The Language of Consumer Society: Communicative Role of Thing

In this paper an attempt is made to examine the function of things in today's consumer society with its specific language objectified in everyday consumer practices. The main idea of consumption today is not to satisfy material needs, but to establish and maintain cultural exchange. Things in modern society are considered to be a new instrument of communication with its specific norms and codes. The authors consider the language of things on the macro- and micro-levels, projecting it onto the norms and rules of the natural language. In spite of the total illusion of abundance of goods in consumer society people are not free in their choice, use and combination of things, as the structure of the consumer society's language (like that of the natural language) determines the structure of thinking. This paper reveals the smallest parts of the language of things (graphemes in the natural language) with examples of small parts of things that can give the whole information about the thing. Brands play a decisive role in the processes of choosing, buying and amassing things.