Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of
information
Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...
. The term may also refer to the
message
A message is a discrete unit of communication intended by the source for consumption by some recipient or group of recipients. A message may be delivered by various means, including courier, telegraphy, carrier pigeon and electronic bus.
A ...
communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquiry studying them. There are many disagreements about its precise
definition
A definition is a statement of the meaning of a term (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols). Definitions can be classified into two large categories: intensional definitions (which try to give the sense of a term), and extensional definitio ...
. John Peters argues that the difficulty of defining communication emerges from the fact that communication is both a
universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
phenomenon and a
specific discipline of institutional academic study. One definitional strategy involves limiting what can be included in the category of communication (for example, requiring a "conscious intent" to persuade). By this logic, one possible definition of communication is the act of developing
meaning among
entities
An entity is something that exists as itself, as a subject or as an object, actually or potentially, concretely or abstractly, physically or not. It need not be of material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually ...
or
groups
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
through the use of sufficiently mutually understood
sign
A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...
s,
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
s, and
semiotic
Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...
conventions.
An important distinction is between verbal communication, which happens through the use of a language, and
non-verbal communication
Nonverbal communication (NVC) is the transmission of messages or signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture, and body language. It includes the use of social cues, kinesics, distance ( prox ...
, for example, through gestures or facial expressions. Models of communication try to provide a detailed explanation of the different steps and entities involved. An influential model is given by
Claude Shannon
Claude Elwood Shannon (April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001) was an American people, American mathematician, electrical engineering, electrical engineer, and cryptography, cryptographer known as a "father of information theory".
As a 21-year-o ...
and
Warren Weaver
Warren Weaver (July 17, 1894 – November 24, 1978) was an American scientist, mathematician, and science administrator. He is widely recognized as one of the pioneers of machine translation and as an important figure in creating support for scien ...
, who argue that communicative
motivation
Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...
prompts the sender to compose a message, which is then encoded and transmitted. Once it has reached its destination, it is decoded and interpreted by the receiver. Communication is studied in various fields.
Information theory
Information theory is the scientific study of the quantification (science), quantification, computer data storage, storage, and telecommunication, communication of information. The field was originally established by the works of Harry Nyquist a ...
investigates the quantification, storage, and communication of information in general.
Communication studies
Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differen ...
is concerned with human communication, while the
science of biocommunication is interested in any form of communication between living organisms.
Communication can be realized
visually (through images and
written
Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols.
Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...
language) and through
auditory,
tactile
Tactile may refer to:
* Tactile, related to the sense of touch
* Haptics (disambiguation)
* Tactile (device), a text-to-braille translation device
See also
* Tangibility, in law
* Somatosensory system, where sensations are processed
* CD96
CD ...
/
haptic (e.g.
Braille
Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...
or other physical means),
olfactory
The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste.
In humans, it ...
,
electromagnetic
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...
, or
biochemical
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology an ...
means (or any combination thereof). Human communication is unique in its extensive use of
abstract language.
Definitions
Communication is usually understood as the transmission of information.
In this regard, a
message
A message is a discrete unit of communication intended by the source for consumption by some recipient or group of recipients. A message may be delivered by various means, including courier, telegraphy, carrier pigeon and electronic bus.
A ...
is conveyed from a sender to a receiver using some form of medium, such as sound, paper, bodily movements, or electricity.
In a different sense, the term "communication" can also refer just to the message that is being communicated or to the
field of inquiry studying such transmissions.
There is a lot of disagreement concerning the precise characterization of communication and various scholars have raised doubts that any single definition can capture the term accurately. These difficulties come from the fact that the term is applied to diverse phenomena in different contexts, often with slightly different meanings.
Despite these problems, the question of the right definition is of great theoretical importance since it affects the research process on all levels. This includes issues like which
empirical phenomena are observed, how they are categorized, which
hypotheses
A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obser ...
and laws are formulated as well as how systematic theories based on these steps are articulated.
The word "communication" has its root in the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
verb "communicare", which means "to share" or "to make common".
Some theorists give very broad definitions of communication that encompass unconscious and non-human behavior.
In this regard, many animals communicate within their own species and even plants like flowers may be said to communicate by attracting bees.
Other researchers restrict communication to
conscious
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
interactions among human beings.
Some definitions focus on the use of symbols and signs while others emphasize the role of understanding, interaction, power, or transmission of ideas. Various characterizations see the communicator's
intent
Intentions are mental states in which the agent commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the ''content'' of the intention while the commitment is the ''a ...
to send a message as a central component. On this view, the transmission of information is not sufficient for communication if it happens unintentionally.
An important version of this view is given by
Paul Grice
Herbert Paul Grice (13 March 1913 – 28 August 1988), usually publishing under the name H. P. Grice, H. Paul Grice, or Paul Grice, was a British philosopher of language. He is best known for his theory of implicature and the cooperative prin ...
, who identifies communication with
actions
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fi ...
that aim to make the recipient aware of the communicator's intention.
One question in this regard is whether only the successful transmission of information should be regarded as communication.
For example, distortion may interfere and change the actual message from what was originally intended.
A closely related problem is whether acts of deliberate
deception
Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...
constitute communication.
According to an influential and broad definition by
I. A. Richards, communication happens when one
mind
The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...
acts upon its environment in order to transmit its own
experience
Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...
to another mind.
Another important characterization is due to
Claude Shannon
Claude Elwood Shannon (April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001) was an American people, American mathematician, electrical engineering, electrical engineer, and cryptography, cryptographer known as a "father of information theory".
As a 21-year-o ...
and
Warren Weaver
Warren Weaver (July 17, 1894 – November 24, 1978) was an American scientist, mathematician, and science administrator. He is widely recognized as one of the pioneers of machine translation and as an important figure in creating support for scien ...
