru ctio n ista n n ro a chto
re p re se n ta tio nth ro u g h la n g u a g e .
R e p re se n ta tio nis th e p ro d u ctio n o f m e a n in g th ro u g h la n g u a g e In
.
re p re s e n ta tio nc,o n s tru c tio n is tsa rg u e ,w e u s e s ig n s ,o rg a n iz e din to la n g u a g e s
o f d iffe re n t kin d s, to co m m u n ica tem e a n in g fu lly w ith o th e rs.L a n g u a g e sca n
u s e s ig n sto s y m b o liz e ,s ta n d fo r o r re fe re n c eo b je c ts p, e o p le a n d e v e n tsin
th e so - ca lle d're a l' w o rld . B u t th e y ca n a lso re fe re n ceim a g in a ry th in g s a n d
fa n ta syw o rld s o r a b stra ctid e a s w h ich a re n o t in a n y o b vio u s se n sep a rt o f
o u r m a te ria l w o rld . T h e re is n o sim p le re la tio n sh ip o f re fle ctio n , im ita tio n o r
o n e - to - o n eco rre sp o n d e n ceb e tw e e n la n g u a g ea n d th e re a l w o rld . T h e w o rld
is n o t a ccu ra te lyo r o th e rw ise re fle cte d in th e m irro r o f la n g u a g e .L a n g u a g e
d o e s n o t w o rk like a m irro r, M e a n in g is p ro d u ce d w ith in la n g u a g e ,in a n d
th ro u g h va rio u s re p re se n ta tio n a syste
l
m sw h ich , fo r co n ve n ie n ce ,w e ca ll
'la n g u a g e s M
'. e a n in gis p ro d u c e db y th e p ra c tic e ,th e 'w o rk ', o f
re p re se n ta tio n It
. is co n stru cte dth ro u g h sig n ifyin g - i.e . m e a n in g - p ro d u cin g
- p ra c tic e s .
H o w d o e sth is ta ke p la ce ?In fa ct, it d e p e n d so n tw o d iffe re n t b u t re la te d
syste m so f re p re se n ta tio n F. irst, th e co n ce p tsw h ich a re fo rm e d in th e m in d
fu n ctio n a s a syste m o f m e n ta l re p re se n ta tio nw h ich cla ssifie sa n d o rg a n iz e s
th e w o rld in to m e a n in g fu l ca te g o rie s.If w e h a ve a co n ce p tfo r so m e th in g ,w e
ca n sa y w e kn o w its 'm e a n in g '. B u t w e ca n n o t co m m u n ica teth is m e a n in g
w ith o u t a se co n dsyste m o f re p re se n ta tio n a, la n g u a g e .L a n g u a g eco n sistso f
sig n s o rg a n iz e din to va rio u s re la tio n sh ip s.B u t sig n sca n o n ly co n ve y m e a n in g
F IG U I
. - :-
Cl
:- , - - ;
: 5 ll
CHAPTER I
THE WORK OF REPRESENTATION
29
if we possess codes which allow us to translate our concepts into language and vice versa. These codes are crucial for meaning and representation. They
do not exist in nature but are the result of social conventions. They are a
crucial part of our culture - our shared 'maps of meaning' - which we learn
and unconsciously internalize as we become members of our culture. This
constructionist approach to language thus introduces the symbolic domain of
life, where words and things function as signs, into the very heart of social life
itself.
All this may seem rather abstract. But we can quickly demonstrate its
relevance by an example from painting.
FIGURE 1.3
Juan Cot.in,
Quince, Cabbage,
Melon and
Cucumber,
c. 1602.
Look at the painting of a still life by the Spanish painter, Juan Sanchez
Cotan (1521-1627), entitled Quince, Cabbage, Melon and Cucumber
(Figure 1.3). It seems as if the painter has made every effort to use the
• 'language of painting' accurately to reflect these four objects, to capture or
'imitate nature'. Is this, then, an example of a reflective or mimetic form of
representation - a painting reflecting the 'true meaning' of what already
exists in Cota.n's kitchen? Or can we find the operation of certain codes,
r
30
REPRESENTATION CULTURAL REPRESENTATIONS AND SIGNIFYING PRACTICES
the language of painting used to produce a certain meaning? Start with
the question, what does the painting mean to you? What is it 'saying'?
