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Symbolic communication is the exchange of messages that change ''a priori'' expectation of events. Examples of this are modern
communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...
technology and the exchange of information amongst animals. By referring to objects and ideas not present at the time of communication, a world of possibility is opened. In humans, this process has been compounded to result in the current state of modernity. A symbol is anything one says or does to describe something, and that something can have an array of many meanings. Once the symbols are learned by a particular group, that symbol stays intact with the object. Symbolic communication includes gestures, body language and facial expressions, as well as vocal moans that can indicate what an individual wants without having to speak. Research argues that about 55% of all communication stems from nonverbal language. Symbolic communication ranges from sign language to braille to tactile communication skills.


Models of Communication

The Shannon-Weaver Model of communication depicts the most basic communication between two individuals. In this linear process, the sender (source) transmits a message or signal to the receiver, which ultimately will end up going to its destination. The presence of noise within this model arises from disturbances that occur in everyday life. This can be the environment the individuals are in, the people around the individuals or different factors that affect how or if the message is received. The Shannon and Weaver model sets a precedent for symbolic communication, using semantics to create a basis for language. With semantics in play, researchers can understand symbols not only in their own environment, but other symbolic communication strategies as well. Del Hawkins, a doctoral student from the University of Texas, proposed a model of communication that depicts how symbols, if responded to by an individual, can be used as a conversation. The determinants of this process are the source and the recipient, respectively. The four processes that the source performs in this model are sensing, conceiving, encoding, and transmitting. In response to these, the receiver receives, decodes, and internalizes the information. During this process, the source and receiver take turns communicating, thus letting the model flow cyclically. (See
Organizational Theory Organizational theory refers to the set of interrelated concepts that involve the sociological study of the structures and operations of formal social organizations. Organizational theory also attempts to explain how interrelated units of organiz ...
) Once a symbol is known in a society, it is habitual for an individual to respond to it exactly like how they would previously. If a symbol is given that is not known in one's own society, the response will take longer. This is because the individual does not know what the symbol actually means to the source. Because the symbol may have a different meaning to the source and receiver, the individual receiving the information may take longer to process it because they need to figure out what the symbol may mean. They may use context clues or existing knowledge to help decode specific messages.


Symbolic communication in humans

Symbolic communication in humans can be defined as the rule-governed use of a system of arbitrary symbols whose definition and usage are agreed upon by the community of users. Symbols are considered the signifier that represents meaning (the signified). Not only auditory speech, words, and characters in printed visual forms, physical objects, fashion and clothing, human individuals, and events can be classified as symbols. Any entity, natural or social, physical or mental, tangible or intangible, can be a symbol as long as they can be employed to represent something else.


Historical development of symbolic communication

The origin of symbolic communication remains a controversial open problem, obscured by the lack of a fossil record. However, it has been speculated that 1.9 million years ago,
Homo erectus ''Homo erectus'' (; meaning "upright man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Several human species, such as '' H. heidelbergensis'' and '' H. antecessor ...
began the use of
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...
to communicate which allowed our ancestors to transmit information and experiences. The transition from indexical to symbolic communication is therefore a key evolutionary change because it may signal the
origin of language The origin of language (spoken and signed, as well as language-related technological systems such as writing), its relationship with human evolution, and its consequences have been subjects of study for centuries. Scholars wishing to study th ...
and symbolic thought. A study conducted in the 1980s by
Giacomo Rizzolatti Giacomo Rizzolatti (born 28 April 1937) is an Italian neurophysiologist who works at the University of Parma. Born in Kyiv, UkSSR, he is the Senior Scientist of the research team that discovered mirror neurons in the frontal and parietal cortex ...
on macaque monkeys discovered a class of neurons later known as the mirror neurons which are activated in response to different actions whether the actions are carried out by ourselves or others. It is one of the neural bases to of connecting to others. These mirror neurons are also known to be activated when “symbolic” representations of actions such as mime, speech and reading are experienced. This allowed our ancestral primates to learn and transmit basic forms of symbolic representations to communicate. Skills such as hunting, and crafting could then be taught mimetically. The use of pantomimes also allowed them to describe the past, present and future allowing them to reenact events outside of their immediate context. Over time, the amount and complexity of pantomimes evolved, creating a sufficiently mimetic language which allowed the Homo erectus to create a culture which is similar to that of modern humans. Written communication first emerged through the use of
pictogram A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and ...
s which slowly developed standardized and simplified forms. Shared
writing system A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication, based on a script and a set of rules regulating its use. While both writing and speech are useful in conveying messages, writing differs in also being a reliable fo ...
s were then developed leading to adaptable alphabets.


Modern symbolic communication

The vast majority of human communication is symbolic, i.e. there is some degree of arbitrariness between the concept and how it is communicated. Both verbal and nonverbal symbolic communication communicates a meaning that is not the sign itself to the interpreter of the sign.


Verbal symbolic communication

Verbal communication refers to communication that makes use of words, both written and spoken. Saussure introduced the notion of there being no inherent relation between the use of ''cow'' in English and ''vache'' in French to signify the same mental concept of a bovine grass feeder. The arbitrary link between the word, both written and spoken, makes this communication symbolic in nature, as opposed to indexical.


