right end of focus no left directional palette HAPPY FUN COMMUNICATION LAND

SEMIOTIC PARADIGMATIC ANALYSIS

The fundamental entity in semiotic theory is the sign, a human perception which takes on meaning in part by reference to the perceiver's past experience and in part by reference to his or her (and its) cultural context.

A collection of elemental signs from which more complex signs can be constructed is called a paradigm. The constructed signs are called syntagms.

Paradigmatic analysis is a method of investigating a syntagm by breaking it down into its constituent paradigm, studying the individual paradigmatic elements, and seeking to reconstruct the process by which the syntagm takes on meaning. The following screens demonstrate the steps of a typical paradigmatic analysis. These are:

paradigmatic rules