Language

Question 1

Smallest unit of communication that conveys meaning

-word, image, sound

Answer 1

Sign

Question 2

Description of a sign

-eg: Red rose=garden plant

Answer 2

Denotation

Question 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!

Answer 3

Connotation

Question 4

The reason for the use of a specific code

-Eg. aid understanding, tell a story

Answer 4

Codes: Motivation

Question 5

A text may have several meanings at one time

-Eg. A photograph

Answer 5

Codes: polysemy

Question 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

Answer 6

Codes: anchorage

Question 7

Established ways of treating genre, codes, narratives or representations

Answer 7

Conventions

Question 8

A set of beliefs and values shared by members of a cultural group which produces a partial and selective views of the world out there
eg. Capitalism

Answer 8

Ideology

Question 9

A story that a culture tells about itself which appears to be common
sense
-eg. The values of the nuclear family

Answer 9

Myth

Question 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

Answer 10

Discourses

Question 11

Media does not communicate with words alone. It can also use pictures and sound to convey meaning

Answer 11

Language