Unit 1

Language as Communication:

Oral and Written Language.

Factors that define communicative situation

Sender, Receiver

Functionality and Context.

1. Introduction

2 . Language as Communication

The Linguistic Sign

Spoken and Written Language

2.2.1 Differences

2.2.2 The relationship between speech and writing

3. Factors defining a Linguistic situation: Sender, receiver, functionality and context.

The roles of the sender and the receiver in a Communicative Ac t.

Types of Communication

Functions of Language

4 . The Negotiation of Meaning

5. Conclusion
1. Introduction

We will begin this unit by first analysing what we mean by language: People often use the word in
a very wide sense; the language of music, body language and so on. f"'~ptJ t However, we will use
the word language to mean the specialised sound signalling system, which seems to be genetically
programmed to develop in humans.

As the human being can communicate in a variety of ways speaking, writing, smiling, using lots of
gestures, body language, etc.) it would be wrong to consider language to be solely oral. For this
reason, we will focus on communication, and whatever form it may take, spoken or written.

2. Language as Communication

Communication is understood as the exchange and negotiation of information between two

Written and Spoken language is the most useful of allthe language codes employed by humans as
a means of transmitting thoughts, feelings, experiences and opinions. It is through language that
man is able to let others know histhoughts and feelings.

We will begin this section by looking at language through linguistic signs.

The Linguistic Sign

For both the speaker and the listener to understand each other, they both have to be in agreement
about which code they are using. When we converse with someone, we in turn code and decode
messages, using linguistic signs with which the contents and forms of each are built, interpreted
and assessed.

The most authoritative work done on linguistic signs was made by Saussure, and for this reason,
we will quote from him. Saussure accepted that there must be two sides t a meaning, the content
and the expression. The names that gave to these concepts were: signifié and significant.

Saussure believed that the relationship between the object, ideas, etc. on one hand, and the
means used to convey them, e.g. language, on the other hand, constituted the meaning. He called
this relationship between the signified and the signifier a Linguistic Sign.

Every language must contain a set of signs, and the sender and the receiver share the code. Then
the ideas can be expressed in a concrete way by means of speech.

We will now go on to provide an examination of spoken and written language.

Spoken and Written Language

It should be immediately apparent that there are great deals of differences between written
andspoken language. It is these differences that we will look at to begin this section.

2.2.1. Differences

The nature of oral communication makes oral discourse contain redundant information.
This comes about as a result of the complexity of a process that forces both the speaker and the
listener to perform highly complex processes under time pressure.

Through this we can see.

Overlappings

Incomplete/ungrammatical utterances

Tags to negotiate intended meaning (er, um, etc)

b. The need for Extra Linguistic Elements

Gestures

Body posture

Eye contact

Facial Expression

The writer has the distinct advantage of being able to read over that which he has written, and so
can remove any mistakes. The speaker does not have this option . The speaker cannot check the
meaning of words in a dictionary, nor can he change what he has already said. He cannot read
over earlier utterances in the conversation in order to refresh his memory about the direction that
the conversation is taking, and, most importantly, he has to keep talking.

The writer does not however have all the advantages. The speaker can tell, simply by observing
his listener, if he is being understood. Eye contact and gestures emphasise a point are unavailable
to the writer.

The speaker also has recourse to the natural rise and fall of the voice. In a stress-timed
language such as English, rhythm and intonation playa vital role in ensuring that the message is
received in the correct way. Although the writer can make use of the rhythm, the all-important
intonation is impossible to reproduce in writing.

The reason for choosing one or the other medium depend upon the type of encounter that is to
take place. For example, a husband would rather speak with his wife face-to face than through a
letter. As valuable as a letter from a loved one is, it does not replace time spent together.
However, the written word, such as a newspaper, gives the reader time to assimilate the
information at his own place - a luxury that is denied to those who watch thetelevised new. A
lettercan be read over and over again, whereas oral language is a temporal medium.
When we come to theworld of business, we find that a mixture of the mediums available carries '
out communication. Phone calls may be made, meetings arranged, letters,faxes or- e-
mailssent.This mixture leads us to the next pointto be discussed:

The relationshipbetweenspeech and writing:

Like speech, written communication is a two-way process which includes the use of other words,
letters or combinations of letters, which relate to the sounds that we make when we speak. On one
level, writing can be said to be the act of forming these symbols, making marks on a flat surface of
some kind. However, writing is clearly much more than the simple production of sounds. These
sounds and symbols have to be arranged to form sentences. Once this has been achieved, then
these sentences, either written or spoken, have to be linked together in order that they form a
coherent whole.

However, one form may be used as a result of the other. Think about a secretary who writes down
a letter that is dictated to her, or a student who takes notes during a lesson. In these instances,
speech is transformed into writing, but it can just as easily happen the other way round, for
example ifwe think about an actor reading his lines, or a teacher reading aloud from a book.

There are many differences between spoken and written language, as well as considerable
amount of connectors . Both styles have their good and bad points, but if we had to give one
reason why written language may, in the long run, be more preferableto spoken language, itwould
be that writing is permanent.
Once you have written something down, you can keep itfor as long as you like, reading the
message repeatedly. Speech, as we said before, is temporal. Once a word has been spoken, it is
gone.

