The notion of sign, so important for linguistics, was first proposed in a science called semiotics. The sign was defined as an entity consisting of two components, the signifier and the signified. Let us first consider some examples of non-linguistic signs taken from everyday life.
· If you see a picture with a stylized image of a man in a wheelchair on the wall in the subway, you know that the place under the image is intended for disabled people. This is a typical case of a sign: the picture itself, i.e., a specific figure in contrasting colors, is the signifier, while the suggestion to assist the handicapped persons is the signified.
· Twenty Mexican pesos have two equally possible signifiers: a coin with a portrait of Octavio Paz and a piece of paper with a portrait of Benito Juárez. The signified of both of them is the value of twenty pesos. Clearly, neither of them has this value, but instead they denote it. Thus, they are two different but synonymous signs.
· Raising one’s hand (this gesture is the signifier) can have several different signifieds, for instance: (1) an intention to answer the teacher’s question in a classroom, (2) a vote for or against a proposal at a meeting, (3) an intention to call a taxi in the street, etc. These are three different, though homonymous, signs.