Code Since the meaning of a sign depends on the code within which it is situated, codes provide a framework within which signs make sense. Indeed, we cannot grant something the status of a sign if it does not function within a code.(Jakobson 1971) Code interpretation Whilst Saussure dealt only with the overall code of language, Gombrich stressed that signs are not meaningful in isolation, but only when they are interpreted in relation to each other. (Gombrich 1974, 255-8; Gombrich 1982, 150-151). Another linguistic structuralist, Roman Jakobson, emphasized that the production and interpretation of texts depends upon the existence of codes or conventions for communication.   Class assignment 1 (group work, done orally): Look at the pictures below and try to reproduce the code systems they belong to as signs. Be aware of what syntagm you are going to work with. picture 1 picture 2 picture 3 Then discuss the questions: What happens if you fail to identify the code conventions? Can the signs belong to just one code? Class assignment 2 (group work, done orally): Look at the next set of pictures and again try to reproduce the code systems they belong to as signs. Can you think of other similar code systems? picture 1 Here you have to analyze only the idea presented in the book title. picture 2