Then go on to ask, how is it saying it - how does representation work in
this painting?
Write down any thoughts at all that come to you on looking at the
painting. What do these objects say to you? What meanings do they
trigger off?
2 Saussure's legacy
The social constructionist view of language and representation which we have
been discussing owes a great deal to the work and influence of the Swiss
linguist, Saussure, who was born in Geneva in 1857, did much of his work in
Paris, and died in 1913. He is known as the 'father of modern linguistics'.
For our purposes, his importance lies, not in his detailed work in linguistics,
but in his general view of representation and the way his model of language
CHAPTER I THE WORK OF REPRESENTATION
31
shaped the semiotic approach to the problem of representation in a wide
variety of cultural fields. You will recognize much about Saussure's thinking
from what we have already said about the constructionist approach.
',Igll
tdJ.{llinol'
''';:lIi rim\
For Saussure, according to Jonathan Culler (1976, p. 19), the production of
meaning depends on language: 'Language is a system of signs.' Sounds,
images, written words, paintings, photographs. etc. function as signs within
language 'only when they serve to express or communicate ideas ... [To]
communicate ideas, they must be part of a system of conventions .. : (ibid.).
Material objects can function as signs and communicate meaning too, as we
saw from the 'language of traffic lights' example. In an important move,
Saussure analysed the sign into two further elements. There was, he argued,
the form (the actual word, image, photo, etc.), and there was the idea or
concept in your head with which the form was associated. Saussure called
the first element. the signifier, and the second element - the corresponding
concept it triggered off in your head - the signified. Every time you hear or
read or see the signifier (e.g. the word or image of a Walkman, for example), it
correlates with the signified (the concept of a portable cassette-player in your
head). Both are required to produce meaning but it is the relation between
them, fixed by our cultural and linguistic codes, which sustains
representation. Thus 'the sign is the union of a form which signifies
(signifier) ; .. and an idea signified (signified). Though we may speak ... as if
they are separate entities, they exist only as components of the sign ... (which
is) the central fact of language' (Culler, 1976, p. 19).
Saussure also insisted on what in section 1 we called the arbitrary nature of
the sign: 'There is no natural or inevitable link between the signifier and the
signified' (ibid.). Signs do not possess a fixed or essential meaning. What
signifies, accW'ding to Saussure, is not RED or the essence of 'red-ness', but
the difference between RED and GREEN. Signs, Saussure argued 'are
members of a system and are defined in relation to the other members of that
system.' For example, it is hard to define the meaning of FATHER except in
relation to, and in terms of its difference from, other kinship terms, like
MOTHER, DAUGHI'ER, SON and so on.
This marking of difference within language is fundamental to the production
of meaning, according to Saussure. Even at a simple level (to repeat an
earlier example), we must be able to distinguish, within language, between
SHEEP and SHEET, before we can link one of those words to the concept of
an animal that produces wool, and the other to the concept of a cloth that
covers a bed. The simplest way of marking difference is, of course, by means
of a binary opposition - in this example, all the letters are the same except P
and T. Similarly, the meaning of a concept or word is often defined in
relation to its direct opposite - as in night/day. Later critics of Saussure were
to observe that binaries (e.g. black/white) are only one, rather simplistic, way
of establishing difference. As well as the stark difference between black and
white, there are also the many other, subtler differences between black and
dark grey, dark grey and light grey, grey and cream and off-white, off-white and
brilliant white, just as there are between night, dawn, daylight. noon, dusk.
32
REPRESENTATION: CULTURAL REPRESENTATIONS AND SIGNIFYING PRACTICES
and so on. However, his attention to binary oppositions brought Saussure to
the revolutionary proposition that a language consists of signifiers, but in
order to produce meaning, the signifiers have to be organized into 'a system of
differences'. It is the differences between signifiers which signify.
Furthermore, the relation between the signifier and the signified, which is
fixed by our cultural codes, is not - Saussure argued - permanently fixed.
