What is the role of Language and Sign/Symbol in Communication?
Role of Language in Communication.
There are many requirements for a successful communication. One set of symbols makes a language which reflect the personality of an individual or his culture. It is very important for a culture to grew and for the continuity of a society to have a language. Language is a message system used for coding and decoding.
The communication through language is the most important part of social interaction, it is most powerful and that helps analyze reviews and psychological process of individuals and societies. Language consists of spoken and written system of symbols which social community uses in a fairly standardized way.
The three functions of language are:
- It is a primary vehicle of communication.
- It is a representation of an individual and its society which shapes personality and culture.
- The growth and transmission of a culture is possible through language. It also helps in continuity of society and their effective functioning with a control on the group.
Role of Sign/Symbol in Communication.
The message is a combination of signs which stand for something experienced earlier. Sign is a representation of the object at a reduced level. There is a constant decoding of signs while communicating which we receive from our environment. Symbols are used in all communications even while using languages.
A symbol is generally used in place of something else and are accepted as medium of communication. Words are significant symbols and using this completes communication only when communicator and the receptor attach similar meaning to the employed symbols. The human beings not only use symbols interacting with each other but they also create new symbols and thus they are most important in communication process.
Symbols are:
- Verbal in spoken words.
- Graphic in written word.
- Representational in flag.
The social group decides about what the symbol stands for as society agrees for a given symbol stands for an object. If somebody uses another symbol then stand it may result in a blocked communication. Communication channel is a strong link between the source and the sender. The channel credibility is checked through evaluation of its effectiveness.
The receiver reacts immediately and maximally as a feedback to the source of the massage in the whole communication process. There are more dimensions to channel such as channel involvement, channel availability and channel its permanency.
