ABSTRACT
According to C. S. Pierce (1977), there are three basic kinds of signs. ‘Icons’ have a physical resemblance to what they signify. ‘Indices’ have a causal relationship to what they signify. ‘Symbols’ have an arbitrary relationship to what they signify. The symbol, which to Pierce is the proper sign, is distinct from an icon or an index in having no intrinsic meaning. Without explanation, the uninitiated will know nothing of what it signifies.
