Semiotics is the study of how things have meaning; it examines how signs are a part of a language. Semiotics is useful for assisting people to become more aware of their surroundings and reality.
The key signifiers 'GOTCHA', 'our lads' and 'Argie' create a sense of intimacy of one side of this story which means the reading of the sintagmatic structure is one sided. In one movement the article has created an 'us' and 'them'.
The Sun newspaper cover above is eye-catching, easy to read and incredibly patriotic through the war myth, something that is obvious right away through the key signifier of the war ship imagery. The high pt lettering captures the reader’s attention immediately making them read the article quickly, right there and then.
The word ‘GOTCHA’ could be seen as one of the key signifiers. It instantly denotes slang for ‘got you’ and that it aims to get the reader’s attention. Its connotations are chatty, casual and friendly. This all makes the word an ideology. Also, the word ‘GOTCHA’ has syntagmatic relations in that it is just one word with a high pt and no punctuation: it is simple, eye catching and to the point. The informal approach makes the heading paradigmatic.
Furthermore, the subtitle ‘our lads sink gunboat and gun cruiser’ is again informal, but it also conveys pride- it is patriotic. Paradigmatic relations such as using the word ‘lad’ instead of ‘man’ makes the article seem cheekier. It is suited to the target audience- The Sun is well- known for its page three topless models, therefore it is aimed at men, the use of the noun ‘lad’ makes the reader feel like “one of the lads”.
Finally, supported with other words such as ‘Argie’ (in reference to Argentina) this casual language approach to the article juxtaposes its content. War is normally seen as a serious, morbid and respected topic, something not to be taken light- heartedly or to joke about. From this evidence, the choice of language has more than likely got something to do with the target audience because after all, it is not really very funny that other human beings were bombed.
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