The lInguIstIc message

The Image
Is in a certain manner the limit of All images are polysemous, implying
an underlying "floating chain" of
meaning, it permits the
consideration of a veritable signifieds from which the reader
can choose some and ignore
ontology of the process of
others.
signification .

In advertIsIng
The signification of the image is
intentional; the signifieds of the
RETHORIC OF The lInguIstIc message
It is simply the presence of the
linguistic message that counts, for

THE IMAGE
message are formed a priori by neither its position nor its length
certain attributes of the product seem to be pertinent.
and these signifieds have to be Its functions appear to be
transmitted clearly. anchorage and relay.

NubIa sofía gonzález Casanova

the three messages The three messages

In advertising, there are different
signs in images that form a There is also the present relation
coherent whole, require a generally between signified and signifier,
cultural knowledge and refer back composed by a linguistic message, a
to global signifies and euphoric coded iconic message and a non-
values. coded iconic message.
 The lInguIstIc message
Anchorage: It identifies the elements of the
scene, guides the denoted identification, and limits
the connoted meanings towards more
"acceptable" regions.
Relay: It no longer guides identification but
interpretation, advances the action, and allows
incorporating new meanings.
*Anchorage is the most frequent function,
acting as a "control" over the projective
power of images, steering the reader
towards a preselected meaning.
The Denoted Image
The literal message can only be
defined relationally by subtracting
the connotative symbolic message,
RETHORIC OF
resulting in an evicted state full
of potential meanings yet still
allowing basic scene identification.
The Denoted Image
The denoted image (where we only perceive
lines, forms, colors) has a kind of "utopian" or
"Edenic" state where it appears radically
objective and innocent, cleared of
connotations.
This utopian character of denotation is
reinforced by the paradox that the
photograph, due to its analogical nature,
seems to be a message without a code.
Rhetoric of the IMage Rhetoric of the IMage
The architecture of the connoted image is
It is precisely the syntagm of the denoted thus constituted by signs drawn from the
message which "naturalizes" the system of variable depth of lexicons/idiolects within a
the connoted message. person. The signs become more rarefied and
Connotation is only a system, can only be classifiable, admitting the "language" of the
defined in paradigmatic terms; iconic image is composed of idiolects, lexicons and
denotation is only syntagm, associating sub-codes.
elements without any system.
Rhetoric of the IMage
The signs of the "symbolic" or connoted
message in an image are discontinuous,
even if a signifier like "composition" seems
to extend over the whole image.
THE IMAGE
This forms a normal sign system drawn
from a cultural code, but its originality lies
in the variable number of readings the
same lexical unit/image can have across
individuals.
The Denoted Image
This coding of the denoted
message in drawings facilitates
connotation by establishing
discontinuity, unlike photographs
which maintain a "nature vs
culture" relationship.
Barthes, R. (1977). Rhetoric of the Image. En Image-
Music-Text (pp. 32-51). Fontana Press.