M.A. (Greek) / The production of literature is a cultural process. A literary work is therefore used for affirming or transforming the relationship between man and his environment. The science of semiotics studies all cultural processes including literature as processes of communication (Eco 1976:8). The ultimate aim of a semiotic approach to a literary work is to establish the way in which the writer attempts to transform the world vision of the addressee (Eco 1976:290) ...

Magister Artium - MA / This study demonstrates how advertisers re-voice and re-perform others' gestures and actions (Prior and Hengst, 2010). The focus is on the mobility of semiosis across boundaries and practices. It uses Multimodal Discourse Analysis (Kress and Van Leeuwen, 1996, 2001, 2006) Semiotic Remediation/Resemiotization (Iedema, 2003, 2010; Prior and Hengst, 2010) as the theoretical/analytical framework. The idea is to explore how semiotic elements are remediated through intertextual references and multimodality and how semiotic remediation is employed in the process of re-creation and re-purposing of objects and messages in the selected television advertisements. Drawing on MTN, Vodacom, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Nando's television advertisements, the study shows how popular, historical, cultural and political discourse is reproduced and re-lived as a creative idea in the selected television advertisements in the process of re-branding. In this regard, resemiotization or semiotic remediation is seen as social practice and an integral part of the marketing strategy in the South African television advertising industry. Upon examination, the study establishes that some selected television advertisements have been extensively re-worked and re-purposed. Therefore, resemiotization and/or semiotic remediation are found to be resourceful tools for the marketing discourse. Thus, the study found that South African advertising discourse depends primarily on societal discourses such as politics, history, cultural traditions and popular culture as its base for creativity. In terms of language use in South African advertising, the study has revealed that television advertisements are moving towards a localised language practice and/or localised English.

This study is situated in a social documentary photography context, and is concerned to explore whether the collaborative interaction between photographer, subject (as collector) and material object (as collection) might enable a practice that presents a more mutual and subject-centred visual identity emerge. In particular, photographers Jim Goldberg and Gideon Mendel have focused more on the subject themselves, using collaborative processes such as photo-voice and photo elicitation, as well as the use of peoples’ handwritten captions on photographic prints themselves. Claudia Mitchell’s overview of visual methodologies is drawn on, together with Ken Plummer’s Documents of Life 2 (2001) and Gillian Rose’s Visual Methodologies (2001) to extend on these possibilities of conducting collaborative visual research.The practical component of this study focuses on personal collections and follows a number of theorists, including Susan Pearce, and John Elsner and Roger Cardinal. It follows Pearce’s identification of three major modes of collecting, and suggests that collections are essentially narratives of the self, and reveal experiences and expressions of personal desire. By drawing on these approaches and the various ways the twelve collectors were photographed, as well as implementing collaborative research processes (handwritten text, archival photographs and the re-staging of the collections), the study confirms Pearce’s three primary modes of collecting, and acknowledges that they are often interlinked or overlap one another. The study further found that a more subject voiced visual identity did indeed become apparent through the collaborative methods applied and discussed. The collaborative research equally demonstrated that these narratives of identity are not singular, but rather narratives of multiple, personal identities of the self.

This study contributes to the discourse of the body and the voice in feminist psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic film theory by exploring the currently under-theorised notion of the singing body in particular, as this notion finds manifestation in Disney's Singing Princess. Analyses of musical coding and other filmic tropes follow the trajectory of the Singing Princess across thirteen Disney Princess films - from her first appearance in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) through to her most recent manifestation as Elsa in Frozen (2013) - to reveal deeper insight into what she sings, how she sings and why she sings.

