Communication and Language: A Comprehensive Guide
Communication and Language
Definition of Communication
Communication is the process of transmitting information from one individual to another. Human communication involves communicative acts where a sender transmits a message through a channel to a receiver.
Key Components of Communication
Referent
The referent is the reality to which the message refers.
Sender
The sender is the person who issues the message.
Expressive Function
This function uses language to externalize the speaker’s moods. Subjectivism predominates.
- Use of first-person grammatical forms.
- Exclamatory modalities.
- Evaluative terms, nicknames, and interjections.
- Verbs of perception, opinion, or desire.
- Alteration of sentence order.
Receiver
The receiver is the person who receives and interprets the message.
Conative or Appellative Function
This function uses language to attract or direct the listener’s attention and influence their actions.
- Use of second-person grammatical forms.
- Hortatory and interrogative forms.
- Calls to attention.
- Subjunctive mood.
- Imperatives and interjections.
Message
The message is the information being conveyed.
Poetic Function
This function uses language to draw attention to itself, often employing literary devices.
Code
The code is the system of signs and rules used to construct the message.
Metalinguistic Function
This function uses language to discuss language itself.
Channel
The channel is the medium through which the message circulates.
Phatic Function
This function uses language to confirm that contact has not been broken between communicators.
Context
Context refers to the circumstances surrounding the message.
- Situation: The specific circumstances surrounding the message; an extralinguistic concept.
- Co-text: The linguistic environment of a sign.
- Context (General): A broader concept encompassing both situation and co-text.
Referential or Representative Function
This function uses language to represent the world objectively, often using declarative statements.
- Dominance of indicative mood.
- Use of evaluative terms.
- Logical sentence order.
Basic Concepts
Language
The inherent ability of living beings to communicate.
Language (Specific)
A system of signs and rules used in a particular community for communication.
Dialect
A particular form of a language used in a specific community.
Local Speech
Speech patterns unique to a particular locality.
Human Language
Verbal language; the ability of humans to communicate through spoken or written words.
Sign
The basic unit of communication; in verbal language, the linguistic sign.
A sign is a sensory event that refers to something else not directly detectable and carries meaning.
Signifier
The sensory element of a sign, associated with a particular concept.
Signified
The concept or meaning evoked by the signifier.
Semiology is the study of signs in social life.
Signs (Artificial)
Signs created by humans for communication.
Symptoms or Natural Signs
Signs that refer to natural phenomena without communicative intent, but still convey information.
Linguistic Signs
Signs that make up the language code.
Language Code
A system of linguistic signs and combination rules used to build messages.
Features of the Linguistic Sign
Arbitrary
There is typically no inherent resemblance between the signifier and the reality it represents.
Linear
Linguistic signs are emitted as a sequence of sounds in time (spoken chain).
Mutable
Language changes over time.
Immutable
Language has its own inherent structure and rules.
Denotation
The literal meaning of a word.
Connotation
The added or implied meaning of a word, often related to feelings, ideas, or cultural events.
Guide to Literary Commentary
Author
Relevant aspects of the author’s background that inform the analysis of the work.
Work
Key information about the work itself, including its title and place within the author’s oeuvre.
Epoch
The literary trend or historical period to which the work belongs.
Genre
The literary genre of the work.
Analysis of Content and Method
- Theme and thematic motifs.
- Relationships between themes.
- Synthesis of the general theme.
- Reasons and arguments.
- Structure and characteristics of the text.
Lexicological Analysis
Monemes
The smallest linguistic units with meaning.
Lexeme
Provides the basic lexical meaning of a word.
Morpheme
Contributes to the grammatical meaning of a word.
Types of Morphemes (by Presentation)
- Bound or dependent morphemes: Attached to other elements of the word.
- Free or independent morphemes: Can stand alone as words.
Types of Morphemes (by Meaning)
- Inflections: Gender, number, and verb endings.
- Derivational morphemes or affixes: Prefixes, infixes, suffixes.
Word
A moneme or a combination of monemes written between spaces, conveying meaning.
Simple Words
Contain a single lexeme and possibly inflectional morphemes.
Derivative Words
Contain a lexeme and one or more derivational morphemes.