For the process of constructing meaning, we need two systems of representation: a system by which anything is correlated with a set of concepts or mental representations and language. Our concepts are well organised, arranged and classified into the complex relations with one another: a conceptual system. Meaning depends on the relationship between things in the world – real or fictional – and the conceptual system, which can operate as their mental representations (Hall 2002: 17-18). Conceptual maps can be different from one person to another, and that is why people understand and interpret in different ways. But, if people may share the same conceptual maps in general, they will interpret the world in similar ways, and, therefore, will probably belong to the same culture. To communicate these shared meanings in an efficient and effective way, people need a shared language to represent and exchange meanings and concepts. The shared conceptual map must be translated into a common language in order to link concepts and ideas with written words, spoken sounds or visual images, that is to say signs. Therefore, participants in any meaningful exchange must be able to use the same linguistic code. The expression ‘linguistic code’ refers to language as a system of representation where its elements – sounds, words, notes, gestures, expressions, images, etc. – signify meaning. Representation is really the relation between things, concepts and signs, which the others can perceive, decode and interpret in the same way as we do. The participants in this dialogic process must also be able to read visual images in similar ways. Images, as well as words and sounds, allow us to communicate meanings and concepts to other people (ibidem). It might appear, at first sight, that in the case of visual language the relationship between the concept and the sign is simpler, more straightforward than in the case of written or spoken language, where most words do not look nor sound as the things they refer to. Visual signs, instead, are iconic signs: “they bear a certain resemblance to the things they refer to” (Hall 2002: 20). This study aims at investigating how cultural meanings are constructed and transmitted in some websites and travel guides on Sardinia. Tourist-tourism texts belong to the genre of specialized discourse, as they include texts produced by tourist professionals.
A multimodal investigation of tourist texts and cityscapes
DENTI, OLGA
2007-01-01
Abstract
For the process of constructing meaning, we need two systems of representation: a system by which anything is correlated with a set of concepts or mental representations and language. Our concepts are well organised, arranged and classified into the complex relations with one another: a conceptual system. Meaning depends on the relationship between things in the world – real or fictional – and the conceptual system, which can operate as their mental representations (Hall 2002: 17-18). Conceptual maps can be different from one person to another, and that is why people understand and interpret in different ways. But, if people may share the same conceptual maps in general, they will interpret the world in similar ways, and, therefore, will probably belong to the same culture. To communicate these shared meanings in an efficient and effective way, people need a shared language to represent and exchange meanings and concepts. The shared conceptual map must be translated into a common language in order to link concepts and ideas with written words, spoken sounds or visual images, that is to say signs. Therefore, participants in any meaningful exchange must be able to use the same linguistic code. The expression ‘linguistic code’ refers to language as a system of representation where its elements – sounds, words, notes, gestures, expressions, images, etc. – signify meaning. Representation is really the relation between things, concepts and signs, which the others can perceive, decode and interpret in the same way as we do. The participants in this dialogic process must also be able to read visual images in similar ways. Images, as well as words and sounds, allow us to communicate meanings and concepts to other people (ibidem). It might appear, at first sight, that in the case of visual language the relationship between the concept and the sign is simpler, more straightforward than in the case of written or spoken language, where most words do not look nor sound as the things they refer to. Visual signs, instead, are iconic signs: “they bear a certain resemblance to the things they refer to” (Hall 2002: 20). This study aims at investigating how cultural meanings are constructed and transmitted in some websites and travel guides on Sardinia. Tourist-tourism texts belong to the genre of specialized discourse, as they include texts produced by tourist professionals.
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