From the Sign to the Actants: A Contemporary Reading of the Evolution of Modern Semiotics between Structural Theory and Textual Analysis

Abstract

       This study examines the evolution of the concept of semiotics from its foundational roots in Ferdinand de Saussure, who emphasized the sign as a system of the signifier and the signified, to Charles Peirce, who highlighted the relationship between signs and meaning within logical and symbolic contexts, and onward to Eco and Barthes, who offered a contemporary perspective incorporating the cultural and social dimensions of texts and discourse.

       The research also addresses the structural analysis of Actants according to Greimas and Propp, illustrating how these actants interact within texts to generate meaning and reproduce semantic structures. The study demonstrates the shift from examining the sign as an abstract linguistic unit to understanding the dynamics of texts and narrative functions activated by different actants.

      This comprehensive approach enables the reader to grasp the chronological and intellectual development of modern semiotics, providing insights into texts as networks of signs and actants interacting within cultural and social contexts.