Words shift their meanings. The concepts (signifieds) to which they refer
also change, historically, and every shift alters the conceptual map of the
culture, leading different cultures, at different historical moments, to classify
and think about the world differently. For many centuries, western societies
have associated the word BLACK with everything that is dark, evil,
forbidding, devilish, dangerous and sinful. And yet, think of how the
perception of black people in America in the 1960s changed after the phrase
'Black is Beautiful' became a popular slogan - where the signifier, BLACK,
was made to signify the exact opposite meaning (signified) to its previous
associations. In Saussure's terms, 'Language sets up an arbitrary relation
between signifiers of its own choosing on the one hand, and signifieds of its
own choosing on the other. Not only does each language produce a different
set of signifiers, articulating and dividing the continuum of sound (or writing
or drawing or photography) in a distinctive way; each language produces a
different set of signifieds; it has a distinctive and thus arbitrary way of
organizing the world into concepts and categories' (Culler, 1976, p. 23).
The implications of this argument are very far-reaching for a theory of
representation and for our understanding of culture. If the relationship
between a signifier and its signified is the result of a system of social
conventions specific to each society and to specific historical moments
then all meanings are produced within history and culture. They can never
be finally fixed but are always subject to change, both from one cultural
context and from one period to another. There is thus no single, unchanging,
universal 'true meaning'. 'Because it is arbitrary, the sign is totally subject to
history and the combination at the particular moment of a given Signifier and
signified is a contingent result of the historical process' (Culler, 1976, p. 36).
This opens up meaning and representation, in a radical way, to history and
change. It is true that Saussure himself focused exclusively on the state of
the language system at one moment of time rather than looking at linguistic
change over time. However, for our purposes, the important point is the way
I his approach to language unfixes meaning, breaking any natural and
inevitable tie between signifier and signified. This opens representation to
\Jw constant 'play' or slippage of meaning, to the constant production of new
IIwanings, new interpretations.
Ilowever, if meaning changes, historically, and is never finally fixed, then it
follows thaI 'laking the meaning' must involve an active process of
inlm·I,relation. Meaning has to be actively 'read' or 'interpreted'.
(:lIl1snqllnnlly. there is a necessary and inevitable imprecision about
11I1I";III1HII. Tho meaning we take, as viewers, readers or audiences, is never
!',/ldlv Ihlllllllilning which has been given by the speaker or writer or by other
interpretation
CHAPTER I THE WORK OF REPRESENTATION
a
33
viewers. And since, in order to say something meaningful, we have to 'enter
language', where all sorts of older meanings which pre-date us, are already
stored from previous eras, we can never cleanse language completely,
screening out all the other, hidden meanings which might modify or distort
what we want to say. For example, we can't entirely prevent some of the
negative connotations of the word BLACK from returning to mind when we
read a headline like, 'WEDNESDAY - A BLACK DAY ON THE STOCK
EXCHANGE', even if this was not intended. There is a constant sliding of
meaning in all interpretation, a margin - something in excess of what we
intend to say - in which other meanings overshadow the statement or the
text, where other associations are awakened to life, giving what we say a
different twist. So interpretation becomes an essential aspect of the process
by which meaning is given and taken. The reader is as important as the
writer in the production of meaning. Every signifier given or encoded with
meaning has to be meaningfully interpreted or decoded by the receiver (Hall,
1980). Signs which have not been intelligibly received and interpreted are
not, in any useful sense, 'meaningful'.
of
ify
~s
e
Lt
2. I The social part of language
18
Saussure divided language into two parts. The first consisted of the general
rules and codes of the linguistic system, which all its users must share, if it is
to be of use as a means of communication. The rules are the principles which
we learn when we learn a language and they enable us to use language to say
whatever we want. For example, in English, the preferred word order is
subject-vJlrb-object ('the cat sat on the mat'), whereas in Latin, the verb
usually comes at the end. Saussure called this underlying rule-governed
structure of language, which enables us to produce well-formed sentences,
the langue (the language system). The second part consisted of the particular
acts of speaking or writing or drawing, which - using the structure and rules
of the langue - are produced by an actual speaker or writer. He called this
parole. 'La langue is the system of language, the language as a system of
forms, whereas parole is actual speech [or writing], the speech acts which are
made possible by the language' (Culler, 1976, p. 29).
,.,to~q'l
•
")
d
!
,...iT""
...... 1.. , ..
interpretation
11.'
