Understanding Communication: Elements, Codes, and Functions
Elements of Communication
- Referent: The factual or conceptual material on which the message is based.
- Issuer: The initial element of the process that produces a message. It is identified with the speaker or writer in verbal communication.
- Receiver: The final element of the process that interprets the message. This is the listener or reader in verbal communication.
- Channel: The physical medium of transmission, which determines the nature of the signals that are transmitted. Types include oral, visual, tactile, etc.
- Message: A sign or set of signs composed by the sender according to a code.
- Situation and Context: These two concepts refer to the physical, cultural, and purely linguistic environment in which the message is emitted and received.
- Feedback: Information from the receiver in response to the received message, influencing the subsequent behavior of the original issuer.
Semiological Codes
An interrelated set of signs (e.g., red). They can be routine, with fixed units (e.g., traffic signals), or unsystematic, without fixed units (e.g., artistic expressions).
Nonverbal Language
A form of communication that does not use words but accompanies verbal processes.
Functions of Language
Applications that can be given to language:
- Representative or Referential Function (associated with the referent): The issuer indicates an objective fact without expressing their feelings or trying to provoke a reaction in the recipient.
- Emotional or Expressive Function (associated with the issuer): The message reflects the attitude of the speaker, their emotions, opinions, and perceptions.
- Appellate or Conative Function (related to the receiver): The transmitter draws attention to the receiver or wants to act on their behavior.
- Phatic Function (associated with the channel): It occurs when we use language to maintain or establish contact.
- Metalinguistic Function (associated with the code): It occurs when we use language to talk about language itself.
- Poetic or Aesthetic Function (associated with the message): The message plays a poetic role when its purpose is to draw attention to itself, to how things are said.
Varieties of Language
A person varies their speech according to the situation. It depends on:
- The cultural level of the speaker.
- The communicative situation.
- The place of origin.
The Standard Language
In every language, there is a concern to establish a standard that contains the various forms of speech actually used by the community and to reject the wrong, vulgar, or neglected forms. For Spanish, the standard is set by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE).
Cultural Variations
These depend on the degree of training of the speakers:
- The Cultured Level: Characterized by varied and consistent use of syntactic structures and lexical richness.
- The Average Level: Speakers have not reached the maximum level of verbal precision (because they do not need to).
- The Vulgar Level: Renowned for the presence of slang in the text.
The greater the culture of the speaker, the greater their ability to adapt to different registers.
Bilingualism and Diglossia
- Bilingualism: The coexistence of two or more languages in an individual or a community.
- Diglossia: A situation of linguistic diversity where languages create not just linguistic conflicts but also social ones.