Semiotics and the Memory of Objects: An Evaluation of Serdar Somuncu’s Getrennte Rechnungen in the Context of connotative Signifier
Ayşegül Aycan SolakerObjects, as signs, are included in the set of signifiers and carry meaning. Signs can convey their own meaning, but sometimes they also have a deeper meaning waiting to be interpreted. The meaning that the subject attributes to the object that surrounds him/her creates a social and cultural memory of the object, and the society and cultural level to which the subject belongs plays an important role in understanding and interpreting the sign. However the ground of experience and memory of the subject towards objects can also constitute an indicator of the deep meaning it gives to objects. At this point, the French semiotician Roland Barthes underlines that one should endeavor to find out what the semiotic signifiers of objects might be, otherwise the object will not be meaningful by definition. Interested in objects in the context of memory, Jan Assmann argues that the subject coexists with the things that surround it, from everyday utensils to towns, roads to vehicles, and emphasizes that the world of objects in which the subject lives has a time signifier that points not only to the present but also to its past. Considering that the signifiers of literary texts in particular can contain multiple meanings, it shouldn’t be ignored that every text needs a second process and that this process is interpretation. In this context, the aim of the study is to analyze the memory of objects in Getrennte Rechnungen in the context of the connotation with reference to Roland Barthes.
Göstergebilim ve Nesnelerin Hafızası: Serdar Somuncu’nun Getrennte Rechnungen (Ayrı Hesaplar) Adlı Eserinin Yananlam Gösterenleri Bağlamında Değerlendirimi
Ayşegül Aycan SolakerNesneler, gösterge olarak gösterenler kümesi içerisinde yer almakta ve anlam taşımaktadır. Göstergeler, zaman zaman kendi anlamlarını aktarabilecekleri gibi kimi zaman da anlaşılmayı ve yorumlanmayı bekleyen derin anlama da sahiptir. Bu esnada ise öznenin kendisini çevreleyen nesneye yüklediği anlam, toplumsal ve kültürel olarak bir eşya hafızası oluşturmakta ve öznenin ait olduğu toplum ve kültürel düzeyi, göstergeyi anlaması ve yorumlayabilmesi için önemli bir rol oynamaktadır. Fakat diğer yandan öznenin nesnelere karşı oluşturduğu tecrübe zemini ve hafızası da nesnelere verdiği derin anlamın bir göstergesini oluşturabilmektedir. Bu noktada Fransız göstergebilimci Roland Barthes, nesnelerin yananlam gösterenlerinin neler olabileceğine dair bir uğraş içerisine girilmesi gerektiğinin, aksi takdirde nesnenin tanım olarak anlam vermeyeceğinin altını çizmektedir. Jan Assmann, bellek bağlamında nesneler ile ilgilenerek öznenin günlük gereçlerden kasabalara, yollardan taşıtlara kadar kendisini çevreleyen şeylerle birlikte var olduğunu belirtmektedir ve öznenin içinde yaşadığı nesneler dünyasının, sadece şimdiki zamana değil, aynı zamanda geçmişine de işaret eden bir zaman göstergesine sahip olduğunu vurgulamaktadır. Dolayısıyla eşyaların daha doğrusu nesnelerin öznenin sadece bugününün göstereni değil, aynı zamanda geçmişiyle de irtibatlı bilgi veren ve yorumlanabilen gösterenler olduğu söylenebilmektedir. Özellikle edebi metinlerde yer alan gösterenlerin çoğul anlamlar içerebileceği göz önünde tutularak her metnin ikinci bir işleme ihtiyacı olduğu ve söz konusu işlemin yorum gerektirdiği bilinmelidir, zira bir gösterge üzerinden elde edilen yorum, aslında göstergeleri başka göstergeler ile yeniden açıklamamıza olanak sağlayan anlamlar alanında yer almakta ve dolayısıyla anlamlar yeniden üretilebilmektedir. Bu bağlamda çalışmanın amacı, yazarın hayatını yansıtan Getrennte Rechnungen (Ayrı Hesaplar) adlı eserindeki hafıza nesnelerinin Roland Barthes’a referansla yananlamsal gösterenler bağlamında incelenmesidir.
Roland Barthes is one of the first names that come to mind when it comes to semiotics and has contributed to the fields of structuralism, semiotics, post-structuralism and cultural studies with his works. Barthes, who also touches upon the issues of work and text among his works, states that the work is symbolic and that what is symbolic is the multiplicity of meaning. According to Barthes, the text is an act that is reconstituted in every reading.
Objects are signs and carry meaning. The meaning that the subject attributes to the object can be social and cultural. But at the same time, the subject’s experiences and memory also play a major role in the meaning he/she gives to objects. In this way, objects can form the basis for a deeper meaning. In this context, Barthes states that in order for objects to be fully understood, an endeavour and effort should be made to find out what the connotative indicators of objects might be, and for this purpose, he puts forward two concepts under the name of signification: denotation und connotation. While denotation consists of the signifier, connotation is connected with the subjective meanings and interpretations of the signifier.
Jan Assmann deals with objects in the context of memory. He talks about the memory of things, emphasising that it shouldn’t be ignored that the subject exists with the objects and things that surround it. Because the subject is in the sings that give information about the present and past of the subject, from daily utensils to roads and vehicles, and all of these can be referred to as the memory of the objects.
Linguist Roland Barthes doesn’t define a text as an object or structure with the same meaning. According to Barthes, a text is an act of structuring and rewriting that is reconstituted in every reading. In addition, Barthes focuses on meaning in his semiotic theory and argues that even if objects or behaviors contain meaning, meaning isn’t fully realized unless it is confirmed by a linguistic message and it is necessary to keep open the conceptualization of semiotics as the field of literature or as a different object field, because the literature has its own universe of meaning consisting of signs and can’t be isolated from semiotics in this respect. Especially considering that the signifiers of literary texts can contain multiple meanings, it should be known that every text needs a second process and that this process is interpretation, since the interpretation obtained through a sign is actually located in the field of meanings that allows us to re-explain signs with other signs, and thus meanings can be reproduced.
Born in 1968 in Istanbul, Serdar Somuncu migrated to Germany with his family at the age of two and is a well-known author and Turkish-German cabaret performer. He also speaks about Le Pen, Beate Zschäpe and Thilo Sarrazin and includes them in his works. In his "Getrennte Rechnungen" the author presents his own inner journeys and life experiences. While he was experiencing the values of both cultures as the child of an immigrant family in Germany, it is understood that he distanced himself from the meaning of the objects by attributing special meanings to the objects around him. The author, who attributes special meaning to the objects around him based on what he experiences in his inner world, allows the objects in the text to be analyzed in the context of the connotative meaning. In this context, the aim of the study is to analyze the author’s work "Getrennte Rechnungen" in the context of connotation with reference to Roland Barthes.
