Language 1

Question 1

Sign

Answer 1

A sign is the smallest unit of communication that conveys meaning
e.g.
•word
•image
•sound

Question 2

Denotation

Answer 2

The description of a sign (dictionary definition)

e.g. a red rose = garden plant

Question 3

Connotation

Answer 3

The additional or associated meaning that an image or word carries with it

e.g. a red rose = symbol of love

If you give someone a red rose, they are unlikely to think you are simply handing over a garden plant!

Question 4

Motivation

Answer 4

The reason for the use of a specific code
e.g.
•aid understanding
•tell a story

Question 5

Polysemy

Answer 5

A text may have several meanings at one time

e.g. a photograph

Question 6

Anchorage

Answer 6

Narrowing down the polysemy of a text to create a preferred reading

e.g. a caption added to the photograph fixes the meaning and prevents possible ambiguity

Think: anchor of ship holds it down in one place

Question 7

Conventions

Answer 7

Established ways of treating genre, codes, narrative or representations

Question 8

Ideology

Answer 8

A set of beliefs and values shared by members of a cultural group which produces a partial and selective view of the world out there e.g. capitalism

Question 9

Myth

Answer 9

A story which a culture tells about itself which appears to be ‘commonsense’ e.g. the values of the nuclear family

Question 10

Discourses

Answer 10

Systematic ways of representing content in a media language so as to express particular ideologies or myths; the articulation in a media text of ideology and myth

Question 11

Language

Answer 11

When you heard the word ‘language’ you will probably automatically think of words (spoken or written).
But media does not communicate with words alone. It can also use pictures and sounds to convey meaning