Un système de signaux maritimes: Saussure’s Example of a Visual Code

Saussure regarded nautical flag signalling codes as a prime example of semiological systems. They have something in common with language (e.g., the principle of arbitrariness) but also some distinctive features (for instance, visual signifiers are unlike auditory ones in being able to deploy different features at the same time, such as shape and colour). The best-known example is the International Code of Signals (ICS). The system as it was during Saussure’s lifetime is explained with reference to his scattered observations, such as that a signal flag is merely “ un morceau d’étoffe ” until it is brought into use according to the prescriptions of the code shared by its users. Some commentators at the time envisaged this form of visual communication as a “universal language”. However, it is based on a restricted code, lacking the semantic universality of natural language. Each flag represents a letter, and combinations of flags represent predefined wordings in a “code book”. Such visual codes therefore depend on the prior existence of natural languages into and out of which they can be translated.