Cultural Code: The Cultural Code refers to anything in the text which refers to an external body of knowledge such as scientific, historical, and cultural knowledge. In the starred reading, the Cultural Code is represented as REF.
Filiation: The act or process of determining the relationship of one thing to another from which it may be said to be descended or derived.
Genre: Of a kind, type, or class; in this case referring to a distinctive type of text.
Hermeneutic Code: The Hermeneutic Code contains anything in the text that is mysterious or unexplained, usually leading to questions which the reader needs answered. In the starred reading, the Hermeneutic Code is represented as HER.
Lexia: Barthes describes lexias as “blocks of signification” and “units of reading” (S/Z 13). Lexias are the smaller sections of a larger, master text. Each lexia will contain one of more meanings corresponding to the Five Codes.
Method: A special form of procedure adopted in any branch of mental activity, whether for the purpose of teaching and exposition, or for that of investigation and inquiry.
Plurality: The fact or condition of denoting, comprising, or consisting of more than one; plural meaning.
Proairetic Code: The Proairetic Code contains sequential elements of action in the text. Like the Hermeneutic code, Proairetic elements add suspense to the text. In the starred reading, the Proairetic Code is represented as ACT.
Semantic Code: The Semantic Code refers to elements of the text that carry referential, extra-literal meaning. Elements of the Semantic Code are called Semes. In the starred reading, the Semantic Code is represented as SEM.
Seme: A seme is an element of the Semantic Code. The seme has a connotative function in the text. It has an extra layer of meaning in addition to its literal meaning.
Sign: The sign is derived from the relationship between the signifier and the signified.
Signified: That part of a sign which is stood for by the signifier.
Signifier: The material part of a sign that stands for the signified.
Starred Reading: Once the master text has been divided into lexias, the reader identifies which of the five codes is represented in each lexia and provides a short explanation for how the code is manifested.
Symbolic Code: The Symbolic code refers to organized systems of semes. When two connotative elements are placed in opposition or brought together by the narrator, they form an element of the Symbolic Code. In the starred reading, the Symbolic Code is represented as SYM.