. On their view, communication involves the interaction of several components, such as a source, a message, an encoder, a channel, a decoder, and a receiver.
The paradigmatic form of communication happens between two or several individuals. However, it can also take place on a larger level, for example, between organizations, social classes, or nations.
Niklas Luhmann
Niklas Luhmann (; ; December 8, 1927 – November 6, 1998) was a German sociologist, philosopher of social science, and a prominent thinker in systems theory.
Biography
Luhmann was born in Lüneburg, Free State of Prussia, where his father's fa ...
rejects the view that communication is, on its most fundamental level, an interaction between two distinct parties. Instead, he holds that "only communication can communicate" and tries to provide a conceptualization in terms of
autopoietic systems without any reference to consciousness or life.
John Peters sees communication as "an apparent answer to the painful divisions between
self
The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhood ...
and other, private and public, and inner thought and outer world."
Communication models
Models of communication are
concept
Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs.
They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by s ...
ual representations of the process of communication.
Their goal is to provide a simplified overview of its main components. This makes it easier for researchers to formulate
hypotheses
A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obser ...
, apply communication-related concepts to real-world cases, and test
prediction
A prediction (Latin ''præ-'', "before," and ''dicere'', "to say"), or forecast, is a statement about a future event or data. They are often, but not always, based upon experience or knowledge. There is no universal agreement about the exact ...
s.
However, it is often argued that many models lack the conceptual complexity needed for a comprehensive understanding of all the essential aspects of communication. They are usually presented visually in the form of
diagram
A diagram is a symbolic representation of information using visualization techniques. Diagrams have been used since prehistoric times on walls of caves, but became more prevalent during the Enlightenment. Sometimes, the technique uses a three- ...
s showing various basic components and their interaction.
Models of communication are often categorized based on their intended applications and how they conceptualize communication. Some models are general in the sense that they are intended for all forms of communication. They contrast with specialized models, which aim to describe only certain forms of communication, like models of
mass communication
Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...
.
An influential classification distinguishes between linear transmission models, interaction models, and transaction models.
Linear transmission models focus on how a sender transmits
information
Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...
to a receiver. They are ''linear'' because this flow of information only goes in one direction.
This view is rejected by interaction models, which include a
feedback
Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...
loop. Feedback is required to describe many forms of communication, such as a regular conversation, where the listener may respond by expressing their opinion on the issue or by asking for clarification. For interaction models, communication is a two-way-process in which the communicators take turns in sending and receiving messages.
Transaction models further refine this picture by allowing sending and responding to happen at the same time. This modification is needed, for example, to describe how the listener in a face-to-face conversation gives
non-verbal feedback through their
body posture
Human positions refer to the different physical configurations that the human body can take.
There are several synonyms that refer to human positioning, often used interchangeably, but having specific nuances of meaning.
*''Position'' is a gen ...
and their
facial expression
A facial expression is one or more motions or positions of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. According to one set of controversial theories, these movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers. Facial expressions are a ...
s while the other person is talking. Transaction models also hold that meaning is produced during communication and does not exist independent of it.
![Lasswell's model of communication](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Lasswell%27s_model_of_communication.svg)
All the early models, developed in the middle of the 20th century, are linear transmission models.
Lasswell's model
Lasswell's model of communication is one of the first and most influential models of communication. It was initially published by Harold Lasswell in 1948 and analyzes communication in terms of five basic questions: "Who?", "Says What?", "In What C ...
, for example, is based on five fundamental questions: "Who?", "Says What?", "In What Channel?", "To Whom?", and "With What Effect?".
The goal of these questions is to identify the basic components involved in the communicative process: the sender, the
message
A message is a discrete unit of communication intended by the source for consumption by some recipient or group of recipients. A message may be delivered by various means, including courier, telegraphy, carrier pigeon and electronic bus.
A ...
, the
channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
, the
receiver, and the effect.
Lasswell's model was initially only conceived as a model of mass communication, but it has been applied to various other fields as well. Some theorists have expanded it by including additional questions, like "Under What Circumstances?" and "For What Purpose?".
![Shannon-Weaver_model_of_communication](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Shannon-Weaver_model_of_communication.svg)
The
Shannon–Weaver model
The Shannon–Weaver model is one of the first and most influential models of communication. It was initially published in the 1948 paper A Mathematical Theory of Communication and explains communication in terms of five basic components: a sour ...
is another influential linear transmission model.
It is based on the idea that a source creates a message, which is then translated into a
signal
In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...
by a transmitter.
Noise
Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...
may interfere and distort the signal. Once the signal reaches the receiver, it is translated back into a message and made available to the destination. For a landline telephone call, the person calling is the source and their telephone is the transmitter. It translates the message into an electrical signal that travels through the wire, which acts as the channel. The person taking the call is the destination and their telephone is the receiver.
The Shannon–Weaver model includes an in-depth discussion of how noise can distort the signal and how successful communication can be achieved despite noise. This can happen, for example, by making the message partially
redundant so that decoding is possible nonetheless.
Other influential linear transmission models include
Gerbner's model
Models of communication are simplified representations of the process of communication. Most models try to describe both verbal and non-verbal communication and often understand it as an exchange of messages. Their function is to give a compact ...
and
Berlo's model
The Source-Message-Channel-Receiver model is a linear transmission model of communication. It is also referred to as SMCR model, Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver model, and Berlo's model. It was first published by David Berlo in his 1960 book '' ...
.
![Schramm's model of communication](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Schramm%27s_model_of_communication.svg)
The earliest interaction model is due to
Wilbur Schramm
Wilbur Lang Schramm (August 5, 1907 – December 27, 1987) was a scholar and "authority on mass communications". He founded the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1935 and served as its first director until 1941. Schramm was hugely influential in establish ...
