STRUCTURALISM

Structuralism is a school of thought in linguistics that emerged in the early 20th century. It is a method of analyzing and understanding language that focuses on the underlying structures that shape it.

Structuralists argue that language is not simply a collection of individual words or sounds, but is instead a complex system of interrelated parts. These parts are connected by rules or laws that govern their interactions. The goal of structuralism is to identify these rules or laws and to understand how they shape language.

Beyond linguistics, structuralism has been applied to other modes of communication such as advertising, film, branding, etc. This has highlighted the structures that give meaning to communications whether they are auditory, visual, or both. As such, structuralist tools focus on how meaning is constructed through different kinds of "texts" (texts could be visual not just written). Structuralists aren't necessarily concerned with what a text means (semantics) but more so how it comes to mean what it means (semiotics) and how this meaning is connected with broader structures of meaning such as those attributed to particular cultures. 

Think about an image of an apple. At the level of denotation the image refers quite simply to an apple. However, if we think about the image in terms of its connotation then we may arrive at several other meanings. The apple may connote freshness and good health ("an apple a day..."); it may refer to the notion of original sin, in reference to the book of Genesis in the Christian Bible; it may also refer to physics and particularly the concept of gravity famously derived by Sir Isaac Newton when he pondered an apple that had fallen from a tree. Of course, these meanings are completely dependent upon the context in which the image is presented and they require a greater level of interpretation on the part of the viewer. This is where the arbitrary nature of language is most obvious. There are clearly no inherent connections between an image of an apple and the meanings suggested here. In fact, Ferdinand De Saussure and his structuralist successors emphasise that all language is arbitrary when we think of it semiotically. The word "apple", spoken as an utterance of speech (a sound made with the mouth and vocal chords), does not embody the material reality of the object itself. It is not hard, or crunchy, or sweet when eaten; it is simply a sound. Similarly so, our image of an apple does not embody the essence of the physical object - it does not taste nice if we eat it! The famous painting by Rene Magritte The Treachery of Images (1929) is a perfect visualisation of this phenomenon. The painting features a very well-rendered painting of a pipe and under the pipe reads the line Ceci n'est pas une pipe which translates as this is not a pipe. Magritte simply, and masterfully leads the viewer to consider why we have been so duped into believing some reality from the images we see. I dare say, that awareness of the treachery of images is even more pertinent today in the midst of an AI revolution!

Structuralism has been a controversial school of thought. Some people have argued that it is too deterministic and that it does not allow for individual agency. Others have argued that it is too abstract and that it does not provide a clear understanding of language. 

Despite these criticisms, structuralism has been influential. It has helped us to understand language in a new way, and it has provided us with new tools for analysing and understanding it. The concept of structuralism also reaches much further in the academic world than languages. Structuralism as a fundamental basis for analysis has also been applied to other areas such as sociology and psychology.

Structuralism has been a favoured theoretical framework within art and design theory for decades ever since thinkers such as Roland Barthes applied semiotic analysis to visual culture texts. Structuralism is a model that focuses on the essential structures that underlie systems of communication, such as visual communication. Its tools can help us to break down how “texts” (anything that acts as a piece of communication) communicate and therefore what impact they have on people who read them.

Some themes that could be explored using structuralism are:

• How can an understanding of structural linguistics inform a greater understanding of graphic design within specific contexts?

• How can the use of tools such as metaphor, connotation, or myth be utilised effectively in specific contexts?

• What can the concepts of syntagm and paradigm tell us about how visual texts work within commercial visual culture?

• What benefit does structuralism have when analysing texts within highly diverse cultural contexts?