For Saussure, the underlying structure of rules and codes (langue) was the
social part of language, the part which could be studied with the law-like
precision of a science because of its closed, limited nature. It was his
preference for studying language at this level of its 'deep structure' which
made people call Saussure and his model of language, structuralist. The
second part of language, the individual speech-act or utterance (parole), he
regarded as the 'surface' of language. There were an infinite number of such
possible utterances. Hence, parole inevitably lacked those structural
properties - forming a closed and limited set - which would have enabled us
to study it 'scientifically'. What made Saussure's model appeal to many later
scholars was the fact that the closed, structured character of language at the
level of its rules and laws. which, according to Saussure, enabled it to be
]4
REPRESENTATION: CULTURAL REPRESENTATlONS AND SIGNIFYING PRACTICES
studied scientifically, was combined with the capacity to be free and
unpredictably creative in our actual speech acts. They believed he had
offered them, at last, a scientific approach to that least scientific object of
inquiry - culture.
In separating the social part of language (langue) from the individual act of
communication (parole), Saussure broke with our common-sense notion of
how language works. Our common-sense intuition is that language comes
from within us - from the individual speaker or writer; that it is this speaking
or writing subject who is the author or originator of meaning. This is what
we called, earlier, the intentional model of representation. But according to
Saussure's schema, each authored statement only becomes possible because
the 'author' shares with other language-users the common rules and codes of
the language system - the langue - which allows them to communicate with
each other meaningfully. The author decides what she wants to say. But she
cannot 'decide' whether or not to use the rules of language, if she wants to be
understood. We are born into a language, its codes and its meanings.
Language is therefore, for Saussure, a social phenomenon. It cannot be an
individual matter because we cannot make up the rules of language
individually, for ourselves. Their source lies in society, in the culture, in our
shared cultural codes, in the language system - not in nature or in the
individual subject.
We will move on in section 3 to consider how the constructionist approach to
representation, and in particular Saussure's linguistic model. was applied to
a wider set of cultural objects and practices, and evolved into the semiotic
method which so influenced the field. First we ought to take account of some
of the criticisms levelled at his position.
2.2 Critique of Saussure's model
Saussure's great achievement was to force us to focus on language itself, as a
social fact; on the process of representation itself; on how language actually
works and the role it plays in the production of meaning. In doing so, he
saved language from the status of a mere transparent medium between things
and meaning. He showed, instead, that representation was a practice.
However, in his own work, he tended to focus almost exclusively on the two
aspects of the sign - signifier and signified. He gave little or no attention to
how this relation between signifier/signified could serve the purpose of what
uarlier we called reference - i.e. referring us to the world of things, people
and events outside language in the 'real' world. Later linguists made a
II istinction between, say, the meaning of the word BOOK and the use of the
word to refer to a specific book lying before us on the table. The linguist,
(:lllIrlus Sanders Pierce, whilst adopting a similar approach to Saussure, paid
~nllllllr allnntion to the relationship between signifiers/signifieds and what he
t:llllmlllwir /l'lferents. What Saussure called signification really involves both
IIIl1illlill~ IIlld ruforence. but he focused mainly on the former.
CHAPTER I
~
THE WORK OF REPRESENTATION
3S
Another problem is that Saussure tended to focus on the formal aspects of
language - how language actually works. This has the great advantage of
making us examine representation as a practice worthy of detailed study in
its own right. It forces us to look at language for itself, and not just as an
empty, transparent, 'window on the world'. However, Saussure's focus on
language may have been too exclusive. The attention to its formal aspects did
divert attention away from the more intemctive and dialogic features of
language -language as it is actually used, as it functions in actual situations,
in dialogue between different kinds of speakers. It is thus not surprising that,
for Saussure, questions of power in language - for example, between speakers
of different status and positions - did not arise.
As has often been the case, the 'scientific' dream which lay behind the
structuralist impulse of his work, though influential in alerting us to certain
aspects of how language works, proved to be illusory. Language is not an
object which can be studied with the law-like precision of a science. Later
cultural theorists learned from Saussure's 'structuralism' but abandoned its
scientific premise. Language remains rule-governed. But it is not a 'closed'
system which can be reduced to its formal elements. Since it is constantly
changing, it is by definition open-ended. Meaning continues to be produced
through language in forms which can never be predicted beforehand and its
'sliding', as we described it above, cannot be halted. Saussure may have been
tempted to the former view because, like a good structuralist, he tended to
study the state of the language system at one moment, as if it had stood still,
and he could halt the flow of language-change. Nevertheless it Is the case
that many of those who have been most influenced by Saussure's radical
break with all reflective and intentional models of representation. have built
on his work; not by imitating his scientific and 'structuralist' approach, but
by applying his model in a much looser, more open-ended - Le. 'post
structumlist' - way.
