At what point does the object actually change the sign or the signification?

Question

e.g.
in china, yellow means sickness and death but then McDonalds is in china and yellow as a strong component... give some examples for similar...what do you guys think?

Answer 1

The point depends upon the culture and religion of the countries concerned. For example, in some countries white is related to death, where as Western society considers black appropriate to death. When countries are forced to adopt the Western culture, as in Japan, for example,you find that the modern generations tend to look at the concepts in a Western fashion. Those countries that are religious based fundamentalists tend to be less likely to adopt modern Western culture. An example of this can be found in Britain with the celebration of Christmas. Where some immigrants are attempting to ban Christian icons being openly displayed in public. The Nativity, for example, has been banned from being on public display in certain Burroughs.
So, I guess the point depends on the religious significance.

Answer 2

if you're referring to it in semiotic terms, it is that different codes or signifiers connote various meanings depending on which country you are in. likewise, the word *** is seen as derogatory and offensive in america, but in britain it is a slang word for cigarette. the sign as you would know is made up of two key components: the signifier- the literal meaning of the object, person, animal etc and the signified- the image or the physical or visual property replicated or represented. a dog is not a dog without both the animal and the word 'dog' present.

as you're talking about colour, other examples i can point out are blue which could connote happiness, tranqulity, peace. on the other hand it could also signify sadness, tears, coldness. red is a very strong and vibrant colour which could symbolise passion, intensity, heat, warmth etc. it could also denote danger and connote romance for instance. blue is seen as a very masculine colour, whilst pink and purple may imply and connote being effeminate and femininity. and this is likewise associated with women and homosexual men in general. though you cannot say that all gay men and straight women prefer pink/purple as their favourite colour. other examples that i can think of, are that green and yellow are seen by some people as representing and signifying illiness and sickness, black denoting misery, unhappiness, dullness, bad, evil and brown as autumn-like and orange as bright, cheerful and upbeat.

hope this helps

Answer 3

I don't know about 'signification', but to Chinese the color red is good luck and green is bad luck. So in Chinatown, the usually painted green lamposts are painted red instead.