AH 111

P u r p o s i v e
Communication

Karla Jane P. Cabiling, MAEd

NATURE OF LANGUAGE
 WHAT IS
LANGUAGE?
Language is a
symbol system based
on purely arbitrary
conventions, infinitely
extendable and
modifiable according
to the changing needs
and conditions of the
speakers.
/k/ king
Robins (1985) chameleon
culprit
It’s arbitrary in that it’s whatever people say it is — the modern form of
any given language is the result of just whatever generations of
speakers have chosen to say.

There is no absolute right or wrong, there is no better or worse.

Furthermore, it is a system of man-made signs, conventions, rather

than some kind of reflection or imitation of nature.

In English we call a certain small animal a dog, in Swedish it is a hund,

and in Estonian it is a koer. Nothing in any of these words makes one or
the other a better or worse designation for our four-legged friends. In
Old English the animal was called a hund. Its form changed to hound,
and its meaning narrowed to designate a certain kind of dog. None of
this had to happen, but successive generations of English speakers
accepted these changes, and the word dog, originally designating a
certain kind of dog, underwent a widening of meaning to become the
new general term.
Language is the process
whereby humans
communicate and
interact with each other
by means of habitually
used oral-auditory
arbitrary symbols.
Hall (1969)

ü This definition gives

prominence to the fact that
language is primarily
speech.
Language is a set
(finite or infinite) of
sentences, each finite
in length and
constructed out of a
finite set of elements.

Chomsky (1957)

üEach sentence has

a structure.
Language is a
system of arbitrary üLanguage is a system.
vocal symbols used üSounds join to form words
according to a system.
for human
communication.
Wardaugh (1972)

Language is a system of
arbitrary vocal symbols by
means of which a social group
cooperates.
Bloch and Trager (1942)
 SOME
CHARACTERISTICS
of
LANGUAGE
1. Wherever humans exist,
language exists.

2. All languages change

through time.
3. The relationships between
the sounds and meanings
of spoken languages and
between the gestures and
meanings of sign languages
are, for the most part,
arbitrary.
4. Similar grammatical
categories (e.g. noun,
verb, etc.) are found
in all languages.
5. All grammars
contain rules for the
formation of words
and sentences of a
similar kind.
6. Every spoken
language includes
discrete sound
segments that can
all be defined by a
finite set of sound
properties or
features. (Every
spoken language
has a class of
vowels and a class
of consonants.)
7. There are semantic
universals such as “male”
or “female,” “animate” or
“inanimate,” found in
every language in the
world.
8. Language is
primarily
oral.
Ety
Etymology:
Latin, Communis – commonness

• It is a process in which
knowledge, ideas, information,
attitudes and feelings are
transmitted.
 One-way Process
 Two-way Process
 Transactional Process
 ELEMENTS/
COMPONENTS OF
THE
COMMUNICATION
PROCESS
 Sender – source; initiator;
encodes or transforms thoughts
into messages

 Receiver – decodes or
processes; recipient of the
initiated information;
reacts or responds to the
message
• body of information that is transferred
from sender to receiver

• anything that is communicated

• the means of accessing the messages
via the visual channel (light) or via the
auditory channel (sound)
Ø the distractions that interfere with the
accurate transmission and reception of a
message.
q External – sights and sounds
q Internal – biological or
physiological noise within the
communicator
q Semantic – unintentional
meanings caused by certain
symbols, ethnic slurs, profanity
and vulgar speech.
 §signifies verbal and/or nonverbal
responses to messages like
murmurings or asides, nods and or
facial expressions.

ü Shapes the
communication process.
 Ø the interrelated conditions of
communication
Factors Affecting Context:

• Physical milieu
place, time,
environmental
conditions, (temperature,
lighting), distance,
seating arrangements.
Ø the interrelated conditions of
communication
Factors Affecting Context:

• Social milieu
the nature of relationships
existing between or
among the
communicators.
 Ø the interrelated conditions of
communication
Factors Affecting Context:

• Psychological milieu
communicator’s
moods or feelings
 Ø the interrelated conditions of
communication
Factors Affecting Context:

•Cultural milieu
beliefs, values
and norms
shared by a
group of people.
DIAGRAM OF THE
COMMUNICATION
PROCESS
SENDER RECEIVER
SENDER Channel RECEIVER
 Message

SENDER Channel RECEIVER

 Message

SENDER Channel RECEIVER

Feedback
 Interference

Message

SENDER Channel RECEIVER

Feedback
Situation Interference

Message

SENDER Channel RECEIVER

Feedback

Situation
 BARRIERS to
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
§ Lack of ideas
§ Lack of vocabulary
§ Lack of manners
§ Mispronunciations
§ Different meanings
attached to the word
§ Psychological factors
§ Delivery of the message
§ Situation or setting
§ Inhibition
§ Nothing to say
§ Low or uneven
participation
§ Mother tongue use
1. S/he should have the ability
to say the right thing at the
right time and in the right
way.
2. S/he gives others a chance to
talk so that the
communication is a give and
take process.
3. S/he is frank and sincere but
also considerate and tactful.
More
Examples of
Communication
Models