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TEMA 40 (simplificar ndice) ESTRATEGIAS DE COMUNICACIN. DEFINICIN Y TIPOLOGIA. Good evening, my name is ___________ and I am going to be dealing with unit number 40: Estrategias de comunicacin. Definicin y tipologia. A lot has been discused and written about this theme, but in order to give a clear and ordered view, I will divide the unit in the following points: 0:Language as communication 0.1:Language definitions 0.2:Language functions 0.3:Communicative competence The first section will be devoted to: 1:Communication theory 1.1:Communication definition 1.2:Main models The second section to: 2:Oral Communication theory: System constraints and ritual constraints 2.1:Introduction 2.2:System constraints 2.2.1:Channel open/close signals 2.2.2:Backchannel signals 2.2.3:Turnover signals 2.2.4:Acoustically adequate and interpretable messages 2.2.5:Bracket signals or side-sequences 2.2.6:Nonparticipant constraints 2.2.7:Preempt signals 2.2.8:Gricean norms for communication 2.3:Ritual constraints Finally, the last section will be a final conclusion and the bibliography. This way I will start with an introduction to the concept of language, ant its most adequates definitions.

0:LANGUAGE AS COMMUNICATION 0.1:LANGUAGE DEFINITIONS The word language has innumerable definitions. Some focus on the general concept of language and some focus on the more specific notion of a language. -Sapir (1921):Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols. -Hall (1964):Language as the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols. -Charles Hockett proposed 13 design features of communication using spoken language: 1-Auditory-vocal channel, 2-Broadcast transmission and directional reception, 3-Rapid fading, 4-Interchangeability, 5-Total feedback, 6.-Specialization, 7-Semanticity, 8Arbritariness, 9-Discreteness, 10-Displacement, 11-Productivity, 12-Traditional transmision, 13-Duality of patterning. After having studied the main properties of language, we will now see its functions 0.2:LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS Why do we use language? To communicate our ideas.1-Referential function However it would be wrong to think of communicating our ideas as the only way in which we use language. Several other functions may be identified. One of the commonest uses of languages, the 2-expressive or emotional: when we are under stress, obscenities are probably the most usual signals to be used in this way, but there are also many emotive utterances of a positive kind. Mlinowsky referred to the 3-social function of language, if someone does not say hello to you when he is supposed to, you may think he is hostile. In these cases the sole function of language is to maintain a comfortable relationship between people. Phatic communication, however is far from universal, some cultures prefer silence. The forth function is based on4-phonetic properties: the rhythmical litanies of religious groups, dialogue chants used by prisoners or soldiers-people take delight in them. The fifth function is the 5-performative one: A performative sentence is an utterance that performs an act. This use occurs in the naming of a ship. Halliday grouped all these functions into three metafunctions. The ideational function: is to organize the speakers or writerexperience of the real or imaginary world. The interpersonal functional is to indicate, establish or maintain social relationships between people. The third

component is the textual function which serves to create written or spoken texts which cohere within themselves and which fit the particular situation in which they are used. 0.3:COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE -Chomsky defined language as a set of sentences. An able speaker has a subconscious knowledge of the grammar rules of his language which allows him to make sentences in that language. -Hymes distinguished four aspects of this competence: 1-Systematic potential, 2-appropriacy, 3-occurrence, 4-feasibility. 1-Means the native speaker possesses a system that has a potential for creating a lot of language. 2-the native speaker knows what language is appropiate in a given situation. 3-the native speaker knows how often something is said in the language. 4The native speaker knows whether something is possible in the language. Lets move now to section number 1. 1:COMMUNICATION THEORY 1.1:DEFINITION Communication: the exchange of meanings between individuals through a common system of symbols. By the late 20th century the main focus of interest in communication is centred on: 1-The mass communication industries. 2-Persuasive communication. 3-Processes of interpersonal communication. 4-Dynamics of verbal and nonverbal communication between individuals. 5-Perception of different kinds of communication. 6-Uses of communication technology for social and artistic purposes. 