.
For him, communication starts when a source has an idea and expresses it in the form of a message. This process is called ''encoding'' and happens using a
code
In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
, i.e. a
sign system
A sign system is a key concept in semiotics and is used to refer to any system of signs and relations between signs. The term ''language'' is frequently used as a synonym for a sign-system. However, the term ''sign-system'' is considered preferab ...
that is able to express the idea, for example, through visual or auditory signs.
The message is sent to a destination, who has to decode and interpret it in order to understand it.
In response, they formulate their own idea, encode it into a message and send it back as a form of feedback. Another important innovation of
Schramm's model
Schramm's model of communication is an early and influential model of communication. It was first published by Wilbur Schramm in 1954 and includes important innovations over previous models, such as the inclusion of a feedback loop and the discus ...
is that previous
experience
Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...
is necessary to be able to encode and decode messages. For communication to be successful, the fields of experience of source and destination have to overlap.
![Barnlund's model - interpersonal communication](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Barnlund%27s_model_-_interpersonal_communication.svg)
The first transactional model was proposed by
Dean Barnlund. He understands communication as "the production of meaning, rather than the production of messages". Its goal is to decrease uncertainty and arrive at a shared
understanding
Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object.
Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object o ...
.
This happens in response to external and internal cues. Decoding is the process of ascribing meaning to them and encoding consists in producing new
behavioral
Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as well ...
cues as a response.
Human
There are many forms of
human communication
Human communication, or anthroposemiotics, is a field of study dedicated to understanding how humans Communication, communicate. Humans ability to communicate with one another would not be possible without an understanding of what we are refere ...
. Important distinctions concern whether language is used, as in the contrast between
verbal and
non-verbal communication
Nonverbal communication (NVC) is the transmission of messages or signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture, and body language. It includes the use of social cues, kinesics, distance ( prox ...
, and whether one communicates with others or with oneself, as in the contrast between
interpersonal
The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...
and
intrapersonal communication
Intrapersonal communication is the process by which an individual communicates within themselves, acting as both sender and receiver of messages, and encompasses the use of unspoken words to consciously engage in self-talk and inner speech.
Intr ...
. The field studying human communication is known as anthroposemiotics.
Mediums
Verbal
Verbal communication refers to the exchange of messages in linguistic form or by means of
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
.
Some of the difficulties in distinguishing verbal from non-verbal communication come from the difficulties in defining what exactly ''language'' means. Language is usually understood as a conventional system of
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
s and rules used for communication. Important in this regard is that the system is based on a set of simple units of meaning that can be combined with each other to express more complex ideas. The rules for combining the units into compound expressions are called
grammar
In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...
. This way,
word
A word is a basic element of language that carries an semantics, objective or pragmatics, practical semantics, meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of w ...
s are combined to form
sentences
''The Four Books of Sentences'' (''Libri Quattuor Sententiarum'') is a book of theology written by Peter Lombard in the 12th century. It is a systematic compilation of theology, written around 1150; it derives its name from the ''sententiae'' o ...
.
One hallmark of human language, in contrast to animal communication, lies in its complexity and expressive power. For example, it can be used to refer not just to
concrete object
In common usage and classical mechanics, a physical object or physical body (or simply an object or body) is a collection of matter within a defined contiguous boundary in three-dimensional space. The boundary must be defined and identified by t ...
s in the here-and-now but also to spatially and temporally distant objects and to
abstract ideas.
The academic discipline studying language is called ''linguistics''. Important subfields include
semantics
Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy
Philosophy (f ...
(the study of meaning),
morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
* Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
* Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...
(the study of word formation),
syntax
In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure ( constituency) ...
(the study of sentence structure),
pragmatics
In linguistics and related fields, pragmatics is the study of how context contributes to meaning. The field of study evaluates how human language is utilized in social interactions, as well as the relationship between the interpreter and the int ...
(the study of language use), and
phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...
(the study of basic sounds).
An important distinction among languages is between
natural
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
and artificial or
constructed language
A constructed language (sometimes called a conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, instead of having developed naturally, are consciously devised for some purpose, which may include being devised for a work of fiction. ...
s. Natural languages, like
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, and
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
, developed naturally and for the most part unplanned in the course of history. Artificial languages, like
Esperanto
Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...
, the language of
first-order logic
First-order logic—also known as predicate logic, quantificational logic, and first-order predicate calculus—is a collection of formal systems used in mathematics, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. First-order logic uses quantifie ...
,
C++
C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...
, and
Quenya
Quenya ()Tolkien wrote in his "Outline of Phonology" (in ''Parma Eldalamberon'' 19, p. 74) dedicated to the phonology of Quenya: is "a sound as in English ''new''". In Quenya is a combination of consonants, ibidem., p. 81. is a constructed la ...
, are purposefully designed from the ground up.
Most everyday verbal communication happens using natural languages. The most important forms of verbal communication are speech and writing together with their counterparts of listening and reading.
Spoken languages use sounds to produce
sign
A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...
s and transmit meaning while for writing, the signs are physically inscribed on a surface.
Sign languages
Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...
, like
American Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...
, are another form of verbal communication. They rely on visual means, mostly by using gestures with hands and arms, to form sentences and convey meaning.
In colloquial usage, verbal communication is sometimes restricted to
oral communication
Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focus ...
and may exclude writing and sign languages. However, in the academic sense, the term is usually used in a wider sense and encompasses any form of linguistic communication, independent of whether the language is expressed through speech, writing, or gestures.
