Communication:

“Communication is the mutual exchange of information in the form of facts, opinions,

experiences and emotions expressed through our behavior by using various media such as
phonetics, orthographics and kinesics.
Tools of communication:
There are two types of tools of communications:
1). Verbal language
2). Non verbal language
Verbal language:
Verbal language is that language which is based on words. It has further four components:

Verbal
language

Pronunciations Grammar Semantics Pragmatics

Pronunciations:
The act or manner of speaking a word especially in a way that is accepted or generally
understood. It is the production, transmission and comprehension of a sound produced. It is
the first and foremost symbol of language. It is divided into two categories:
1). Phonetics:
Phonetics is concerned with the production, transmission and comprehension of a sound
produced in any language. Phonetics comprises the study of the sound of human speech.
2). Phonology:
Phonology is concerned with the production, transmission and comprehension of a sound in
any one particular language. Phonology is the study of the sound patterns of language. It is
concerned with how sounds are organized in a language.
Phoneme:
Phoneme is the smallest unit of sound. In English language, there are 44 phonemes of which
24 are consonants and 20 are vowels. In Urdu language, 56 phonemes are present of which 36
are consonants and 20 are vowels. Obstruction is caused while pronouncing consonants
whereas vowels are pronounced without any friction or obstruction.
Syllable:
Syllable is a combination of phonemes produced in a single chest pulse. A word may contain
one or more syllables. e.g. There is one syllable in cat, two in forget, three in complement etc.
Stress:
Stress is the prominence which the speaker gives to a certain syllable in a word. The stressed
syllable has a higher pitch, takes a longer time and is uttered with a greater strength than a non
stressed syllable. If the stressed syllable is changed, then the meaning of the word can change.
Stress marks are shown in dictionaries to help understand the stressed word. E.g. in present, if
the stress is on “pre” then it means existing or occurring now but if the stress is on “sent” then
it means to give formally or ceremonially.
Intonation:
The rise and fall of the voice in speaking is called intonation.
Grammar:
The whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as
consisting of syntax and morphology.
Morphology:
Morphology is the grammar of word. It is the study of word formation and structure. It
studies how words are put together from their smaller parts and the rules governing this
process. Morpheme is the smallest unit of grammar. Suffix is a morpheme added at the end of a
firm to form a derivative. E.g. “able” in comfortable. Prefix is the morpheme that is added at
the start of a word to form a derivative e.g. “un” in uncomfortable. The word to which a prefix
or suffix is added is called a base or headword. Similarly, many other words are combined to
form new words e.g. smoke+fog =smog.
Syntax:
Syntax is the grammar of sentence. Syntax is the study of sentence structure. It attempts to
describe what is grammatical in a particular language in terms of rules. Following are some
structures of English sentences:
1). Subject + verb e.g. She smiles.
2). Subject + verb + adverb e.g. she smiles beautifully.
3). Subject + verb + object e.g. she killed the enemy.
4). Subject + verb + object + adverb e.g. she killed the enemy brutally.
5). Subject+ verb + object + object e.g. she brought me water.
6). Subject + verb + object + object + adverb e.g. she brought me a glass of water to drink.
Semantics:
Semantic deals with the sentence meaning. It is concerned with describing how we represent
the meaning of a word in our mind and how we use this representation in constructing
sentences. It is further divided into lexis and discourse.
Lexis:
Lexis means total word stock having items of lexical rather than grammatical meaning.
Denotation: literal meaning
e.g. “terrorists are killing people” here killing is used in its literal meaning.
Annotation: explanatory meaning
Connotation: metaphorical meaning
Implication: inferred meaning
e.g. “she has killing eyes” here inferred meanings are used.
Discourse:
It is the meaning that is woven into the structure of the sentence. E.g.
He rolled up the carpet.
He rolled the carpet up.
In the previous sentences, by changing the position of the words, the sentence meaning is
changed. In the first sentence, the subject folded the carpet whereas in the second sentence,
the subject folded the carpet and displaced it somewhere else.
Pragmatics:
Pragmatics deals with the speaker’s meanings and it is beyond the structure of the sentence.
It is the study of the contextual meaning and depends on place and person. One structure can
have many meanings and different structures can also have one meaning. The message is called
function and the structure is called form. There is no one to one relationship between language
form and language function. One form can have many functions and one function can have
many forms. E.g.
You are going to Lahore tomorrow
This form can have many functions according to the context. It can be a question, threat,
order or information. Similarly one function can have many forms. E.g.
1). Open the door
2). Could you open the door please?
3). Would you mind opening the door please?
4). I wonder if you could open the door please?
5). Don’t you feel suffocation?
Here all forms give the same message but the forms change according to context.
Factors necessary in order to know the real meaning of the speaker:
There are 6 factors necessary for the correct interpretation of the speakers meaning:
1). Knowledge of the usage of language:
here usage means as the language exists in grammatical books.
2). Knowledge of the use of language:
here use means how a language is practically used in a society.
3) Knowledge of the world in general:
the general facts and practices should also be known. E.g.
A: are you coming to the party tonight?
B: I’m having exams tomorrow.
A: okay.
In this conversation, the person B is not clearly declining the offer of person A but it is
common information that one do not go to parties one night before exams.
4). Physical context of conversation:
the time and place also affects the meaning of the speaker.
5). Relationship between interlocutors:
relationship between the people involved in the conversation also affects the meaning of the
sentence.
6). The actual performance of the act:
the performance of the act on the spot is also important in determining the meaning of the
speaker. Atkins proposed that when you converse, you perform three acts:
a). locutionary acts: act of saying something
b). Illocutionary acts: social act or act of informing, warning, advising, inviting, threatening
etc.
c). Perlocutionary acts: the actual response of the receiver. This response of the receiver tells if
the message has been communicated or not.