7-Development of relevant criticism. 1.2:MODELS 1.2.1:DYNAMIC MODELS Dynamic models are used in describing cognitive, emotional, and artistic aspects of communication as they occur in sociocultural contexts. 1.2.2:LINEAR MODELS:SHANNON AND WEAVERS Shannon and Weaver proposed a productive schematic model of communication. The simplicity, clarity, and surface generality of their model proved attractive to many students: Information source, channel of transmission, receiver, destination. This model was intended for electronic messages. The information source was split into its components to provide a wide range of applicability: source, encoder, message, channel, decoder, receiver. Another concept, first called noise source after associated with the notion
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of entropy was imposed. Entropy diminishes the integrity of the message and distorts the message for the receiver. Redundancy, the repetition of elements within a message, is the greatest antidote to entropy. Despite the entropy and redundancy, the model is conceptually static. To correct this, Wiener added the principle of feedback. 1.3:KEY FACTORS This unit mentions the key factors affecting any communicative interaction such as the sender and the receiver. The information source selects a desired message out of a possible set of messages. The transmitter changes the message into a signal which is sent over the communication channel where it is received by the receiver and changed back into a message which is sent to the destination. In the process of transmission certain unwanted additions to the signal may occur which are not part of the message, and these are referred to as noise or entropy. In face-to-face communication, the speaker can be both information source and transmitter, while the listener can be both receiver and destination. Lets move now to section number 2. 2:ORAL COMMUNICATION THEORY: SYSTEM CONSTRAINTS AND RITUAL CONSTRAINTS. 2.1:INTRODUCTION All kinds of human communication suffer from a given set of universal constraints that affects all languages. Each language, will differ in the attempt to overcome these constraints and will always have to keep improving the mechanisms to achieve clear communication. -Goffman divided these constraints into two types: 1-System constraints: the difficulties which affect the basic components required for all communication systems, 2-Ritual constraints: difficulties that influence the social features that smooth social interaction and make it easier for the participants in a communicative event. Despite , these two constraints help, rather than hinder, the process of communication. 2.2:SYSTEM CONSTRAINTS There are eight system constraints that Goffman claimed to be universal i all human communication. 2.2.1:CHANNEL OPEN/CLOSE SIGNALS

All communication system nedd ways to show that communication is about to begin, and ways to show that is about to end. These channels open/close signals will differ according to the channel (phone calls, letters, meetings ...) The signals may be non-verbal : the teacher knocls on the table. They can also be verbal by using formulas such as Can I help you. These signals largely depend on sociolinguistic factors such as the degree of intimacy, the cultural habits of the linguistic community. 2.2.2:BACKCHANNEL SIGNALS The second system constraint relates that there must be signals which indicate that the message is getting throuh. The addressee should be aware of the meaning being transmitted by the speaker: eye-contact, head nods, smiles... These signals show that the listener is following the message and furthermore, they do not take the floor away from the current speaker. A) Jims trying to sell his flat, B) Uhm. Teachers tend to use these signals to show the students that what they are doing is correct: Ok. The actual verbal or non-verbal forms we use to signal message reception differ according to setting. The signals used by friends in conversation differ from those givern by students in classrooms. Ritualised feedback can be observed for example in religious settings, where the congregation answers to the priest according to a pre-established formula. 2.2.3:TURNOVER SIGNALS These signals cue the next speaker to start new turn, some of these signals are: slowing down the tempo of speech. Sometimes overlaps appear. Overlaps are different from interruptions, because the former show alignment with the speaker, and the latter show disagreement with his/her opinions. In conversations among close friends, overlaps are almost permanent. Informal conversations tend to have shorter tuns. 2.2.4:ACOUSTICALLY ADEQUATE AND INTERPRETABLE MESSAGES If one part of the communication system, or any of the surrounding factors, fails to work properly, communication breaks down. The question is What makes a message interpretable. This is the reason why there are varieties of registers according to the recipient of the talk (talk to students), foreigner talk (to foreigners), baby talk (To young children). The main feature which unifies these registers is the slow pace of speech (with fewer elisions and simpler vocabulary) 2.2.5:BRACKET SIGNALS OR SIDE SEQUENCES These signals make the listener be attentive to a topic which cannot be dealt with at the moment but will be picked up later on. Some elements which introduce brackets are for example: by the way, well, anyway. These devices appear in casual and highly dynamic
