{"id":53818,"date":"2026-04-20T15:42:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T15:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/glossary\/sign-value\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T17:23:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T17:23:30","slug":"sign-value","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/glossary\/sign-value\/","title":{"rendered":"Sign value"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond the objective characteristics of a name or object, connotative expression refers to the symbolic dimension of its sign value. For example, owning a car can evoke the presumed resources and perceived social status of its owner. The sign value of a new luxury car differs fundamentally from that of a basic used car, even if their function as a means of transportation remains the same. By exploring this notion of &#8220;sign value,&#8221; sociologist Jean Baudrillard complements the distinction established by economists, such as Adam Smith, who focus on use value, and Marxist economists, such as Karl Marx, who focus on exchange value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A gold fountain pen from the Montblanc brand is first and foremost a writing instrument, thus giving it a use value. This pen also has a retail price, which can be assessed according to other criteria such as the labor time required to acquire it, thus assigning it an exchange value. However, the Montblanc brand&#8217;s renown is associated with a particular prestige, symbolizing a high social status for its owner, thus imbuing the pen with symbolic value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Handwriting, especially when done with a Montblanc pen, possesses such symbolic value that the brand can subtly communicate this dimension, far beyond its simple function of writing. Compared to an email, handwriting with a Montblanc pen conveys a symbolism and symbolic value that transcend its mere utility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beyond the objective characteristics of a name or object, connotative expression refers to the symbolic dimension of its sign value. For example, owning a car can evoke the presumed resources and perceived social status of its owner. The sign value of a new luxury car differs fundamentally from that of a basic used car, even [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"wds_primary_glossary-categories":0,"footnotes":""},"glossary-categories":[83],"glossary-tags":[],"class_list":["post-53818","glossary","type-glossary","status-publish","hentry","glossary-categories-data-analytics-marketing-intelligence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/53818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossary"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/53818\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"glossary-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary-categories?post=53818"},{"taxonomy":"glossary-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary-tags?post=53818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}