Unit 1: Complexities of defining communication Flashcards
What are the characteristics of language?
Language is made up of units
What is a phoneme?
In speech, it is the smallest unit of sound that can distinguish two words. Eg. B in bat Chang to s in sat
What is a morpheme?
The smallest meaning full unit. A morpheme is phonemes linked together …the smallest until that convey meaning.
Language can be expressed by different mediums.
Speech or writing. With sign language having its own distinct characteristics.
What is a phrase?
A group of words that form a larger unit but don’t make up a sentence of their own.
Eg. her expensive new car
What is a clause?
A group of words that form a syntactic unit, with a subject and a verb. Eg. Her expensive new car broke down unexpectedly where her expensive new car is the subject and broke down is the verb.
What is a sentence?
It is made up of one or more clauses.
What is phonetics?
The study of the properties of speech sounds, eg. Ooo, ooh, uhh or clip/flop noises. Independent of language…..sounds
What is phonology?
A study or investigation of the role of sounds in language.
What is IPA?
International Phonetic Alphabet
Why is language systematic?
The meaning of a language is dependant on units being arranged in a particular systematic way, according to a set of rules.
What are the common rules for spoken language?
1 :phonological rules……which sound appears in which position in a word.
2:syntactic rules determine which words can appear in which arrangements in a sentence.
What is the relationship between a word and its meaning?
Arbitrary
What does arbitrary mean?
There is no iconic or natural connection between a word (signifier) and its meaning (the signified) or object it signifies.
Eg chair….no shape or sound with word makes you automatically connect to the concept of a piece of furniture used for sitting.
Language then is a system of arbitrary ……?
Signs
Language can be expressed through different mediums for example….
Set……
I set fire to the building
The jelly is set
Game, set and match
What is the dictionary definition of a word, explicit or direct meaning?
Denotation
What is a connotation?
The second, possible or likely meaning or sometimes what we may think.
Eg. HOME , Denotation is a place where people live. Connotation could suggest, privacy, intimacy,warmth, security.
How can language be creative?
Noam Chomsky observed: knowing a language means knowing a finite set of rules for producing an infinite number of sentences
What does it mean to say language is productive?
We draw upon the rules of our language to create any number of novel (unusual) structures. Eg. Hey, look , a green computer just flew past the window!
How can language be culturally transmitted?
Evidence suggests that language is not instinctive or innate but that it is learned by exposure to others.
Innate= existing at birth.
Again Noam Chomsky suggests the human mind is somehow programmed to acquire and use language….any language, whichever an infant is exposed to.
What distinguishes human language from animal forms of communication?
Displacement
What is displacement?
Being able to talk about objects ,me vents or ideas that are outside of the here-and-now….eg. What would you do if you won the lottery?
What is communication?
Difficult to define, communicative patterns, processes and interactions.
Considered a human phenomenon, the fact we give names to our children, animals, new products….what is the term given to the process.
Naming
What is metalinguistics?
Metalinguistics is a way to talk about language. It is the idea of duality or our ability to talk about language
Language is recognised as special why?
#1 Christian creation.....God created the animals gave them to Adam who named them all. #2 Mayan.......the creators told the birds and animals, talk and scream according to your kind. They could not speak as humans to hail the creator ...so were punished and their flesh has been eaten by man!
Reasons for diversity of languages are
Comparison of words from languages like French, Portuguese, Spanish have evolved from a parent language LATIN.
What is the key to humans developing language?
BIPEDALISM….or walking on two feet in an upright posture. The upright posture along with use of tools increased mans neurological structure.
What is the linear model of communication?
Sender ——————message————–>receiver
This is too simplified as messages are not transmitted head to head
Shannon-Weaver model::::: next step see next question.
What is the Shannon-Weaver model?
Signal
Information source——>transmitter——>receiver—–>destination
Noise source.
Internal noise …eg. Attitudes, expectations
External noise …eg. Cars, music, other voices
Internal or external noise can alter the message transmission
Which ways can culture effect communication or act as a noise?
It can effect or interfere with communication due to different ways of thinking, traditions, beliefs etc
In communication, who is the sender and who is the receiver?
The speaker is the sender and the hearer is the receiver
Explain the contextual model of communication
CONTEXT..time, location, topic, etc
CHANNEL
Encoding. Decoding
Sender——————-message——————-receiver
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Noise
The context of the communication effects the exchange and the possible ‘noise’ or factors affecting the interpretation of the message.
