Elements of Communication and Language Functions
Elements of Communication
The elements of communication are:
- Issuer: The person who communicates something to others.
- Receiver: The person who receives the message through the channel and interprets it.
- Message: The information that the sender sends the receiver.
- Channel: The physical element that establishes the connection between sender and receiver.
- Code: A set of signs that has rules.
- Context: The relationship established between the words of a message.
- Location: The location, which helps us interpret the message.
Functions of Language
The functions of language are:
- Emotional/Expressive: Expresses feelings and emotions of the sender.
- Representative: Informs content (message).
- Conative/Appellative: Focuses on the receiver.
- Poetic/Aesthetic: Expresses a given message code.
- Phatic/Contact: Ensures that the communication channel is established.
- Metalinguistic: Focuses on the code itself.
Relationship Between Communication Elements and Language Functions
- Expressive Function: Issuer
- Representative Function: Message
- Appellative Function: Receiver
- Poetic Function: Code
- Phatic Function: Channel
- Metalinguistic Function: Code
Semiotics
Semiotics is the science of signs. Types of signs include:
- Indices: External natural signs (e.g., smoke).
- Icons: Signs whose shape resembles the reality they represent (e.g., road signs).
- Symbols: Signs in which the relationship between the sign and its meaning is arbitrary, the result of an agreement (e.g., words, flags).
Linguistic Signs
Linguistic signs are the words we speak, hear, write, or read. Features include:
- Arbitrary: The relationship between the signified (concept) and the signifier (word) is arbitrary.
- Linearity: The elements of each sign are developed in a time sequence.
- Mutable: The sign can change over time.
Moneme
A moneme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language.
- Signifier: The sequence of sounds (phonemes) that make up a particular word.
- Signified: The mental concept or idea we have when we hear or express the signifier.
Phonetics and Phonology
Phonics: The mental image of sounds.
Phonology: The study of the sound system of a language.
Systematic and Unsystematic Codes
Systematic codes: Those that use a system or code (e.g., traffic lights).
Unsystematic codes: Those without a code or system (e.g., a painting).
Language and Speech
Language is a social system of signs, while speech is the individual use of that system.
Levels of Language Organization
- Phonological: Studies the sounds of language.
- Morphological: Studies the formation of words.
- Syntactic: Studies the arrangement of words in phrases and sentences.
- Lexical-Semantic: Studies the meaning of words and phrases.
Recursion and Compositionality
Recursion: The ability to embed phrases within phrases indefinitely.
Compositionality: The meaning of a complex expression is determined by the meanings of its parts and how they are combined.
Linguistic Pragmatics
Linguistic pragmatics studies how context influences meaning.
- Reference: How a speaker refers to things in the world.
- Inference: How a listener interprets the speaker’s meaning.
Linguistic Diversity
Linguistic diversity refers to the variations within a language. Types include social, professional, regional, and age-related varieties.
Historical and Social Varieties
- Diatopic: Regional dialects.
- Diachronic: Changes in language over time.
- Diastratic: Social dialects (sociolects).
- Diaphasic: Registers or styles of language.
Social and Cultural Levels of Language
- Cultured Code: Uses a wide range of grammatical resources.
- Vulgar/Restricted Code: Limited vocabulary and grammatical errors.
Slang and Jargon
- Slang: Used by a small group, often outside the mainstream.
- Jargon: Specific vocabulary of a profession.
Individual Varieties and Registers
Individual speech is influenced by location, education, culture, etc. Registers include:
- Colloquial: Informal, used with family and friends.
- Formal: Used in formal situations.