Humans have a natural tendency to acquire their
native language
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
in childhood. They are also able to learn other languages later in life, so-called
second language
A person's second language, or L2, is a language that is not the native language (first language or L1) of the speaker, but is learned later. A second language may be a neighbouring language, another language of the speaker's home country, or a fo ...
s. But this process is less intuitive and often does not result in the same level of
linguistic competence
In linguistics, linguistic competence is the system of unconscious knowledge that one knows when they know a language. It is distinguished from linguistic performance, which includes all other factors that allow one to use one's language in practi ...
.
Verbal communication serves various functions. One important function is to exchange information, i.e. an attempt by the speaker to make the audience aware of something, usually of an external event. But language can also be used to express the speaker's feelings and attitudes. A closely related role is to establish and maintain social relations with other people. Verbal communication is also utilized to coordinate one's behavior with others and influence them. In some cases, language is not employed for an external purpose but only for
entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...
or because it is enjoyable.
One aspect of verbal communication that stands out in comparison to non-verbal communication is that it helps the communicators
conceptualize
Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs.
They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by sev ...
the world around them and themselves. This affects how perceptions of external events are interpreted, how things are categorized, and how ideas are organized and related to each other.
Non-verbal
Non-verbal communication refers to the exchange of information through non-linguistic modes, like
facial expression
A facial expression is one or more motions or positions of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. According to one set of controversial theories, these movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers. Facial expressions are a ...
s,
gesture
A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication or non-vocal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of, or in conjunction with, speech. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or ot ...
s, and
postures. However, not every form of non-verbal behavior constitutes non-verbal communication and some theorists hold that the existence of a socially shared coding system for interpreting the meaning of the behavior is relevant for whether it should be regarded as non-verbal communication. A lot of non-verbal communication happens
unintentionally and unconsciously, like sweating or blushing. But there are also conscious intentional forms, like shaking hands or raising a thumb. Traditionally, most research focused on verbal communication. However, this paradigm has shifted and a lot of importance is given to non-verbal communication in contemporary research. For example, many judgments about the nature and behavior of other people are based on non-verbal cues, like their facial expressions and tone of voice. Some theorists claim that the majority of the ideas and information conveyed happens this way. According to
Ray Birdwhistell
Ray L. Birdwhistell (September 29, 1918 – October 19, 1994) was an American anthropologist who founded kinesics as a field of inquiry and research.Danesi, M (2006). Kinesics. ''Encyclopedia of language & linguistics''. 207-213. Birdwhistell co ...
, for example, 65% of communication happens non-verbally. Other reasons for its importance are that it is present in almost every communicative act to some extent, that it is able to fulfill many different functions, and that certain parts of it are universally understood. It has also been suggested that human communication is at its core non-verbal and that words can only acquire meaning because of non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication is studied in various fields besides communication studies, like linguistics,
semiotics
Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...
,
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
, and
social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the r ...
.
Non-verbal communication has many functions. It frequently contains information about emotions, attitudes, personality, interpersonal relationships, and private thoughts. It often happens simultaneously with verbal communication and helps optimize the exchange through emphasis and illustration or by adding additional information. Non-verbal cues can also clarify the intent behind a verbal message. Communication is usually more effective if several modalities are used and their messages are consistent.
But in some cases, the different modalities contain conflicting messages, for example, when a person verbally agrees with a statement but presses their lips together, thereby indicating disagreement non-verbally.
There are many forms of non-verbal communication. They include
kinesics
Kinesics is the interpretation of body motion communication such as facial expressions and gestures, nonverbal behavior related to movement of any part of the body or the body as a whole. The equivalent popular culture term is body language, a ter ...
,
proxemics
Proxemics is the study of human use of space and the effects that population density has on behaviour, communication, and social interaction.
Proxemics is one among several subcategories in the study of nonverbal communication, including haptics ...
,
haptics,
paralanguage
Paralanguage, also known as vocalics, is a component of meta-communication that may modify meaning, give nuanced meaning, or convey emotion, by using techniques such as prosody, pitch, volume, intonation, etc. It is sometimes defined as relatin ...
,
chronemics
Chronemics is the role of time in communication. It is one of several subcategories to emerge from the study of nonverbal communication. According to the ''Encyclopedia of Special Education'' "Chronemics includes time orientation, understanding ...
, and physical appearance. Kinesics investigates the role of bodily behavior in conveying information. It is commonly referred to as
body language
Body language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Th ...
, even though it is, strictly speaking, not a language but belongs to non-verbal communication. It includes many forms, like gestures, postures, walking styles, and dance. Facial expressions, like laughing, smiling, and frowning, are an important part of kinesics since they are both very expressive and highly flexible. Oculesics is another subcategory of kinesics in regard to the eyes. It covers questions like how eye contact, gaze, blink rate, and pupil dilation form part of communication. Some kinesic patterns are inborn and involuntary, like blinking, while others are learned and voluntary, like giving a military salute. Proxemics studies how personal space is used in communication. For example, the distance between the speakers reflects their degree of familiarity and intimacy with each other as well as their social status. Haptics investigates how information is conveyed using touching behavior, like handshakes, holding hands, kissing, or slapping. Many of the meanings associated with haptics reflect care, concern, anger, and violence. For example, handshaking is often seen as a symbol of equality and fairness, while refusing to shake hands can indicate aggressiveness. Kissing is another form often used to show affection and erotic closeness.
