ABSTRACT
Connotative signification and metalanguage represent two different categories of significant combinations, each of which constructs meaning according to its unique pattern. The construction of a connotative signification is achieved by seeking out certain affinities between the signified 2 and the signifier 1, which can trigger people's associations. The development of this significant relationship is an essential incarnation of the ability of the sign to "use one thing to represent something else." As the context of communication changes, people's intention to construct a "significant correlation" would change, rendering it difficult to achieve an absolute consistency in the referential relationship between the signifier and the signified. The rich diversity of signifiers is embodied in a fact, that is, for a particular signifier, there can be several different signifieds to correspond to it in different social contexts. The social development in China has yielded its distinctive system of signifiers.
