Assigning Meaning to Sounds — Semiotics in the Context of Product-Sound Design

Abstract

Summary. Sound design constructs audibility of the world. Sounds carry information about the world. When listening to sounds, communication takes place. These are well-known facts for speech sounds, but it is also true for other types of sounds such as music or product sounds. In principle, each acoustic event can be perceived as a sign carrier through which information about the world is communicated. In its ultimate sense, sound designers are engineers of communication. To be successful, they have to take design decisions on the basis of how listeners perceive sounds and of what kind of communication takes place during this event. Suitable sound design requires a special view on acoustic/auditory communication. Among other sciences, semiotics deals with this field. IntroductionSemiotics is a scientific discipline which deals with signs. Generally speaking, a sign is a mental unit which is processed as standing for something other than itself, as pointing at something else. Well-known items which are treated as signs are, e. g., traffic lights, number codes, national flags and speech. In each of these cases recipients need background knowledge of the perceived physical objects, i. e. they must know the relation between the primary object of perception and the concept that it is going to denote.From a functional point of view, the sign is an element of communication. Using signs means to communicate, it means to send or receive information about "the world". There are highly complex sign systems such as oral speech which utilize acoustic waves to communicate thoughts, ideas, and facts. Such sign systems have to be learned, as the relation between the acoustic forms and their content is arbitrary to a high extent, i. e. it is based on conventions. This means that communication will fail if the relation between the primary perceptual object and the intended concept is not known to the recipients. This holds also true for simpler sign systems, e. g., traffic signs. If the convention is not known the colour red, e. g., will not lead to the action to stop.Apart from signs where there is an arbitrary relation between perceived form and denoted content, i. e. the case of a "symbol", there are other types where the relation is based either on similarity, "icon", or on causality, "index". These sign systems do not have to be learned in the same way as arbi-194 U. Jekosch trary systems, yet their meaning is acquired through experience, i. e. through perception and operation [29].Basically, all physical/perceptual events can be approached from the perspective of semiotics. Consequently, the perception of product sounds can be analyzed from the point of view of sign theory as well. Moreover, from what has been said so far it also follows that the perception of product sounds is a communicative event. This perspective is taken in this chapter. Acoustic/auditory items taken from the field of engineering acoustics will be discussed -with special emphasis being put on product sounds. Product Sound and SemioticsDuring the last de...

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