Nonverbal symbolic communication

Nonverbal symbolic communication uses learned, socially shared signal systems. As with verbal symbolic communication, the relation between the sign and the signified concept is arbitrary. Unlike verbal symbolic communication, however, nonverbal symbolic communication does not make use of words. Instead,
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...
s, indices or
symbols 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 co ...
may be used. Nonverbal symbolic communication is not to be confused with nonverbal communication (NVC), which is a broader category that includes nonsymbolic communication as well as symbolic.


Nonverbal languages

While nonverbal communication is nonlinguistic and does not make use of words, there are certain systems designed for the disabled which, while not using any words, do have their own grammar and are considered linguistic forms of communication.


= Tactile writing system

=
Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displ ...
is a form of tactile writing system. It consists of raised dots of which vary in number and arrangement to represent the letters of the alphabet, punctuation and letter groupings. Braille is read from left to right, with both hands. It allows people who are blind to visualize text through touch.


= Sign language

= For people who have hearing difficulties,
sign language 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 ...
is sometimes employed to communicate. Sign language makes use of a combination of hand gestures, facial expressions, and body postures. Similar to speech, it has its own grammar and linguistic structure and may vary from each deaf community around the world.


= Paralanguage

= Paralanguage is a component of meta-communication that may modify meaning, give nuanced meaning, or convey emotion, by using techniques such as prosody, pitch,
volume Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). ...
, intonation, etc. Paralinguistic information, because it is phenomenal, belongs to the external speech signal (
Ferdinand de Saussure Ferdinand de Saussure (; ; 26 November 1857 – 22 February 1913) was a Swiss linguist, semiotician and philosopher. His ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in both linguistics and semiotics in the 20th century. He is wide ...
's ''parole'') but not to the arbitrary conventional code of language (Saussure's ''langue'').


= Paralinguistic digital affordances (PDAs)

= This is a recent development that includes textual and online actions that seem to mirror the functions of paralanguage. ''Likes'' and ''Favorites'' are among the actions considered PDAs, as they contribute to feelings of social support even without the implicit meaning associated with them.
This is also sometimes referred to as textual paralanguage (TPL).


Challenges to communication


Symbolic communication in children

Young children also use symbolic communication as a means to reference objects or understand other people around them. By the time children are around one year of age, they start to understand the basis of language. Although language and speech start in children around age 2, children can communicate with their parents using perceived symbols they have picked up on. For children who are slower to grasp verbal communication skills, parents can use Augmented and Alternative Communication skills to help foster their child's symbols and help them to understand verbal communication. Children who have delayed speech or other mental illnesses cannot grasp the concept of verbal communication, so they turn to symbol communication. These children may already understand basic symbols like head-nodding for "yes" or head shaking for "no" from watching their parents or others around them. Children who have a hard time speaking cannot demonstrate their literacy skills confluent with other children their age. Parents who take special care in helping their child use by using symbolic communication at first see a huge growth in their speech and communication skills.


Language and communication disorders

One of the functions of symbolic communication is in the field of communication disorders. It is often used to help facilitate communication between people who have difficulty doing so. There are picture communication systems where often the case that is used with children with little to no speech, tactile writing system also known as braille for the visually impaired and also sign language for the deaf. Nonsymbolic communication is also used for some people with language and communication disorders, and is often used in the case of people with little to no speech. One of these treatments is PECS, which uses pictures to communicate meaning. The end goal is for the person to be able to communicate with others functionally.


Intercultural communication

In
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 ...
, problems with symbolic communication may start to arise. Since symbolic communication involves a shared message between a speaker and a listener, words which Items that are seen as sterile and inoffensive in one culture can be polemic or offensive in other cultures. Problems in intercultural communication may arise when people do not respect each other's cultures in their communication. Understanding what may cause offense is a key to international or even domestic travel or diplomacy when interacting with people not of one's immediate cultural settings. In verbal communication, language barriers sometime exist. Speakers of different languages will be almost completely unable to communicate with each other unless they share some commonalities. This is because the sounds speakers attach symbols to are usually very different from sounds with similar symbols in other languages. As such, people often struggle to communicate ideas between different cultures. The opposite, similar sounds with differing symbols, can also cause problems. What might be a normal word in one culture might be a taboo word in another culture. To avoid such problems, people will often use
euphemism A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...
s in place of taboo words. Paralinguistic cues such as gestures, intonation and facial expressions can aid in cross-cultural communication as they tend to be more similar to each other than words are. There are, however, some gestures can also sometimes be misunderstood across different cultures. For instance, the thumbs-up gesture which sees frequent usage in many countries and is understood as ''good'', in other countries such as Greece or the Middle East, this gesture is a negative symbol and making such a gesture can be considered very rude. Symbols themselves which represent ideas can hold different meanings to different communities. The first example to come to mind would be the
swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. I ...
. In Eurasia, some cultures see it as a symbol of divinity and spirituality. However, in the Western world the symbol was flipped and adopted by the German
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
during World War II and now carries ideas of racism and antisemitism. Wearing this symbol may offend people living there. In 2019, Pichayapa Natha, a member of pop star group BNK48, was slammed for wearing a swastika t-shirt during a rehearsal for a concert.


Animal societies

Communication in animals is usually not symbolic, and the arbitrariness of signs is typically considered the distinguishing factor between
human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...
and animal communication. However, research into
great ape The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the ...
language has involved teaching
chimpanzee 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 t ...
s,
gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four ...
s and
orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genu ...
s to communicate with human beings and with each other using
sign language 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 ...
, physical tokens, and lexigrams ( Yerkish), which contain some elements of arbitrariness. Some also argue that certain animals are capable of symbolic name usage.


References

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