Meaning and semiotics

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Symbolism across cultures

Lesson 7 of 9 in Meaning and semiotics.

The swastika was a symbol of peace until Hitler stole it · Business Insider
Lesson

Symbols travel, and they do not arrive carrying what they left with. The swastika en.wikipedia.org is the hardest case. It is an ancient motif found across Eurasia, sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, where it carries the sun, good fortune and the footprints of the Buddha, and it was taken up by the Nazi Party in the 1920s and 1930s, after which most of the West could read it one way only. It is banned by law in several countries and chalked on doorways in others, in the same week, every week.

iconlooks like itindexpoints at itsymbolagreed to mean itonly the first one works without being taughtmost identity lives in the third
Icon, index and symbol: a drawing of fire, smoke meaning fire, and a word meaning fire.
A matchbox label on a yellow ground: a Madurai temple gopuram drawn in brown and gold with red and white striped walls at its base, named in Tamil across the top, safety matches and fifty's price 13 Ps running vertically up either side, and SUNDARAM MATCH INDUSTRIES, MADURAI along the bottom.
A matchbox label showing a Madurai temple tower, named in Tamil. A few strong flat colours on a yellow ground carry the whole picture.Temple, Indian matchbox label. Unrecorded designer, for an Indian match manufacturer.Wikimedia Commons/Public domain
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  1. Question 1, locked

    White is the colour of mourning in several cultures. What does that tell you?

    • Colour meaning is learned, so it has to be checked per market
    • Those cultures avoid black
    • Colour meaning is mostly universal with rare exceptions
  2. Question 2, locked

    Which of these words means this? “The Persian and Kashmiri teardrop motif that English renamed paisley after the Scottish town that copied it.”

    • Sign
    • Counter
    • Buta
    • First reading
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which of these words means this? “One that a community is currently using for something it cares about. Not available as decoration.”

    • Code
    • Connotation
    • Live symbol
    • Denotation

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