The title constitutes the primary threshold of the text and its initial gateway into the reader's consciousness. It is not merely an identifying label or an indicative sign affixed to the forefront of the literary work; rather, it is a condensed linguistic structure, a complex semiotic sign, and a semantic space laden with cultural and ideological connotations. The title has received increasing attention in modern critical studies, which have transcended the traditional view of it as a marginal element, elevating its status to that of a fundamental interpretive key and an organic component inseparable from the text's overall structure. In this context, the novel "Ana wa Hayim" (2018) by Algerian writer Al-Habib Al-Sayah presents a rich model for studying the title as a distinctive sign, owing to its profound semiotic significations and its ideological and cultural connotations that are worthy of analysis and deconstruction. This article aims to conduct an extensive critical study of the title of the novel "Ana wa Hayim," exploring its linguistic and semiotic dimensions. The article will also seek to deconstruct the novel's title as a semiotic sign, revealing its multiple significations and its ideological and cultural connotations, and examining its dialectical relationship with the novel's main text (matn).

Title – Sign – Semiotics – Novel – Al-Habib Al-Sayah.