A sign is a representation of an object that implies a connection between itself and its object. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm. A conventional sign signifies by agreement, as a full stop signifies the end of a sentence. (This is in contrast to a symbol which stands for another thing, as a flag may be a symbol of a nation).
The way a sign signifies is called semiosis which is a topic of semiotics and philosophy of language.
How a sign is perceived depends upon what is intended or expressed in the semiotic relationship of:
- Signification
- Significance (i.e. meaning)
- Importance
Thus, for example, people may speak of the significance of events, the signification of characters, the meaning of sentences, or the import of a communication. Different ways of relating signs to their objects are called modes of signification.
Uses of conventional signs are varied. Usually the goal is to elicit a response or simply inform. That can be achieved by marking something, displaying a message (i.e. a notice), drawing attention or presenting evidence of an underlying cause (for instance, medical symptoms signify a disease), performing a bodily gesture, etc.
Famous quotes containing the word sign:
“A sign, or representamen, is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity. It addresses somebody, that is, creates in the mind of that person an equivalent sign, or perhaps a more developed sign. That sign which it creates I call the interpretant of the first sign. The sign stands for something, its object. It stands for that object, not in all respects, but in reference to a sort of idea, which I have sometimes called the ground of the representamen.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914)
“There is an innocence in lying which is the sign of good faith in a cause.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“When a woman says she won’t, it’s a good sign that she will. And when she says she will, it is an even better sign.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)