受益于交际、认知和载蓄三种功能 ,符号成为人们关注的焦点。作为研究符号的科学学科 ,符号学的构拟肇始于德·索绪尔的学术活动 ,并且从语言符号扩展到时装、电影、身势语等。综观符号学的历史发展进程和当今态势 ,其核心有二。一是语言符号 ,二是所指。本文旨在回溯前人研究成果的基础上 ,从能指切入 ,研究身势语。研究表明 ,身势语不是什么“副语言” ,而是与自然语言平行发展的符号系统 ;其能指不是“音响形象”、“文字字形” ,而是以人身体为支撑的动作、姿势或面部表情 ;从“音响形象” ,经过“文字” ,到身势 ,符号的能指呈现出扩张态势 Benefit from the three functions of communication, cognition and memory, symbols become the focus of attention. As a scientific discipline of research symbols, the construction of semiology started with the academic activities of De Saussure and extended from the linguistic signs to fashion, movies, body language and so on. Looking at the historical development of semiology and the current situation, its core is twofold. First, the language symbol, the second is referring to. The purpose of this paper is to trace back the achievements of previous researches, from the means of fingering, to study the body language. The research shows that the body language is not a “sublanguage” but a sign system that develops in parallel with the natural language. Its signifier is not a “sound image” or a “text font” but a body-supported action or gesture or Facial expressions; from the “audio image”, through the “text” to the body, the sign of the sign shows an expansion trend