Paralanguage, also known as vocalics, concerns the use of voice in communication. It depends on verbal communication in the form of speech but studies ''how'' something is said instead of ''what'' is said. It includes factors like articulation, lip control, rhythm, intensity, pitch, fluency, and loudness. In this regard, saying something loudly and in high pitch may convey a very different meaning than whispering the same words. Paralanguage is mainly concerned with spoken language but also includes aspects of written language, like the use of colors and fonts as well as the spatial arrangement in paragraphs and tables. Chronemics refers to the use of time, for example, what messages are sent by being on time or being late for a meeting. The physical appearance of the communicator also carries a lot of information, like height, weight, hair, skin color, gender, odors, clothing, tattooing, and piercing. It is an important factor for first impressions but is more limited as a mode of communication since it is less changeable. Some forms of non-verbal communication happen using artifacts, such as drums, smoke, batons, or traffic lights.
Interpersonal
Interpersonal communication refers to communication between distinct individuals. Its typical form is
dyadic communication
In sociology, a dyad is a group of two people, the smallest possible social group. As an adjective, "dyadic" describes their interaction.Macionis, John J., and Linda Marie Gerber. Sociology. 7th ed. Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011. 153-54. ...
between two people but it can also refer to
communication within groups.
It can be planned or unplanned and occurs in many different forms, like when greeting someone, during salary negotiations, or when making a phone call.
Some theorists understand interpersonal communication as a
fuzzy concept
A fuzzy concept is a kind of concept of which the boundaries of application can vary considerably according to context or conditions, instead of being fixed once and for all. This means the concept is vague in some way, lacking a fixed, precise me ...
that manifests in degrees. On this view, an exchange is more or less interpersonal depending on how many people are present, whether it happens face-to-face rather than through telephone or email, and whether it focuses on the relationship between the communicators.
In this regard, group communication and
mass communication
Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...
are less typical forms of interpersonal communication and some theorists treat them as distinct types.
Various theories of the function of interpersonal communication have been proposed. Some focus on how it helps people make sense of their world and create society while others hold that its primary purpose is to understand why other people act the way they do and to adjust one's behavior accordingly. A closely related approach is to focus on information and see interpersonal communication as an attempt to reduce uncertainty about others and external events. Other explanations understand it in terms of the
needs
A need is dissatisfaction at a point of time and in a given context. Needs are distinguished from wants. In the case of a need, a deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome: a dysfunction or death. In other words, a need is something required for a ...
it satisfies. This includes the needs of belonging somewhere, being included, being liked, maintaining relationships, and influencing the behavior of others.
On a practical level, interpersonal communication is used to coordinate one's actions with the actions of others in order to get things done. Research on interpersonal communication concerns various topics, such as how people build, maintain, and dissolve relationships through communication, why they choose one message rather than another, what effects these messages have on the relationship and on the individual, and how to predict whether two people would like each other.
Interpersonal communication can be
synchronous
Synchronization is the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. For example, the conductor of an orchestra keeps the orchestra synchronized or ''in time''. Systems that operate with all parts in synchrony are said to be synchronou ...
or
asynchronous
Asynchrony is the state of not being in synchronization.
Asynchrony or asynchronous may refer to:
Electronics and computing
* Asynchrony (computer programming), the occurrence of events independent of the main program flow, and ways to deal with ...
. For asynchronous communication, the different parties take turns in sending and receiving messages. An example would be the exchange of letters or emails. For synchronous communication, both parties send messages at the same time. This happens, for example, when one person is talking while the other person sends non-verbal messages in response signaling whether they agree with what is being said.
Some theorists distinguish between content messages and relational messages. Content messages express the speaker's feelings toward the topic of discussion. Relational messages, on the other hand, demonstrate the speaker's feelings toward their relationship with the other participants.
Intrapersonal
Intrapersonal communication refers to communication with oneself.
In some cases this manifests externally, like when engaged in a
monologue
In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...
, taking notes, highlighting a passage, and writing a diary or a shopping list. But many forms of intrapersonal communication happen internally in the form of inner dialog, like when thinking about something or
daydreaming
Daydreaming is the stream of consciousness that detaches from current, external tasks when attention drifts to a more personal and internal direction. This phenomenon is common in people's daily life shown by a large-scale study in which partici ...
.
Intrapersonal communication serves various functions. As a form of inner dialog, it is usually triggered by external events and may happen in the form of articulating a phrase before expressing it externally, planning for the future, or as an attempt to process emotions when trying to calm oneself down in stressful situations.
It can help regulate one's own mental activity and outward behavior as well as internalize cultural norms and ways of thinking. External forms of intrapersonal communication can aid one's memory, like when making a shopping list, help unravel difficult problems, as when solving a complex mathematical equation line by line, and internalize new knowledge, like when repeating new vocabulary to oneself. Because of these functions, intrapersonal communication can be understood as "an exceptionally powerful and pervasive tool for thinking."
Based on its role in
self-regulation, some theorists have suggested that intrapersonal communication is more fundamental than interpersonal communication. This is based on the observation that young children sometimes use
egocentric speech while playing in an attempt to direct their own behavior. On this view, interpersonal communication only develops later when the child moves from their early egocentric perspective to a more social perspective. Other theorists contend that interpersonal communication is more basic. They explain this by arguing that language is used first by parents to regulate what their child does. Once the child has learned this, it can apply the same technique on itself to get more control over its own behavior.
Contexts and purposes
There are countless other categorizations of communication besides the types discussed so far. They often focus on the context, purpose, and topic of communication. For example,
organizational communication
Within the realm of communication studies, organizational communication is a field of study surrounding all areas of communication and information flow that contribute to the functioning of an organization. Organizational communication is const ...
concerns communication between members of organizations such as
corporations
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
,
nonprofits
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
, or small businesses. Important in this regard is the coordination of the behavior of the different members as well as the interaction with customers and the general public. Closely related terms are
business communication
Business communication is communication that is intended to help a business achieve a fundamental goal, through information sharing between employees as well as people outside the company. It includes the process of creating, sharing, listening, ...
