Concepts and scope of course

Sonia Munteanu, PhD

Waggle dance
Waggle dance - meaning

By performing this dance, successful foragers can share,

with other members of the colony, information about
the direction and distance to patches of flowers yielding
nectar and pollen, to water sources, or to new nest-site
locations. (Wikipedia)
Communication
Communication
Communication
Communication
Linguistic vs non-linguistic
communication
Non-linguistic communication has its advantages:
 it can be faster, more effective and reach a wider audience
(no language barriers, no literacy barriers, etc.);
 It can overcome physical and mental deficiencies;
But it has its limitations, too:
 often it is culturally bound (some signs or facial
expressions cannot be understood by different cultures,
can seem offensive in some cultures, etc.)
 only simple, non-complex/single meaning messages can be
communicated;
Linguistic vs non-linguistic
communication
Linguistic communication is:
 complex,
 nuanced,
 can be retransmitted, reshaped, refined, etc.,
 exact same message can be sent by various media,
 virtually eternal (written) - is not temporally limited;
 culturally limited only by natural languages.
Language vs languages

 Language is the unique human ability to produce and

understand meaningful utterances;
 Other ‘languages’ exist, we’ll use the term in this
limited sense;
 we will differentiate language (human ability) and
natural languages (its instantiations – English, French,
etc.);
Communication

 Communication is the transmission of messages from

the sender to the receiver;
 Communication can be linguistic or non-linguistic;
 In a successful act of communication, the sender and
the receiver share information, like the bees in the
waggle dance.
What is communicated?

 Information contained in the messages.

 How much information? What information? How

complex?
What is communicated?

Linear model of communication or basic transmission

model (sees messages as monosemic/intended effect);

Who, says What, in which Channel, to Whom, and with

what Effect (Laswell, 1948)
What is communicated?
Semiotic model (Roman Jacobsen, 1960)
context

message receiver
sender

channel

code
What is communicated
 Polysemic messages vs monosemic messages;
preferred vs unintended meaning of message;

 Polysemic meaning - different people interpreting a

message in a different way.

 Is variation of interpretation acceptable?

 Desirable?
 When? In what context?
Information

Information is considered to be that which the message

is about/contains (knowledge, data, facts, etc.)
Information
The total information load of a message is a complex mix
of:
 meaning of the words of the message;
 syntactic arrangement of words;
 context of communication;
 relationship between sender and receiver;
 medium/channel used to communicate;
 intended purpose of the message.
The information load
 meaning of words+syntax=linguistic processing

Grab a chair and join us!

The information load
 context of communication – linguistic context +
situational context;

Hi, so nice to meet you here! Grab a chair and join us!
Professional communication
 What does it mean?
 Who are the sender and the receiver?
 Context?
 Channel?
 Code?
 What is the role of ‘text’?
Scope of this course

 Communication in professional contexts;

 Effective information transmission;

 Mostly written communication;

Content
 Cohesion and coherence in texts: punctuation, word

order, structure of information;

 Phrase grammar and titles of articles in science;

 Types of texts and their structure: textbooks, articles,

conference posters;
Course logistics
 Lectures;

 Class activities;

 Some assignments;

 Test.
Assessment
 2 tests: midterm (approx. beginning of May)+ end
term;

 Midterm=quiz (70% of final grade)

 End term=poster (+its presentation – approx. end of

May); (30 % of final grade)

 Optional – homework (may raise your final grade)