PURPOSIVE COMMUNICTION

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION: REVIEWER

MODULE 1 THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE

WHAT IS LANGUANGE?
 Linguists agree that a language can only be called a language if it has a system of rules (also known as
grammar) a sound system (phonology), and a vocabulary (lexicon).
 When people use language, they can understand each other because they belong to the same speech
community.

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

 Communication is the process of using message to generate meaning - Personet al., 2011,p.10.
 Communication is the process of sending and receiving message sometimes through spoken or written
words, and sometimes non-verbally through facial expression, gestures, and voice qualities. -Ober &
Newman, 2015,. p 5.
 Broadly speaking, communication process of sharing opinions and information, ideas and feelings. -
Jimenez& Aliparo, 2000., p.1.
 Communication is a systematic process in which people interact with and through symbols to create and
interpret meanings. -Wood, 2012,. p.3.
 In its simplest form, communication is the transmission of a message from a source to receiver. -Baron,
2011., p. 4.
 Communication is the process of sending information to oneself or another entity usually via language. -
Palta, 2007., p. 1

It is the dual or two-way process of transmitting messages from one

person to another. It is the symbolic interaction between two or more people that influences each other’s
behavior. With it, not only does one make his/her own self understood, he /she also get to understand others.
Since communication is generally defined as the exchange of thoughts, ideas, concepts, and views between or
among two or more people, various contexts come into play. Context is the circumstance or environment in
which communication takes place. Such circumstance may include the physical or actual setting, the value
positions of a speaker/listener, and the relevance or appropriateness of a message conveyed. Communication
may then be classified according to: (1) communication mode (2) context, and (3) purpose and style.

FOUR KEY TERMS ON THE DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION: Wood; 2012

Communication is considered a
1) PURPOSE process because it is an activity in itself.
It is not an object that you can just
 Process implies continuity. simply perceive using one of your
senses, but it is an activity in which you
 It is dynamic as it continually changes.
participate (Pearson et al., 2011).
 Communication is never static
 Communication can even extend in deep slumber (as in talking to someone in your dreams).
Note:
The moment you open your eyes the following day, you are confronted again with similar
communication opportunities. However, it is difficult to tell when communication starts and stops.
Communication does not necessarily start in uttering the first word and stop in saying the last word of a
sentence. The circumstances that occur before starting a conversation and even the incidents that follow it
may still affect future conversations. This indicates that communication is a process that is constantly moving
and continuously changing. Therefore, communication as a process is continuous, moving, and ever
changing.
2) SYSTEM
 In the definitions of communication presented at the beginning of this chapter, phrases such as “oneself
to another entity, “from a source to a receiver,” and “people interact” suggest that communication
operates within a system.
 Wood (2012) defined system as interrelated parts that affect one another. It is a collection not of random
parts but of organized wholes.
 Communication is likewise affected by the larger system within which it operates. (Munter,1993).

For instance, in classroom communication, each student of the class is part

of the system. Even the type of classroom, the strategies employed by the teacher,
and the curriculum are part of the system. These parts interplay with each other as
the communication process happens. A small classroom with a large number of
students, the teacher might have a different strategy to effectively communicate the
lesson to the students. In this case, the teacher's communicative process is affected
by the system in which he or she is a part of.

 Thus, to effectively communicate and interpret a message, it is important to understand the system
(culture, religion, ethnicity, nationality, socio- economic status, age, sex, political affiliation, and others)
within which communication takes place.

When people communicate, they rely

3) SYMBOLS on symbols-a concrete representation of
 Wood explicitly used this term in her something abstract. definition. In Palta's
definition, symbol is represented by language and in Ober and Newman's, it
is indicated by spoken or written words and facial expressions, gestures, and voice qualities. For others, it
is embedded in the term message.
 It is a tangible counterpart of something intangible. For instance, “love” is not an object that can be
seen or touched, but when a man gives flowers and
 The use of symbols allows people to perceive abstract, arbitrary, and ambiguous
chocolates
representation of things using the senses.to a lady or when a man offers a ring to his
future wife, love is expressed. In the same scenario, if the
 Hence, communication is symbolic as it involves lady turns her back on the man who is giving flowers and
interaction with and through symbols. chocolates, it might mean rejection of the love being
offered. On a different note, if the lady extends her hand
to the man offering a ring, then it can be a symbol of
acceptance of marriage.

4) MEANINGS
 At the heart of communication is meaning.
 It can be viewed as an “end” in itself.
 This means that when people communicate, they attach meaning to the symbols they use (either verbal
or non-verbal) with the intent that the person/s they are communicating with share the same meaning as
intended.
 In other words, the goal is to generate common meanings through the messages provided or received.
 Communication has two levels of meaning: content level and relationship level (Wood, 2014; Pinker,
2008; Watzlawick, Beavin & Jackson, 1967).

TYPE MEANING EXAMPLE

It refers to the literal If someone asks. “May you
meaning of the message. It is attend the meeting?” The
Content Level parallel to the denotative content-level meaning is that
 meaning of the message.
It expresses the relationship
between the Communica-
Relationship Level tors,this can be the conno-
tative meaning of a message.
the person is simply
requesting your presence in
the meeting.
However, if the same
question is asked by your
boss, you might interpret the
relationship level meaning as
delegating the task to you
being the top performer or
someone can be trusted in
your team.