,
corporate communication
Corporate communication is a set of activities involved in managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications aimed at creating favourable point of view among stakeholders on which the company depends.Riel, Cees B.M. van; Fombrun ...
,
professional communication
Professional communication, encompasses written, oral, visual and digital communication within a workplace context. This discipline blends together pedagogical principles of rhetoric, technology, software, and learning theory to improve and deli ...
, and workspace communication.
Political communication refers to communication in relation to
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
. It covers topics like
electoral campaigns to influence the voters and legislative communication, like letters to a
congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
or committee documents. Specific emphasis is often given to
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
and the role of
mass media
Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets.
Broadcast media transmit information ...
.
Intercultural communication
Intercultural communication is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects communication. It describes the wide range of communication processes and problems that naturally appear w ...
is relevant to both organizational and political communication since they often involve attempts to exchange messages between communicators from different cultural backgrounds. Important in this regard is to avoid misunderstandings since the cultural background affects how messages are formulated and interpreted.
This is also relevant for
development communication
Development communication refers to the use of communication to facilitate social development. Development communication engages stakeholders and policy makers, establishes conducive environments, assesses risks and opportunities and promotes in ...
, which is concerned with the use of communication for assisting in development, specifically concerning aid given by
first-world countries to
third-world countries
The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " Firs ...
. Another important field is
health communication
Health communication is the study and practice of communicating promotional health information, such as in public health campaigns, health education, and between doctor and patient. The purpose of disseminating health information is to influence ...
, which is about communication in the field of
healthcare
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
and health promotion efforts. An important topic in this field is how healthcare providers, like doctors and nurses, should communicate with their patients.
Many other types of communication are discussed in the academic literature. They include
international communication
International communication (also referred to as the ''study of global communication'' or transnational communication) is the communication practice that occurs across international borders. The need for international communication was due to the ...
,
non-violent communication,
strategic communication Strategic communication can mean either communicating a concept, a process, or data that satisfies a long-term strategic goal of an organization by allowing facilitation of advanced planning, or communicating over long distances usually using inter ...
,
military communication
Military communications or military signals involve all aspects of communications, or conveyance of information, by armed forces. Military communications span from pre-history to the present. The earliest military communications were delivered b ...
,
aviation communication
Aviation communication refers to the conversing of two or more aircraft. Aircraft are constructed in such a way that make it very difficult to see beyond what is directly in front of them. As safety is a primary focus in aviation, communication ...
,
risk communication,
defensive communication
Defensive communication is a communicative behavior that occurs within relationships, work environments, and social groups when an individual reacts in a wikt:defensive, defensive manner in response to a Self-perceived quality-of-life scale, self ...
,
upward communication
Upward Communication is the process of information flowing from the lower levels of a hierarchy to the upper levels. This type of communication is becoming more popular in organizations as traditional forms of communication are becoming less po ...
,
interdepartmental communication,
scientific communication
Scientific communication is a part of information science and the sociology of science
The sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) is the study of science as a social activity, especially dealing with "the social conditions and effects of sc ...
,
environmental communication
Environmental communication is "the dissemination of information and the implementation of communication practices that are related to the environment. In the beginning, environmental communication was a narrow area of communication; however, nowa ...
, and
agricultural communication Agricultural communication (or agricultural communications) is a field that focuses on communication about agriculture-related information among agricultural stakeholders and between agricultural and non-agricultural stakeholders. Agriculture is bro ...
.
Non-human
Besides human communication, there are also many forms of non-human communication found, for example, in the animal kingdom and among plants. Sometimes, the term ''extrapersonal communication'' is used in this regard to contrast it with interpersonal and intrapersonal communication.
The field of inquiry studying non-human communication is called
biosemiotics
Biosemiotics (from the Greek βίος ''bios'', "life" and σημειωτικός ''sēmeiōtikos'', "observant of signs") is a field of semiotics and biology that studies the prelinguistic meaning-making, biological interpretation processes, p ...
. There are additional difficulties in this field for judging whether communication has taken place between two individuals. For example, acoustic signals are often easy to notice and analyze for scientists but additional difficulties come when judging whether tactile or chemical changes should be understood as communicative signals rather than as other biological processes.
For this reason, researchers often use slightly altered definitions of communication in order to facilitate their work. A common assumption in this regard comes from
evolutionary biology
Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life fo ...
and holds that communication should somehow benefit the communicators in terms of
natural selection
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...
. In this regard, "communication can be defined as the exchange of information between individuals, wherein both the signaller and receiver may expect to benefit from the exchange." So the sender should benefit by influencing the receiver's behavior and the receiver should benefit by responding to the signal. It is often held that these benefits should exist on average but not necessarily in every single case. This way,
deceptive
Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...
signaling can also be understood as a form of communication. One problem with the evolutionary approach is that it is often very difficult to assess the influence of such behavior on natural selection. Another common pragmatic constraint is to hold that it is necessary to observe a response by the receiver following the signal when judging whether communication has occurred.
Animals
Animal communication
Animal communication is the transfer of information from one or a group of animals (sender or senders) to one or more other animals (receiver or receivers) that affects the current or future behavior of the receivers. Information may be sent int ...
refers to the process of giving and taking information among animals. The field studying animal communication is called
zoosemiotics
Zoosemiotics is the semiotic study of the use of signs among animals, more precisely the study of semiosis among animals, i.e. the study of how something comes to function as a sign to some animal. It is the study of animal forms of knowing.
Consi ...
