Its primary uses are to: The initial assumption is that the communication to be analysed represents both a cognitive use of the sign system and a statement that refers to the values of the addresser.
The weakness or strength of its contribution can be calibrated more exactly by placing alternate (synonymous and antonymous) signs in the context.
In textual or pictorial media where individuals are the theme of the content, this might involve a substitution of words that are synonymous, or of imagery parallel in classes representing age, gender, ethnicity, religion, ability, etc.
In visual media generally, substituting different mise en scènes or backgrounds may change the significance of objects or people in the foreground.
A "man" rather than a father or parent randomly striking a baby or girl might be considered sexist and a crime.
If the boy is a pansy which has pejorative connotations of cowardice or homosexuality, the man may be intolerant or overly judgmental but the victim is also presented in a less sympathetic way.
[citation needed] When the signifiers of boy and man are transposed, the relative inequality in strength is also reversed and the interpretation shifts to more playful and less threatening images.
As Roman Jakobson adds, there will also be an emotional element or value which represents the addresser's attitude towards the thing.
Members of a community have a shared memory of language patterns and norms which, for the most part, are stable over long periods of time.
Individuals are therefore able to build up a cognitive framework which identifies the possible meanings from any grouping of signs and selects one considered the most appropriate from the context.
If the responses are obviously inappropriate, the audience will consciously review the thought process and decide whether to modify the framework.