Walter,
>I'm interested in semiotic aspects of technical sign systems. By this I
>include things like programming languages such as Java, but also things like
>algebra, the use of symbols in chemistry, graphs in maths and so on.
"A theory of computer semiotics" by Peter Bogh Andersen
is sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.
This is mainly concerned with the semiotics of user interface stuff (i.e how symbols on the screen correspond to what they represent - both in the outside world and in the "inside" system). It furthermore presents a framework for design of such inerfaces, but leaves a number of issues open for further research. being written back in 1990, I wonder if any of these issues have been investigated further by him or others in the meantime, but i haven't had the time to find that out.
If you have not already read it you definitely need to
read "Metaphors we live by" by Lakoff and Johnson.
This is a different thing as far as I know, focusing on metaphors brings you into a whole new/other field of study. If that appears to be of interest, you should look up some of the work by Michael Halliday and associates on grammatical metaphors and functional grammar which focuses on the use of language and creation of meaning by using language symbols in different settings.
People seem to be raving about "The way we think" by
Fauconnier and Turner, but I would not rate it (I suspect
I missed lots of subtleties).
I don't know this volume - or the authors, but that might only go to prove my own ignorance....
If you are interested in more technical issues of semiotics in symbolic languages, the following reader is an excellent introduction to the state of the art research for symbols and meaning in mathematics education.
Cobb, Yackel, & McClain (1999) Symbolizing and Communicating in Mathematics Classrooms: Perspectives on Discourse, Tols, and Instructional Design. - Lawrence Erlbaum.
For a more basic, "back to the roots", philosophical, approach you should try
Barthes, R. (1967) Elements of Semiology (A. Lavers & C. Smith, Trans.(New York: Hill and Wang).
while the visualisational aspects are nicely discussed in
- Kress, G., & Van Leeuwen, T. (1996). Reading Images. The
Grammar of Visual Design. London and New York: Routledge.
- who is currently preparing a paper on the social semiotics of learning UML as a technical discourse, and therefore have recently read some of this stuff... :-)