. There are many parallels to human communication. For example, humans and many animals express sympathy by synchronizing their movements and postures. Nonetheless, there are also important differences, like the fact that humans also engage in verbal communication while animal communication is restricted to non-verbal communication. Some theorists have tried to distinguish human from animal communication based on the claim that animal communication lacks a
referential function
Roman Jakobson defined six functions of language (or communication functions), according to which an effective act of verbal communication can be described. Each of the functions has an associated factor. For this work, Jakobson was influenced b ...
and is thus not able to refer to external phenomena. However, this view is often rejected, especially for higher animals. A different approach is to draw the distinction based on the complexity of
human language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
, especially its almost limitless ability to combine basic units of meaning into more complex meaning structures. For example, it has been argued that
recursion
Recursion (adjective: ''recursive'') occurs when a thing is defined in terms of itself or of its type. Recursion is used in a variety of disciplines ranging from linguistics to logic. The most common application of recursion is in mathematics ...
is a property of human language that sets it apart from all non-human communicative systems. Another difference is that human communication is frequently associated with a conscious
intention
Intentions are mental states in which the agent commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the ''content'' of the intention while the commitment is the ''a ...
to send information, which is often not discernable for animal communication.
Animal communication can take a variety of forms, including visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory communication. Visual communication happens in the form of movements, gestures, facial expressions, and colors, like movements seen during
mating rituals, the colors of birds, and the rhythmic light of
fireflies
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
. Auditory communication takes place through vocalizations by species like birds,
primates
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
, and dogs. It is frequently used to alert and warn. Lower animals often have very simple response patterns to auditory messages, reacting either by approach or avoidance. More complex response patterns are observed for higher species, which may use different signals for different types of predators and responses. For example, certain primates use different signals for airborne and land predators.
Tactile communication occurs through touch, vibration, stroking, rubbing, and pressure. It is especially relevant for parent-young relations, courtship, social greetings, and defense. Olfactory and gustatory communication happens chemically through smells and tastes.
There are huge differences between species concerning what functions communication plays, how much it is realized, and the behavior through which they communicate. Common functions include the fields of
courtship
Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private m ...
and mating, parent-offspring relations, social relations, navigation, self-defense, and
territoriality
In ethology, territory is the sociographical area that an animal consistently defends against conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against animals of other species) using agonistic behaviors or (less commonly) real physical aggression. ...
. An important part of courtship and mating consists in identifying and attracting potential mates. This can happen through songs, like
grasshoppers
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grasshop ...
and
crickets
Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...
, chemically through
pheromones
A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...
, like
moths
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
, and through visual messages by flashing light, like fireflies. For many species, the offspring depends for its survival on the parent. One central function of parent-offspring communication is to recognize each other. In some cases, the parents are also able to guide the offspring's behavior. Social animals, like
chimpanzees
The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative the ...
,
bonobos
The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...
, wolves, and dogs, engage in various forms of communication to express their feelings and build relations. Navigation concerns the movement through space in a purposeful manner, e.g. to locate food, avoid enemies, and follow a colleague. In
bats
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
, this happens through
echolocation, i.e. by sending auditory signals and processing the information from the echoes.
Bees
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...
are another often-discussed case in this respect since they perform a
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
to indicate to other bees where flowers are located. In regard to self-defense, communication is used to warn others and to assess whether a costly fight can be avoided. Another function of communication is to mark and claim certain territories used for food and mating. For example, some male birds claim a hedge or part of a meadow by using
songs
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...
to keep other males away and attract females.
Two competing theories in the study of animal communication are
nature theory and nurture theory. Their conflict concerns to what extent animal communication is programmed into the genes as a form of adaptation rather than learned from previous
experience
Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...
as a form of
conditioning Conditioning may refer to:
Science, computing, and technology
* Air conditioning, the removal of heat from indoor air for thermal comfort
** Automobile air conditioning, air conditioning in a vehicle
** Ice storage air conditioning, air condition ...
.
To the degree that it is learned, it usually happens through
imprinting, i.e. as a form of learning that only happens in a certain phase and is then mostly irreversible.
Plants and fungi
Communication is observed within the plant organism, i.e. within
plant cells
Plant cells are the cells present in green plants, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Their distinctive features include primary cell walls containing cellulose, hemicelluloses and pectin, the presence of plastids with the capabi ...
and between plant cells, between plants of the same or related species, and between plants and non-plant organisms, especially in the
root zone.
Plant root
In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
s communicate with
rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
,
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
, and insects within the soil. Recent research has shown that most of the microorganism plant communication processes are neuron-like. Plants also communicate via volatile oil, volatiles when exposed to herbivory attack behavior, thus warning neighboring plants. In parallel they produce other volatiles to attract parasitism, parasites which attack these herbivores.
Fungi communicate to coordinate and organize their growth and development such as the formation of Mycelium, mycelia and fruiting body, fruiting bodies. Fungi communicate with their own and related species as well as with non fungal organisms in a great variety of symbiotic interactions, especially with bacteria, unicellular eukaryote, plants and insects through biochemicals of biotic origin. The biochemicals trigger the fungal organism to react in a specific manner, while if the same chemical molecules are not part of biotic messages, they do not trigger the fungal organism to react. This implies that fungal organisms can differentiate between molecules taking part in biotic messages and similar molecules being irrelevant in the situation. So far five different primary signalling molecules are known to coordinate different behavioral patterns such as filamentation, mating, growth, and pathogenicity. Behavioral coordination and production of signaling substances is achieved through interpretation processes that enables the organism to differ between self or non-self, a biotic indicator, biotic message from similar, related, or non-related species, and even filter out "noise", i.e. similar molecules without biotic content.
Pheromones are molecules released by one organism into the external environment to influence other individuals of the same species. Thus pheromone release is a form of communication. Pheromones promote sexual interaction (mating) in several fungal species. These include the aquatic fungus ''Allomyces macrogynus'', the Mucorales fungus ''Mucor mucedo'', ''Neurospora crassa'' and the yeasts ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'', ''Schizosaccharomyces pombe'' and ''Rhodosporidium toruloides''.
