Semiotics

The meaning of these words:

Semiotics -  Is the meaning in media texts, its studying how the producer tries to get that message across (Signs and signifiers).

Denotation -  The actions or process of indicating or referring to something by means of a word, symbol etc.

Signified -  An interpretation of a signifier. The idea or connotations it creates is what is signified.

Sign -  When a signifier involves a signified concept in someone's mind a sign has occurred. It is the relationship between a signifier and the signified is arbitrary.  

Analogy -  A comparison between one thing and another, typically for the purpose of explanation.

Syntagym -  A single word or element of design that, when altered, can change the overall meaning.

Allegory -  A story, poem, or picture which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Metonymy -  The substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the turf for horse racing.

Paradigm -  A group or related ideas that are interchangeable in a sentence or design , yet they still shave the same collective meaning. For example a panda eats shoots and leaves, this could mean that a panda eats shoots and also leaves, but also could mean a panda eats food in a restaurant and shoots a gun then leaves. 

Signifier - A physical entity that can include sounds, images or letters to convey a meaning.

Connotations -  An image or idea that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning. People can misunderstand due to cultural, age, gender differences and our experiences. Our thought processes in trying to understand the denotations need to understand symbols, metaphors, analogys and allegorys.