TOPIC 1: LANGUAGE AS COMMUNICATION: ORAL AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE.

FACTORS DEFINING A COMMUNICATIVE SITUATION: SENDER, RECEIVER, FUNCTIONALITY

AND CONTEXT
 INTRODUCTION:
Traditionally theories focused in components in isolation
In oral means to exchange info.. It needs knowledge of different elements. It requires formal
instruction. Problems for children to adapt oral to written=open gates into knowledge
 LANGUAGE AS COMMUNICATION:
Common definition: A set of linguistic signs that are interrelated according to certain rules that sender
and receiver know
From a functional point of view: Communication and representation
4 skills to master a language
-ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE:
Language as product
Language as tool
Language as activity
-CONCEPT OF COMMUNICATION:
Word Communication derives from Latin Communis= Common ground of understanding, share of
ideas or information and transmit them
Process in which 2 or more people exchange…
Human and animal societies function thanks to…
Communication: Language function. Exchange information between individual through a common
system of symbols
HISTORY OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION:
Cavemen
Persians: Perfected the flow of information from one edge to…
Romans: Horse
12TH: Hawks and pigeons
Technology: Telegraph (19th), then telephone and radio and finally satellite. Last years short
messages
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM:
A world of signs (Linguistic) Talk, write, see traffic signs,…
Sign: Abstract object, auditory or visual that represents another object
Semiology: Study of signs in social life
  ORAL AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE:

-ORAL LANGUAGE:
L1 is acquired and L2 is learned
L1 through experience and L2 through teaching
Oral language acquired naturally, in society
2 types of elements:
-Linguistic elements:
+Stress
+Rhythm
+Intonation
-Paralinguistic elements:
+Body language
Speech comes first in history. More potential and more richly develop
Exposed to changes, verbal and non-verbal
Rich patterns of semantics (Study of expressions’ meanings)
High complexity. Rarely found in written
-CHARACTERISTICS OF ORAL LANGUAGE:
Fill up the silences
Correct pitch depending the context and circumstances
Right stress and rhythm
Introducing pauses on purpose for effects
Non-verbal communication to support…
-WRITTEN LANGUAGE:
Communication follows a system and a ritual
Different types of organisation, purposes and lengths
Traditionally classified in genres, finally linguists linked their rhetorical mode to syntactic structures,
routines and formulae that characterize them.
Classified in: Postcards, letters, fill-in forms, curriculum vitae, summaries, reports, narrative texts,
descriptive texts, expository texts and argumentative texts
The elements include letters, numbers, punctuation, marks, spaces and the rules by which they are
combined
Written English has its own grammar, not like oral which can be confuse due the absence of
punctuation
-DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WRITING AND SPEECH
In physical form: Speech uses phonic substance/ Writing graphic substance
Structure and use: Speech is time-bound, dynamic (both participants usually present)
/ Writing is space-bound, static, permanent (Ususally producer is distant from the receiver)
Oral tends to be less formal, unless oral speeches. Also informal written (SMS, etc.)
 FACTORS DEFINING A COMMUNICATIVE SITUATION
-ELEMETS THAT TAKE PART IN A COMMUNICATION:
Code: Groups of signs combined (e.g., language)
Channel: Sonorous or visual
Message:
a) Expressive, cognitive and representative (e.g., Careful! Look out! R: The announcement of
danger E: Manifest fear C: Acting through a listener to avoid the knock down
b) Relation sender and receiver: Unilateral (Radio, TV) or bilateral (Reciprocal com.)
c) Form of the signs: Auditory (language, music, whistle) or visual (written language and draws)
Sign: Icon (portrait, theatre, cinema, caricature, etc.), traces (smoke is it of fire) and symbols (Green
cross, red-cross, black and white flag, etc.) Symbolic character, as it is similarity between the object
and the word
Some words aren’t so different in different languages…
Scheme: Information source----message---encoded---as a----signal---through a ---channel---receiver--
-decodes---message
-DIFFICULTIES IN COMMUNICATION:
Moments with silence due people convey emotions, feelings, intentions, etc. receiver has to
understand the message otherwise conversation is limited
Register: Style
-FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE:
To communicate our ideas mainly
Jakobson define 6 functions of language:
Referential: Describes a situation, object or mental state in a context
Expressive: Reflects speaker’s attitude to the topic (1st person)
Conative: Engages the addressee directly. Vocatives and imperatives (2 nd person)
Poetic: Poetry and slogans
Phatic: Greetings and casual discussion
Metalingual: the use of language to describe itself
Halliday: Basic function of language for children learning a new language
Instrumental: “I want” function. Students need to express their ideas and needs
Regulatory: “Do as I tell you” language of rules, orders, suggestions…
Interactional: “Me and you” Learning patterns for greetings, thanking, extending, good wishes, etc.
Personal: “Here I come” Encourage students to talk about themselves, express feelings, experiences.
Heuristic: “Tell me why” people working in small groups, teach each other
Imaginative: “Let’s pretend” supposing, creating, and hypothesising
Informative: I’ve got something to tell you” declarative affirmative and negative
-VARIETIES OF LANGUAGE
According to region:
According to social group
According to field of discourse (activity they are engaged)
According to attitude
According to medium (spoken or written)