Table Of ContentSemiotics and Communication:
Signs, Codes, Cultures
COMMUNICATION
TEXTBOOK SERIES
Jennings Bryant-Editor
Intercultural Cornmunication
w. Barnett Pearce-Advisor
CARBAUGH • Cultural Cornmunication
and Intercultural Contact
LEEDS-HURWITZ • Semiotics and
Communication: Signs, Codes, Cultures
Semiotics and Communication:
Signs, Codes, Cultures
Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz
of
University Wisconsin-Parkside
11:&
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
a=:::::l
Taylor&FrancisGroup
NewYork London
Cover photo: Cunajaguar, in the collection ofthe Milwaukee Public
Mus~um,catalognumber65951/28220. Photo by Don Lintner,
University ofWisconsin-Parkside.
Copyright © 1993 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
AH rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced in
any form, by photostat, microfilm, retrieval system, or any other
means, without the prior written permissionofthe publisher.
LibraryoíCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Leeds-Hurwitz, Wendy.
Semiotics and Communication :Signs, Codes, Cultures / Wendy Leeds
Hurwitz.
p. cm.
Ineludes bibliographical references and indexo
ISBN 0-8058-1139-7 (c) - ISBN 0-8058-1140-0 (p)
1. Semiotics. 2. Communication. 1. Title.
P99.L44 1993
302.2-dc20 92-923
CIP
Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free
paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability.
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
10 9 8 7
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Prelude: Why Semiotics? xi
Introduction: Cornmunication and Semiotics xv
PART I SEMIOTIC THEORY AND
COMMUNICATION THEORY 1
1 Introducing Semiotics 3
2 Signs 22
3 Codes 51
PART II FROM SEMIOTIC THEORY TO
COMMUNICATION BEHAVIOR 75
4 Food as Sign and Code 83
5 Clothing as Sign and Code 104
6 Objects as Sign and Code 127
PART III FROM COMMUNICATION BEHAVIOR
TO SEMIOTIC THEORY 153
7 Cultures 155
v
vi CONTENTS
References 177
Author Index 203
Subject Index 211
FIGURES AND TABLE
Fig. 1.1 Ukrainianpysanky. xxviii
Fig. 1.2 Ukrainian basket with pysanky. xxviii
Fig. 1.1 Ferdinand de Saussure. 5
Fig. 1.2 Charles Sanders Peirce. 5
Fig. 2.1 Large reliquary. 24
Fig. 3.1 Armadillo groom's cake from SteelMagnolias. 55
Fig. 3.2 DarryI Hannah as Annelle in SteelMagnolias. 56
Fig. 3.3 The relationship between langue and parole. 57
Table 3.1 Comparison ofcodes by type 67
Fig. 4.1 Cornish pasty. 93
Fig. 5.1 Mohandas Gandhi attending the Round Table
Conference in London, September 1931. 121
Fig. 6.1 Kwakiutl bentwood box. 133
Fig. 6.2 Kwakiutl copper. 138
Fig. 6.3 Beaded sneakers by Victoria Firethunder. 141
Fig. 6.4 The University oíWisconsin System quilt. 146
Fig. 7.1 Cuna mola. 160
Fig. 7.2 Flag of India. 162
Fig. 7.3 Toyota Lexus ad by Team One Advertising. 163
Fig. 7.4 Cunajaguar. 164
Fig. 7.5 Chia Ker Lor making a Hmong basket. 166
Fig. 7.6 Beaded sneakers by Melody Lightfeather. 170
Fig. 7.7 Imitation Indian style beaded sneakers made in China. 171
Fig. 7.8 "The Cup ofTea" by Alfred Stevens. 174
Acknowledgments
This book has taken several years to write with many people playing a role in
the process. Barnett Pearce played instigator by asking what my next book was
about before 1was fully ready to answer that question. By the time we finished
talkingseveralhourslater, 1knewwhat1wantedtowrite. Hisconstructivecom
ments on several drafts are greatIy appreciated.
The first three chapters were written while 1was a Fellow at the Center for
TwentiethCenturyStudiesattheUniversityofWisconsin-Milwaukee, and1thank
theregularstaffthere(KathleenWoodward, Director, andCarolTennessen, Pro
gramandPublicationsCoordinator)aswellastheotherFellowsfrom 1990-1991
(MarcusBullock, Gwynne Kennedy, PanivongNorindr, MarinaPerezde Men
diola, Helena Pycior, Roby Rajan, and Rolando Romero) for creating an en
vironment conducive to thinking and writing.