As with the traditional form of print advertising, advertisements were, and still are designed in a particular way to attract the viewer’s attention and direct the attention towards a specific area within the framework of the advertisement. However, besides print advertising, today’s markets require further interaction with consumers and the public at large. This has given rise to the use of experiential brand marketing whereby consumers interact with the brand in out-of-context situations. The advancement of technology has enabled user experiences to go beyond the traditional forms of branding such as television, print, radio and even on-line advertising, websites and so forth and users are able to upload experiential brand experiences instantly on social networking sites. This, in turn, has indicated that marketers need to take full advantage of social networking, PR and audience interaction with brands. Theo Van Leeuwen & Gunther Kress (2005:7) investigated the context of ‘framing’ in visual communication where elements either have some kind of ‘connectedness’ or ‘disconnectedness’. This study focuses on the context of Van Leeuwen’s (2005:7) ‘framing’ of traditional print magazine designs to the environments or brandscapes in which experiential brand activations are taking place. According to Lenderman (2006:52), experiential marketing requires person-to-person networking with consumers who use sophisticated networking tools for respectful conversations between the consumer and the brand. Not only is this a cost effective solution to making a relatively unknown brand reach the masses, but it also allows an opportunity of immediate audience participation and instant recording of data that can spread across a global network. The theoretical base of social semiotics, underpinned by Van Leeuwen’s theory of ‘framing’, forms the theoretical basis of this study, with case studies of various experiential brand activations being analysed. An analysis of the environment in which the brand experience takes place, along with consumer reactions and their reactions to the overall brand experience in terms of experiential branding is studied. The aim of this research is to identify how the interplay of social semiotics could be used to interpret the current trend of user brand experiences in terms of experiential, interactive marketing.

The diploma thesis deals with semiotics, its derivative analysis and it is focusing on analysis of selected commercial spots of Apple Inc. In first place it defines semiotic, semiotic analysis and concepts contained in it. Next step is about analysis commercial spots in the depth from several points of view based on the theoretical foundation.

Uppsatsen behandlar den ordlösa grafiska novellen Home av Eric Drooker, en tecknad serienovell på 42 sidor där Drooker använder sig av specifika visuella medel för att kommunicera. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur en berättelse kan formuleras med bildspråk där olika symboler hjälper läsaren att förstå innehållet. Med hjälp av en innehållsanalys utifrån en semiotisk metod kartläggs användandet och frekvensen av symboler. Resultatet visar att symbolerna Drooker använder är gester, ordbilder, siffror, skiljetecken, noter, emanata, grafiska och ikoniska symboler, paneler, ramar och sidlayout. Rapporten vänder sig till forskare, studenter och yrkesutövare samt till intresserade av tecknade serier, grafisk design, layout och bildspråk. / The essay investigates the wordless graphic short story Home by Eric Drooker, a comic on 42 pages where Drooker uses specific visual means to communicate. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate how a narrative can be formulated with imagery where different symbols are included. The use and frequency of symbols are documented by a content analysis and a semiotic perspective. The result shows that the symbols Drooker uses are gestures, word pictures, numbers, punctuation marks, notes, emanata, graphic as well as iconic symbols, panels, frames and page layout. The report is aimed at researchers, students and professionals, and at those who are interested in comics, graphic design, layout and visual language.

