 | This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. (August 2023) |
In semiotics and discourse analysis, floating signifiers (also referred to as empty signifiers,[1] although these terms have been made distinct[2]) are signifiers without a referent. The term open signifier is sometimes used as a synonym due to the empty signifier's nature to "resist the constitution of any unitary meaning", enabling its ability to remain open to different meanings in different contexts.[3]
- ^ "Oxford Reference Overview: floating signifier". Oxford University Press.
- ^ Laclau 2005, p. 133.
- ^ Kornak 2015.