When1returnedtotheUniversityofWisconsin-Parkside, myregularacademic
home, my students were presented with an incomplete draft ofthis volume as
their text in an advanced seminar on semiotics. They were remarkably patient
with the process, actively contributing to it, both in the originality oftheir in
sights and the questions they required me to answer. Through the many excel
lent projects and final exams they prepared, they demonstrated that
undergraduatescanlearndifficulttheory, ifonlytheyareshownwhattodowithit.
Manyofmyexamplesare the result ofclassdiscussionsofhowto ground the
oreticalconceptsin specificdata. We applied semiotictheoryspecificallytowed
dings, chosenbecausetheyarecomplexevents, carefullyplannedandorganized,
yet readily accessible to analysis, and so weddings serve as a continuing theme
throughout this volume. Though it would now be difficult to identify each case
with the originating student, 1want at least to name them all and thank them
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
as a group. In the fall of1991 they were:Joanne Beardslee, Marie Boris, Karen
Carlson, Jason Caspers, Ronda Coats, Margaret Coca, Sue Glanz, Eric Hall,
DebraHalvorson, NicoleJanaky, SharonKowalke, Mark Lauer,Joel Meadow,
SarahMinasian, MichelleMyles,]udithNeumil1er, MeIissaPatterson, Kimber
IyPinti, KarenPitsouIakis, GeorgetteSampson, DanSchmidt, LenoraSchmidt,
Karen Semonson, Robert Smith, Chris Summers, Carmen Tenuta, Christina
Witt, and Darin Zimpel.
And in the spring of 1992: Beth Adelsen, Suneeta Akkinapalli,Judy Bostet
ter, GretchenCole, DaphneCook, DebbieDenjo, Rachel Donahue, Christopher
Dunbar, RobFox,JordannaGastrow, HeatherGood, DianeHendrickson, Dennis
Kaczanowski, Lisa Krebs, Sue Kusz, Amber Lundskow, Bill Ohm, Sharon
Pastorino, Renee Pughsley, Tim Radke, Jennifer Rakowski, Becky Richards,
Richard Sosa, Kirsten Tenges, and Laura WakefieId.
Myfirst introductiontomanyoftheideaspresentedinthisvoIumecarnefrom
graduatecourses attheUniversityofPennsylvaniain the 1970s. Dan Ben-Amos
was the most explicit about the value ofsemiotic theory and the most adamant
about the need to readearly, originalsources. Dell Hymescontinuestoquestion
whatsemiotictheoryhastoofferthatcannotbediscoveredelsewhere; thisvolume
providesalongeranswerthan1haveyetgivenhim, perhapsitwiUprovepersua
sive. DonYoder, HenryGIassie, BarbaraKirshenblatt-Gimblett, KenGoldstein,
and RayBirdwhistell all introduced me to the significanceoffood, clothing, and
objectsascommunication, thougheachwasinterestedinsimilarmaterialforquite
different reasons.
Yves Winkin, Steve Murray, and Mort Leeds read an earIy draft of this
manuscript, thefirst two forcontent, the third for fluency; manyoftheirsugges
tions were incorporated. Stuart Sigman,John Stewart, and Klaus Krippendorff
askedseriousquestionsabouttheendeavorasawhole, makingmethinkcareful
Iy about what I was saying.
In reading my final draft, Barnett Pearce suggested that photographs would
be particularlyvaluable for sorne ofthe examples. Though his comment created
a greatdeal oflast-minute work, it was a valid suggestion, and 1am grateful for
it. 1haveenjoyedmymanyconversationswiththevariouscopyrightholdersand
thankthemaHforpermissionstoincludeillustrativematerial. Formalacknowledg
ments for permission to reprint photographs accompany the photos in the texto
1wouldlike to particularlythank two individuals for heIp above and beyond the
callofduty: NancyLurie, attheMilwaukeePublicMuseum, fortheentiremorn
ing she spent guiding me through their anthropology collection and Don Lint
ner, from the media services department ofmy university, who not only took
severalofthephotographsprintedhere(includingthecover)butreproducedmany
ofthe others from photographs sent to me.
In addition, Kate Owen took time out ofa family gathering to photograph
an authenticpasty. Kim Averycreated Fig. 3.3 on shortnotice. Andmydepart
ment secretary, Pam Barsuli, helped substantially in the typing offinal changes
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
tothemanuscript. Myeditor, HollisHeimbouch, wassupportivethroughoutthe
entire process, but especially during the quest for appropriate illustrations.
Beinganacademicisnota9-to-5jobandactivelyrequiresthesupportoffam
iIy members. As with everything else 1have written, this volume would never
have been finished without the considerable toIerance ofodd workinghours and
numerous requests to "just wait until 1finish this page" on the part ofmy hus
band, Marc, and son, Aaron.