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conversations in which the speakers ha a lot of things to say. It is at these points where other speakers may interrrupt an start talking. 2.2.6:NONPARTICIPANT CONSTRAINTS In order that messages be interpretable, it is necessary to keep other competing messages out of the channel. Therefore, we must be able to block nonparticipant noise from the communication channel. A) Im looking for a good caf that makes italian coffee, B)Do you know..., C) Italian coffee did you say?. Speaker C) enters the conversation to offer some help. 2.2.7:PREEMPT SIGNALS There also have to be ways for participants to interrupt an ongoing message when they want to disagree, or add more information than that which is being provided. Interruptions are often felt to be impolite in most situations. Being embarrasing situations as they are, there need to be ways to do this in a polite way: excuse me... 2.2.8:GRICEAN NORMS FOR COMMUNICATION Goffman noticed that communication cannot work unless the participants observe what Grice describes as cooperative principle. This is a rule by which the speakers will try to overcome all the possible misfits in the communication process. The principle is formed by the maxims of conversation . 1-Relevance:the speaker has to make a contribution relevant to the topic. A)Do you like coffee? B)I like your dress? The speakers will always try to make messages cohere with the surrounding discourse. 2-Quality:make your contribution one that is true. 3-Quantity: be brief and orderly, do not exceed the alloted time in your turn. 4-Manner: be clear, avoid obscurity and ambiquity of expression. Try to explain things as clearly as you can. All these maxims are important for effective communication and the flouting of any of them will create misfits in the interaction exchange. Flouting of the maxim of quality is when we lie for in a particular situation, or rather when we say what we believe that is false. Relevance is flouted very often in daily communication. A)The phone is ringing, B)Im having a bath. This exchange shows how when both speakers know the implications of the situation, there is no connection between the two utterances, but the communicative value of the exchange is eloquent. It is important to say, that very much of our daily communication is based on these maxims. 2.3:RITUAL CONSTRAINTS The second system of universal constraints is that of ritual or social constraints. They complement the system constraints from the social point of view. In this section we present
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the typical cultural ritual constraints in English: Openings/closings:Hello, Hows the family?, nodding, uhm, lengh of sentences differs across cultures, if you are very competent in english you may feel insulted if a native speaker talks you in a very simple terms, nonparticipants signals: when we attend a party in which we know nobody the host tries to introduce ourselves. Preempt signals: interruptions depend on cultural features. Grices maxims: the four maxims are deeply rooted in each culture in a different way. Ultimately then, we will move to a final conclusion. 3:CONCLUSION Language has been defined in several ways according to the authors who have studied this concept. Anyway, the general definition could be the following one: the human method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires through produced symbols. Communication is a term directly joined to the idea of language, which could be defined as: the exchange of meanings between individuals through a system of symbols. In this sense, particularly, the oral communication presents two kinds of constraints that affects all languages. Each language will differ in the attempt to overcome these constraints. On the one hand we find system constraints which are universal in all human communication, and on the other hand ritual constraints which complement the system constraints from the social point of view. 4:BIBLIOGRAPHY The bibliography I have used for the development of the content is: -Brown. G & Yule. G Discourse Analysis (1983) -Halliday, MAK. Spoken and Written Language Victoria: Deakin University (1985) -Hatch, E. Discourse and Languge Education Cambridge: CUP (1992) -Sperber, D & Wilson, D Relevance . Blackwell.