Trace (semiology)
Encyclopedia
The trace in semiotics
is a concept developed by Jacques Derrida
in Writing and Difference
to denote the history that a sign
carries with it as the result of its use through time. Words like "black", for example, carry the trace of all their previous uses with them, making them sensitive, loaded words when used in any context. The trace then reveals the possibility for alternative interpretation of concepts, regardless of how carefully articulated they may be, whenever they are expressed in language.
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
is a concept developed by Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
in Writing and Difference
Writing and Difference
Writing and Difference is a 1967 book by French philosopher Jacques Derrida, collecting some of his early lectures and essays that established his international fame.-Structuralist Controversy:...
to denote the history that a sign
Sign (semiotics)
A sign is understood as a discrete unit of meaning in semiotics. It is defined as "something that stands for something, to someone in some capacity" It includes words, images, gestures, scents, tastes, textures, sounds – essentially all of the ways in which information can be...
carries with it as the result of its use through time. Words like "black", for example, carry the trace of all their previous uses with them, making them sensitive, loaded words when used in any context. The trace then reveals the possibility for alternative interpretation of concepts, regardless of how carefully articulated they may be, whenever they are expressed in language.
See also
- Trace (deconstruction)Trace (Deconstruction)Trace is one of the most important concepts in Derridian Deconstruction. In the 1960s, Derrida used this word in two of his early books, namely “Writing and Difference” and “Of Grammatology”...
- Context (language use)Context (language use)Context is a notion used in the language sciences in two different ways, namely as* verbal context* social context- Verbal context :...
- ConnotationConnotationA connotation is a commonly understood subjective cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to the word's or phrase's explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation....