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A Semiotic Analysis Of Children's Communication Skills In Story Books For The 5-7 Age group

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Linguistics, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of media studies

3 Department of Linguistics, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University

10.30473/il.2025.73955.1678

Abstract

This study aims to examine the impact of storytelling on the communication skills of children aged 5 to 7 through a semiotic analysis of ten stories from the Berenstain Bears series. The semiotic analysis was conducted using Barthes’ five codes (hermeneutic, proairetic, symbolic, semantic, and cultural). The main research question is: What signs do the selected stories utilize to convey communicative actions? The findings revealed that the proairetic and symbolic codes were the most effective in teaching social behaviors and transmitting communication patterns due to their simple structure and easy comprehension for this age group. Additionally, the study showed that the hermeneutic code, by creating suspense and posing questions, stimulated children's curiosity and analytical thinking; however, due to its complexity, it was less comprehensible for this age group. The semantic code, given its implicit and indirect nature, was also used less frequently. The results highlight the importance of designing stories with accessible, simple, and cognitively appropriate codes for children.

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References
 
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Journal of Sociolinguistics
Volume 8, Issue 3 - Serial Number 31
September 2025
Pages 75-92
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