Aberrant Decoding and Its Linguistic Expression (An Attempt to Restore the Original Concept)

The terminological phrase aberrant decoding and its related concept were launched by Umberto Eco in a study on semiotics regarding television. Originally published in Italian in 1965, the study was later translated and published in English in 1972. Since then, the term aberrant decoding (in ital.: decodifica aberrante) has circulated and been taken over especially by communication sciences. One of those who have greatly contributed to the spread of the term/concept in question was John Fiske, a prominent Anglo-Saxon specialist in communication and a great promoter of Communication and Cultural Studies. Undoubtedly, the concept of «aberrant decoding» has proven itself useful in intercultural communication, a subject on the rise nowadays. However, we have found that (due to J. Fiske, mainly) the concept in question is applied in a reductionist manner, the linguistic/verbal component being neglected (or even ignored) in this case. Nevertheless, as we shall see, this was not U. Eco's intention. In this study, we aim at re-evaluating the concept of «aberrant decoding» behind the term aberrant decoding, trying to restore its original meaning and define it more precisely. At the same time, we will try to prove the fact that linguistic aberrant decoding also appears in the case of terminologies and ideologies when they are expressed in a discourse.