Orientador: Arnaldo Cortina / Banca: Jean Cristtus Portela / Banca: Mariana Luz Pessoa de Barros / Resumo: Neste trabalho, apresentamos os resultados concernentes à nossa pesquisa de mestrado. Nossos objetivos eram os seguintes: 1) compreender como se dá a construção da significação no romance brasileiro Opisanie Swiata, de Veronica Stigger (2013), por meio da semiótica greimasiana; 2) determinar qual é o impacto dos agenciamentos singulares dessas linguagens nas relações entre o enunciador e o enunciatário; 3) verificar em que medida esse texto, enquanto sujeito e objeto de práticas semióticas, incorpora demandas ou injunções que lhe são externas, conectando-se intimamente com o momento histórico em que surge e com a cultura em que está imerso. Para tanto, realizamos uma análise dos planos do conteúdo e da expressão do texto-enunciado. A análise do nível fundamental permitiu que apreendêssemos duas categorias semânticas que regem a significação do texto: continuidade vs. descontinuidade e ser vs. parecer. No nível narrativo, observamos que, além da narrativa principal e das micronarrativas dentro dela, existiam narrativas paralelas, que se lhes justapunham. Pelo exame do nível discursivo, revelamos como o sincretismo opera e como ele contribui para exacerbar a sensação de fragmentação já observada no exame dos níveis anteriores. Em seguida, envidamos nossos esforços para mostrar que a combinação de gêneros textuais e discursivos intensificavam o efeito de fragmentação. Falamos, finalmente, dos liames que o texto constrói com seu entorno, com outras obras, sejam literárias, sejam ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In this work, we present the results related to our Master's research. Our goals were: 1) to understand how the signification is constructed in the Brazilian novel Opisanie Swiata, de Veronica Stigger (2013), by means of the discursive semiotics; 2) to determine the impact of the combined use of the languages in the relation between the enunciator and the enunciatee; 3) to verify to what extent this text, as a subject and an object of some semiotics practices, embody external demands and injunctions, connecting with the historic moment in which it emerges and with the culture in which it is immersed. For this purpose, we analyzed the expression and the content plans of the text. The analysis of the fundamental structures allowed us to apprehend two categories: continuity vs. discontinuity and being vs. appearing. Regarding the narrative structures, we saw that, besides the main narrative and the micronarratives inside it, there were parallel narratives. The exam of the discursive structures revealed how syncretism works and how it contributes to exacerbate the feeling of fragmentation, which had already been observed through the exam of the fundamental and the narrative structures. After that, we strived to show that the combination of discursive and text genres intensified the fragmentation effect. Finally, we talked about the links that the text constructs with its surrounding, with other literary works and with artworks in general. With regard to the expression plan, we de... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Analysing discourse through visual units is certainly a very fascinating and interesting way of showing how propaganda posters regulate and shape the beliefs, values, and attitudes of social groups. Based on the theory of social constructionism, this research paper aims to explore and examine the use of verbal and nonverbal symbols between the propagandist and the audience in which the social positions of difference and authority are articulated. To accomplish this, I choose six propaganda posters that resonated strongly within the Chinese society to reflect how their symbolic messages and linguistic codes serve as transmitters of certain ideas. I incorporated testimonies of Anchee Min, Duo Duo, and Saul Yeung as a form of evidence in revealing the cultural significance, social practices, and power relations because they all have knowledge and experience in the cultural, social, and political discourse during the Cultural revolution. By applying a hermeneutic approach, this research paper deconstructs the symbolic meanings and linguistic codes of propaganda posters to reveal the notion of communication competence between the propagandist and the audience. Key words: China, propaganda, visual semiotics, symbols, discourse

Magister Educationis - MEd / Writing is an important skill throughout learners’ schooling trajectory because it is through writing that learners need to situate meaning and sense-making across the curriculum. Writing proficiency becomes even more important when learners access tertiary studies. Yet studies suggest that most students struggle with academic writing. Various authors suggest that writing has not been taught appropriately especially in secondary schooling contexts in South Africa and that writing becomes even more daunting for Second Language speakers of English when they reach tertiary education. There is abundant literature on students’ challenges with academic writing and ways to address academic writing challenges but the use of digital storytelling in relation to academic writing development is recent and distinctively underexplored in the literature. In this study, I seek to explore the potential that digital storytelling has in the teaching of undergraduate academic writing skills. I will focus on first year students' academic writing skills, how they are taught currently and how technology in the form of digital storytelling can help first year students improve their academic writing skills. The theoretical framework for the study is largely based on the New Literacies Studies which is championed by members of the New London Group such as Street and Street (1984) Lea and Street (2006) among others. The theoretical framework will draw on the notion of literacy as social practice rather than a set of reading and writing skills which explains why educators need to find new ways of teaching academic writing skills. I use semiotics and multimodality as a foundational concept for using digital storytelling in academic writing. That is because semiotics and multimodality further support the idea that literacy goes beyond words but that audio and visual elements are also part of learning and can help engage students in their academic work. The main aim of this proposed research is to explore both students and lecturer practices of digital literacies in the teaching and learning of academic writing at The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).