69249454-chandler-semiotics

CODES 149
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7
8222
9
10
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7
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9
20
1222
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7
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9
30
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7222
into groups. Different theorists favour different taxonomies, and
while structuralists often follow the ‘principle of parsimony’ –
seeking to find the smallest number of groups deemed necessary –
‘necessity’ is defined by purposes. No taxonomy is innocently neutral
and devoid of ideological assumptions. One might start from a fundamental
divide between analogue and digital codes, from a division
according to sensory channels, from a distinction between verbal and
non-verbal, and so on. Many semioticians take human language as
their starting point. The primary and most pervasive code in any
society is its dominant natural language, within which (as with other
codes) there are many ‘sub-codes’. A fundamental sub-division of
language into spoken and written forms – at least insofar as it relates
to whether the text is detached from its maker at the point of reception
– is often regarded as representing a broad division into different
codes rather than merely sub-codes. One theorist’s code is another’s
sub-code and the value of the distinction needs to be demonstrated.
Stylistic and personal codes (or idiolects) are often described as subcodes
(e.g. Eco 1976, 263, 272). The various kinds of codes overlap,
and the semiotic analysis of any text or practice involves considering
several codes and the relationships between them. A range of
typologies of codes can be found in the literature of semiotics. I
refer here only to those which are most widely mentioned in the
context of media, communication and cultural studies (this particular
tripartite framework is my own).
SOCIAL CODES
• verbal language (phonological, syntactical, lexical, prosodic
and paralinguistic subcodes);
• bodily codes (bodily contact, proximity, physical orientation,
appearance, facial expression, gaze, head-nods, gestures and
posture);
• commodity codes (fashions, clothing, cars);
• behavioural codes (protocols, rituals, role-playing, games).