NOTE:
In both examples above, the content-level meaning is the same but the relationship-level meaning
varies depending on the type of relationship of the persons involved in communication.
 Meaning also refers to the understanding of the message.
 Ideally, your message should be understood in the same manner you intend it to be.

Putting the concepts and other definitions together, communication can be defined as a continuous
activity (process) that operates within a certain context (system) in which people exchange words,
gestures, and other verbal and non-verbal (symbols) behavior to create and understand information or
messages (meaning).

MODULE 2
IMPORTANCE AND ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

What is Communication?
 It is the dual or two-way process of transmitting messages from one person to another.
 It is the symbolic interaction between two or more people that influences each other’s behavior.
 With it, not only does one make his/her own self understood, he /she also gets to understand others.
How important communication is?

 We simply cannot not communicate.

 According to Daniel Webster, “if all my possessions were to be taken from me with one exception, I
would choose to keep the power of communication, for by it I would regain all the others”.

Elements of Communication
Language, on the other hand, is
 we are referring to the different factors to consider in order that communication can
our most effective medium of
be effective.
communication. It has but one purpose:
 Harold Laswell (1948), a political scientist, came up with a set to serve as the codeof
forquestions
the transmission
to
conveniently describe what comprises of messages between and among
communication.
people. By virtue of convention or social
agreement, language thus exists as a tool
used in expressing ideas and feelings to
The following are the questions and their corresponding components of communication:
achieve understanding.
 Who? A source

Says what? Sends a message

Through which channel? Through a medium

To whom? To a receiver

With what effect? Producing some effect

Figure 1.1 Laswell’s Components of Communication

1. People
-People who are involved in the communication process assume two roles-both as sources and
receivers of the message. These roles are not performed independently and successively but rather
continually and simultaneously.
 The SENDER – is the speaker . --- the one who delivers the message.
 The RECEIVER – is the intended target of the communication. ---also known as the listener, serving as the
receiver of the message or information.
2. Message
-This is the verbal and non-verbal form of the idea, thought, or feeling that one intends to
communicate to another person or group of people.
 Verbal message pertains to the language one utters.
 Non-verbal message refers to gestures, body movements, sign languages, and facial expressions.

3. Channel
- It refers to the means with which the message is delivered. As the message moves from the source to
the receiver, it passes through a medium (plural is media) or a channel which can be airwaves and cable
(channels for receiving television messages), sound waves (for radio messages), and sound and light waves (for
face-to-face communication allowing the receiver to see and hear the sender).

4. Feedback
-It is the receiver's verbal and non-verbal response to the source's message.

5. Code
- A code is a systematic arrangement of symbols used to create meanings in the mind of another
person/s. If someone yells “stop” as you approach a street, the word stop serves as a symbol that you are
likely to interpret as warning or danger.
6. Encoding and Decoding
-Encoding is defined as the process of translating an idea or a thought into a code.

7. Noise or Barrier
-noise refers to any interference in the encoding and decoding processes which affect the clarity and
understanding of a message.
 ROADBLOCKS or BARRIERS TO LISTENING
The following are some bad habits in listening that should be avoided:
1. Hostility to the speaker – unfriendly attitude, criticizing the speaker and his delivery
2. Daydreaming – listener get bored, physically present but mentally absent
3. Prejudging – making judgments even before listening, make an assumption that the subject is
uninteresting
4. Selective Listening – chooses channels, you just listen to thing you believe important

5. Close-mindedness – occurs when the listener is over-confident, finds a dislike for the speaker or feels
he knows better than the speaker
6. Listener’s background – culture, beliefs, mores, biases and prejudices can serve as obstruction to
effective listening
7. Distractions – may come in varied forms like personal, interpersonal, physical, environmental,
temporal, geographical, perceptual or semantic.

MODULE 3
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION ACCORDING TO MODE

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?
 Communication is not just confined to speaking. It is actually possible to be communicatíng without
talking or uttering even a single word.

Verbal communication
 uses spoken or written words to communicate a message. Alongside speaking, listening is an equally
important skill for this type of communication to be successful.
Non-verbal communication
 is the use of body language, gestures, facial expressions, and even posture to communicate.
 Non-verbal communication sets the tone of a conversation, and can seriously undermine the message
contained in your words if you are not careful to control it.

CATEGORIES OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION AS COMMUNICATION CUES

EYE CONTACT
 it is an important nonverbal communication tool for determining the interest of another person in a
conversation.
 It measures reactions and responses.
 The way a person would stare doesn’t reveal his interest, attraction, anger, hostility or involvement
in the conversation.

FACIAL EXPRESSION
 are responsible for a huge portion of nonverbal communication and are used universally in
communication to show interest or to suggest investment in another person’s actions or words.

GESTURE
 is a nonverbal communication that animates the two-way flow of meanings and intentions.

PHYSICAL SPACE
 is the spatial point or series of points an interlocutor occupies.