Barthes’ Linguistic Messages — Anchoring and Relaying

Author: Lesley Lanir

In 2012, after six decades, Bazooka Candy Brands, a division of the Topps Company stopped producing the tiny comic strip found inside each packet of its Bazooka Bubble Gum.

Today’s adults will remember the fun they had reading the captions in those comic strips, and getting to know the familiar characters. Sadly, the comic strip appeal just did not do it for the Millennium generation.

Linguistically, what value do comic strips have in the understanding of signs and images?

What function does the linguistic message have with regard to the iconic message?

According to Roland Barthes, the two most easily identified linguistic messages with regard to images are ‘anchoring’ and ‘relaying.’

The Function of Linguistic Messages

Since books began being published, texts and images have been linked. Today, linguistic messages appear as titles, captions, film dialogues, comic strip balloons and more.

Every image is ‘polysemous,’ or in other words, has multiple related meanings. So, along with its main signifier (sound image), or the name we have given it, a ‘floating chain’ of signifieds or ideas about what it really is, exists in our minds. When readers see an image they can select some ‘signifieds’ (words/phrases used to describe it) and ignore the rest depending on cultural norms or context. Being polysemic…