We will now go on to look at some of the factors that define a linguistic situation.

2. Factors defining a linguistic Situation: Sender, Receiver, Functionality and Context.

The first area that we have to think about in this section is the role that is played by both the sender
and the receiver.

3.1 The Roles of the Sender and the Receiver in a Communicative Act.

Let us begin by looking at the following diagram:

We can see thateverything in the communicative act begins with the concept of code.

We are talking about the system of communication that is employed. This can take anyone of a
number of means: linguistic, semaphore, morse, etc. This code is used for sending messages- in
other words the exact information that is relayed. In order for the message to be understood, both
sender who encodes the and receiver who decodes the message must already be familiar with the
code.
If we apply this diagram to language teaching, we can see that an important aim of the teacher is
to teach the code, i.e. the second language. If this is achieved, the learner can both encode
(speak/write) and decode (listen/read) messages in the target language.

When the language learner- either first or second language, comes to communicate with someone
(listener or reader) about events or topics related to his surroundings, we can identify three types
of communication in which he participates. This is the next area that we will examine.

3.2 Types of Communication:

The three types of communication are:

1. One-Way Communication: The message is only receptive. The listener or the reader will
receive the message, but not respond. Listening to tapes, watching videos, reading books or
magazines are all examples ofone-way communication.
2. Restricted Two- Way Communication: This involves the learner responding orally to someone,
but he does not use the target language. The response may be in the learner's native tongue,
or it may involve some kind of non-verbal response such as nodding the head or shrugging the
shoulders.

3.Full Two-WayCommunication: This is when the learners both encodes and decodes messages,
acting as sender and receiver. Language, as a system of communication, has a wide variety of
functions. As speakers we must have the competence to not only produce utterances, but to know
when is the most best moment to use them, according to the different situations that we may find
ourselves in socially.

Functions of Language:

We can use language in a number of different ways. We can use it to start and maintain social
relationships to argue a point, to inform, to express emotions, provide information and so on. There
have been many attempts to categorise the functions of language. According to Jackobson,
language has different functions.
First, look at the diagram:

Let us begin with the addresser. It is at him that the so-called emotive or expressive function is
aimed, as it is a direct expression of the speaker's attitude towards the message.

Often the speaker would wish to alter the thought process or the attitudes of the listener. This
orientation towards the listener is known as the conative function, and is often expressed in the
vocative or imperative. In the developing this function the role of the teacher is crucial. This is
because the teacher who selects who is to speak, and controls the turns in the classroom; e.g.:

Sit down!

Open your books!

The contact or phatic function is related to the prolonging of the conversation

the channel is working, by asking questions such as:

Do you see what I mean?

The metalinguistic function involves the act of passing information about the

code used in the linguistic act ~ Basically is used to refer to language, in a classroom

this may take the form of the ' te~fher informing the class that:

Eat is an irregular verb

The past of is is was

The focus on the message for its own sake is called the poetic function of language. The speaker
is more interested in the way of communicating, rather than that actual communication itself. The
aim is to use stress, intonation, rhythm, and the choice of language in order to make the message
sound as attractive as possible to the listener. Examples of this may be collocations:

King and Queen.

Finally in this section we will talk about the referential function. Otherwise known as context, this is
an important consideration in any language exchange. Both speaker l and the listener must ensure
that the language they are using appropriate for an employee to talk to his boss i n the same tone
that he uses with his friends in the pub. Likewise, the boss would be ill-advised to talk to his wife in
the same manner as he talks to his employees.

It must also remembered the the same message can be interpreted in different ways according to
the context. For example, the sports headline: Manchester United beaten by Barcelona would have
a different meaning for Barcelona fan, who would see it as positive, than for a fan of Manchester
United who would have a different reaction.

Finally, we would like to finish this unit by looking at some of the various ways that are used in the
negotiation of meaning.

4. The Negotiation of Meaning

When non-native speakers interact with native speakers of any language, they often experience a
certain amount of difficulty in making themselves understood. In order that both the addresser and
the addressee are able to understand and be understood, they have to develop a series of non-
verbal signs, gestures and sounds.

The different forms of behaviour include speech acts that in some way negotiate meaning or
maintain conversation by reacting to the proceeding discourse. This can take the following forms.

Clarifying: So what you mean to say is .

Modifying: Let me put that another way .

Repeating: I'll say that again.

Asking for clarification: I’m sorry, could you say that again?
We can also find facial gestures, hand gestures and sounds, such as erm, er, etc. which are all
designed to help the addresser to get his point across, or to help the addressee to show that he
has not followed the message.

Conclusion

As we have seen, communication is a wide ranging and complicated affair. The various factors that
define a communicative situation must all be explored if the student is to become an effective and
competent speaker of English. It is therefore the role of the teacher to ensure that the student has
as much exposure as possible to the roles of the sender and receiver. Doing so at an early point in
the child's education process will help that child to expand upon his knowledge at subsequent
points in his schooling.