Everyday reality is filled with signs and symbols. Both have an important semantic load. But not everyone will be able to answer the question of how a sign differs from a symbol. Let's try to figure it out.
Definition
Sign is an image (gesture, action), which means any specific thought.
The symbol is a thing, image or other, which is assigned a special deep meaning, only indirectly related to the immediate content visible.
Comparison
The subjects discussed play an important role in human communication. And the difference between a sign and a symbol is, first of all, in the ratio of the visual image and what is hidden under it. The sign directly indicates something. For example, a finger near closed lips clearly expresses a request to remain silent, and looking at the image of a crossed out iron on the label, everyone will understand that such a thing cannot be ironed.
Sometimes it is difficult to guess how this or that sign is interpreted - you just need to find out and remember. But in any case, such images are very specific. Signs often permit, prohibit, or are warning signs.
The symbol serves to detect that which does not lie on the surface. He does not point directly to any subject, but is an abstraction. Here, an artistic image plays a key role, embodying an idea, an experience, or, for example, an idea of a profession, a direction of art. Something can be symbolized by colors (white- innocence), figures (circle- eternity), images of animals (lion- strength, greatness). The coat of arms and the flag are also symbols.
The sign is usually straightforward. The easier it is to decipher, the more convenient it is to use such a tool. The symbol, on the other hand, is rich in content. This is a kind of riddle, to understand which you need to be able to think. In addition, a symbol, as opposed to a sign, can be interpreted in several ways. For example, green is associated with pacification, tranquility, harmony, freshness, youth, renewal.
What is the difference between a sign and a symbol yet? The fact that signs often form whole systems. Symbols, as a rule, "prefer" a separate existence. It is also noteworthy that in science the concepts under consideration are in synonymous relations. The display of quantities, abbreviations, etc. can be called both a sign and a symbol.
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