Sender and recipient
In this semiotic construction, it is not merely a question of that which the interpreter interpreted but also of who re-interprets?
In this construction there are two parties acting in a dialogue with each other and on the strength of the toy’s sign:
the sender - who makes the toy
the recipient/consumer - who plays with it.
The two interpreters are in reality several/many but in this construction we will refer to them as if they were two individuals.
The sender usually consists of an entire group: ideas men, planners, designers, product developers, marketing people and agents.
The recipients/consumers are not only the person or persons-at-play but equally importantly parents, pedagogues, teachers, agents, etc. All these parties have to be considered individual personalities, each with his/her own abilities, pre-dispositions, possibilities and needs. What they have in common is that they have something to do with the toy on the basis of subjective assumptions, which can be analysed and classified.
Both sender and recipient (understood as each individual person who is part of the construction) are determined by a personal lifestyle paradigm.
Education is the foundation for the person’s life style potential but gender, job and work situation are also contributory factors. Interests/hobbies and parental life situation (which are particularly important for the choice of toys for younger children), ecology and the way in which the individual sees the future are all important factors. These will be covered in more detail in Parts III and IV.
Communicative problems in interpreting toys’ referential and code aspects between sender and recipient are generally interesting - and difficult!
