Representation of Meaning in Different Semiotic Systems
This chapter describe issues related to the ability to represent meaning in different semiotic systems that plays a major role in the development of infants and continues to influence humans throughout life. The semiosphere is the symbolic environment into which a child grows, that defines the types of representations encoded in the developing child's mind. It is dynamic and multifunctional, and includes a class of meaning-preserving transformations. These symbolic transformations generate multiple representations with equivalent meaning, and inevitably result in the over-determination of meaning within the semiosphere. Early meaning, derived from perceptual cues, evolve to mature meaning derived from combinations of perceptual cues and memories of their consequences. Adults generate intentional responses to meaning of combinations of perceptual and intellectual stimuli, and are aware of representation of meaning in different semiotic systems.