In Social Semiotics as Praxis, Paul J. Thibault rescues semiotics from terminal formalism by recognizing that the object of a semiotic inquiry is necessarily the way in which human beings, individually and collectively, make sense of their lives. Focusing on Vladimir Nabokov's Ada, he develops a conception of social semiotics that is a form of both social action and political praxis. Thibault's principal intellectual sources are, among others, Bakhtin, Volosinov, Derrida, Foucault, Gramsci, Habermas, and Halliday. Thibault combines the work of Halliday in particular with is own theories of semiotics to explore the dynamics of quoting and reporting speech and to develop a critique of the categories of "self" and "representation." Thibault accounts for the meaningful relationships constructed among texts and elaborates on the two main themes of relational levels in texts and the dynamics of contextualization to give voice to a unifying discourse for talking about social meaning making.

A textbook in communication and cultural studies. It offers a comprehensive approach to the study of the ways in which meaning is constituted in social life.

Catherine Tihanyi Georges Mounin, an important figure in contemporary French intellec tual life, has made significant and original contributions in semiotics, I semantics, poetics, the linguistic theory and practice of translation, and the study of the history of linguistics. He is noted as well for several dec ades of literary criticism in support of poets who were often unknown at the time. Though some of his work has been translated into German, Ital ian, and Spanish, only a few articles have been available so far in English (Mounin 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981); thus the present collection is the first full-length volume of Mounin's works to be translated into English. The contents of Semiotic Praxis reflect Mounin's life-long concern to apply semiotic theory to concrete objects. In so doing, he has attempted to demonstrate the usefulness of semiotics, to test and clarify its theoretical constructs and modify them accordingly, and to help lay down its scientific foundations and map its boundaries as a discipline.

M.A.K Halliday’s work has been hugely influential in linguistics and beyond since the 1960s. This is a collection of interviews with key figures in the generation of social semioticians who have taken Halliday’s concept of social semiotics and developed it further in various directions, making their own original contributions to theory and practice. This book highlights their main lines of thought and considers how they relate to both the original concept of social semiotics and to each other. Key themes include: Linguistic studies, multilinguality and evolution of language; Text, discourse and classroom studies; Digital texts, computer communication and science teaching; Multimodal text- and discourse analysis; Education and literacy; Media work and visual and audio modes; Critical Discourse Analysis. Featuring interviews with leading figures from linguistics, education and communication studies, a framing introduction and concluding chapter summing up commonalities and differences, connections and conflicts and key themes, this is essential reading for any scholar or student working in the area of social semiotics and systemic functional linguistics. Additional video resources are available on the Routledge website. Featuring: Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen, Theo Van Leeuwen, James R. Martin, Jay Lemke, Gunther Kress

Social Semiotics is a major new textbook in communication and cultural studies. It offers a comprehensive and original approach to the study of the ways in which meaning is constituted in social life. Hodge and Kress begin from the assumption that signs and messages - the subject matter of semiotics - must always be situated within the context of social relations and processes. They then show what is involved in analysing different kinds of messages, from literary texts, TV programmes and billboards to social interactions in the family and the school. While presenting a judicious assessment of different perspectives, Hodge and Kress also develop their own distinctive and highly fruitful approach, demonstrating how semiotics can be integrated with the social analysis of power and ideology, space and time, and gender and class. Social Semiotics is richly illustrated with examples and written in a clear style which does not presuppose prior knowledge of the field. It will become a key textbook for courses in communications, media and cultural studies and will be of general interest to students of sociology, literature and linguistics.

Social semiotics reveals language's social meaning – its structures, processes, conditions and effects – in all social contexts, across all media and modes of discourse. This important new book uses social semiotics as a one-stop shop to analyse language and social meaning, enhancing linguistics with a sociological imagination. Social Semiotics for a Complex World develops ideas, frameworks and strategies for better understanding key problems and issues involving language and social action in today's hyper-complex world driven by globalization and new media. Its semiotic basis incorporates insights from various schools of linguistics (such as cognitive linguistics, critical discourse analysis and sociolinguistics) as well as from sociology, anthropology, philosophy, psychology and literary studies. It employs a multi-modal perspective to follow meaning across all modes of language and media, and a multi-scalar approach that ranges between databases and one-word slogans, the local and global, with examples from English, Chinese and Spanish. Social semiotics analyses twists and turns of meanings big and small in complex contexts. This book uses semiotic principles to build a powerful, flexible analytic toolkit which will be invaluable for students across the humanities and social sciences.