Bacteria quorum sensing
Communication is not a tool used only by humans, plants and animals, but it is also used by microorganisms like bacteria. The process is called quorum sensing. Through quorum sensing, bacteria can sense the density of cells, and regulate gene expression accordingly. This can be seen in both gram positive and gram negative bacteria.
This was first observed by Fuqua ''et al.'' in marine microorganisms like ''Vibrio harveyi, V. harveyi'' and ''Vibrio fischeri, V. fischeri''.
transformation (genetics), Natural bacterial transformation involves the transfer of naked DNA from one bacterium to another through the surrounding medium, and can be regarded as a relatively simple form of sexual interaction. In several bacterial species transformation is promoted by the production of an extracellular factor, termed a competence factor, that when released into the surrounding medium induces a state of competence in neighboring cells. The state of competence is the ability to take up the DNA released by another cell. Bacterial competence factors are similar to pheromones in multicellular organisms. Competence factors have been studied in ''Bacillus subtilis'' and ''Streptococcus pneumoniae''.
Communication studies
Communication studies
Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differen ...
, also referred to as ''communication science'', is the academic discipline studying communication. It is closely related to
semiotics
Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...
, with one difference being that communication studies focuses more on technical questions of how messages are sent, received, and processed while semiotics tackles more abstract questions in relation to Meaning (philosophy), meaning and hows
sign
A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...
s acquire meaning.
Communication studies covers a wide area overlapping with many other disciplines, such as biology,
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
, psychology, sociology, linguistics, media studies, and journalism.
Many contributions in the field of communication studies focus on developing models of communication, models and Communication theory, theories of communication. Models of communication aim to give a simplified overview of the main components involved in communication. Theories of communication, on the other hand, try to provide conceptual frameworks to accurately present communication in all its complexity.
Other topics in communication studies concern the function and effects of communication, like satisfying physiological and psychological needs and building relationships as well as gathering information about the environment, others, and oneself.
A further issue concerns the question of how communication systems change over time and how these changes correlate with other societal changes. A related question focuses on psychological principles underlying those changes and the effects they have on how people exchange ideas.
Communication was already studied as early as Ancient Greek. Important early theories are due to Plato and Aristotle, who gave a lot of emphasis on the role of public speaking. For example, Aristotle held that the goal of communication is to persuade the audience. However, the field of communication studies only became a separate research discipline in the 20th century, especially starting in the 1940s. The development of new communication technologies, such as telephone, radio, newspapers, television, and the internet, has had a big impact on communication and communication studies. Today, communication studies is a wide discipline that includes many subfields dedicated to topics like interpersonal and intrapersonal communication, verbal and non-verbal communication, group communication, organizational communication, political communication, intercultural communication, mass communication, persuasive communication, and health communication. Some works in communications studies try to provide a very general characterization of communication in the widest sense while others attempt to give a precise analysis of a specific form of communication.
Barriers to effectiveness
Barriers to effective communication can distort the message or intention of the message being conveyed. This may result in failure of the communication process or cause an effect that is undesirable. These include filtering, selective perception, information overload, emotions, language, silence, communication apprehension, gender differences and political correctness.
Noise
In any communication model, noise is interference with the decoding of messages sent over the channel by an encoder. To face communication noise, redundancy and acknowledgement must often be used. Acknowledgements are messages from the addressee informing the originator that his/her communication has been received and is understood. Message repetition and feedback about message received are necessary in the presence of noise to reduce the probability of misunderstanding.
The act of disambiguation regards the attempt of reducing noise and wrong interpretations, when the semantic value or meaning of a sign can be subject to noise, or in presence of multiple meanings, which makes the sense-making difficult. Disambiguation attempts to decrease the likelihood of misunderstanding. This is also a fundamental skill in communication processes activated by counselors, psychotherapists, interpreters, and in coaching sessions based on colloquium. In Information Technology, the disambiguation process and the automatic disambiguation of meanings of words and sentences has also been an interest and concern since the earliest days of computer treatment of language.
Cultural aspects
Cultural differences exist within countries (tribal/regional differences, dialects and so on), between religious groups and in organisations or at an organisational level – where companies, teams and units may have different expectations, norms and idiolects. Families and family groups may also experience the effect of cultural barriers to communication within and between different family members or groups. For example: words, colours and symbols have different meanings in different cultures. In most parts of the world, nodding your head means agreement, shaking your head means "no", but this is not true everywhere.
Communication to a great extent is influenced by culture and Cultural variations in adoption, cultural variables. Understanding ''cultural aspects of communication'' refers to having knowledge of different cultures in order to communicate effectively with cross culture people. Cultural aspects of communication are of great relevance in today's world which is now a Global village (term), global village, thanks to globalisation. Cultural aspects of communication are the cultural differences which influence communication across borders. So in order to have an effective communication across the world it is desirable to have a knowledge of cultural variables effecting communication.
According to Michael Walsh and Ghil'ad Zuckermann, Western conversational interaction is typically "dyadic", between two particular people, where eye contact is important and the speaker controls the interaction; and "contained" in a relatively short, defined time frame. However, traditional Aboriginal conversational interaction is "communal", broadcast to many people, eye contact is not important, the listener controls the interaction; and "continuous", spread over a longer, indefinite time frame.
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Further reading
* Fogel, A., Nwokah, E., Dedo, J.Y., Messinger, D., Dickson, K.L., Matusov, E. and Holt, S.A., 1992. Social process theory of emotion: A dynamic systems approach. ''Social Development'', ''1''(2), pp.122-142.
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{{Nonverbal communication
Communication,
Communication studies
Main topic articles