2.3 Summary
How far, then, have we come in our discussion of theories of representation?
We began by contrasting three different approaches. The reflective or
mimetic approach proposed a direct and transparent relationship of imitation
or reflection between words (signs) and things. The intentional theory
reduced representation to the intentions of its author or subject. The
constructionist theory proposed a complex and mediated relationship
between things in the world, our concepts in thought and language. We have
focused at greatest length on this approach. The correlations between these
levels - the material, the conceptual and the Signifying - are governed by our
cultural and linguistic codes and it is this set of interconnections which
produces meaning. We then showed how much this general model of how
systems of representation work in the production of meaning owed to tho
work of Ferdinand de Saussure. Here, the key point was the link provided hy
the codes between the forms of expression used by language (whether spooch.
[
36
REPRESENTATION; CULTURAL REPRESENTATIONS AND SIGNIFYING PRACTICES
writing, drawing, or other types of representation) - which Saussure called the
signifiers - and the mental concepts associated with them - the signifieds.
The connection between these two systems of representation produced signs;
and signs, organized into languages, produced meanings, and could be used to
reference objects, people and events in the 'real' world.
3 From language to culture: linguistics to
semiotics
Saussure's main contribution was to the study of linguistics in a narrow sense.
However, since his death, his theories have been widely deployed, as a
foundation for a general approach to language and meaning, providing a
model of representation which has been applied to a wide range of cultural
objects and practices. Saussure himself foresaw this possibility in his famous
lecture-notes, collected posthumously by his students as the Course in
General Linguistics (1960), where he looked forward to 'A science that studies
the life of signs within society ... I shall call it semiology, from the Greek
semeion "signs" ...• (p. 16). This general approach to the study of signs in
culture, and of culture as a sort of 'language'. which Saussure foreshadowed,
is now generally known by the term semiotics.
The underlying argument behind the semiotic approach is that, since all
cultural objects convey meaning, and all cultural practices depend on
meaning, they must make use of signs; and in so far as they do, they must work
like language works, and be amenable to an analysis which basically makes
use of Saussure's linguistic conceptsle.g. the signifier/signified and langue/
parole distinctions. his idea of underlying codes and structures, and the
arbitrary nature of the sign). Thus, when in his collection of essays,
Mythologies (1972), the French critic, Roland Barthes, studied 'The world of
wrestling', 'Soap powders and detergents', 'The face of Greta Garbo' or 'The
Blue Guides to Europe', he brought a semiotic approach to bear on 'reading'
popular culture. treating these
activities and objects as signs, as a
language through which meaning is
communicated. For example, most of
us would think of a wrestling match as
a competitive game or sport designed
for one wrestler to gain victory over an
opponent. Barthes, however, asks, not
'Who won?' but 'What is the meaning of
Ihis nvent?' He treats it as Ii text to be·
mud. lin 'reads' the exaggerated
J.:l!shlWS or wrestlers as a grandiloquent
1""HIIIIH" or what he calls the pure
spm:lm:11! of IlX(;(lSS.
somiotics
FIGURE 1.4
Wrestling as a
language of
'excess'.
Core Seminar 1
Due: Wk 7
Reading Response 5
Hall, “The work of Representation”
Assignment
Make notes on the text — in the margins, underlining, etc. — and bring to class.
Underline what you find important, write your thoughts in the margins, mark what
you don’t understand.
Reading Response
Remember that whenever you make a claim you need to support it with a reference.
All that is needed here is a page number, since we know the reading you’re referring
to. So: page number in parenthesis whenever you quote, paraphrase, or claim an
author’s statement.
In responding to and using the text, generate questions that fit
this system:
1. Why is ______________ important?
2. What is another way to look at _______________?
3. What are the implications of ___________?
Explain your questions and try to answer them. Responses
should be around 300 words.
Deliverables
1. Upload your reading response on Canvas in the relevant assignment submission
by Sunday noon (a day prior to our next class meeting).
2. Bring a print-out of your reading response 2 to class on Monday to hand in.
3. Bring the text printed out with notes and markings to class.
Purchase answer to see full
attachment