Communication and

language
Ways of speaking
 summary

 Definitions
 Types of communication
Definitions

 Language:
Noun
the principal method of human
communication, consisting of words used in a
structured and conventional way
and conveyed by speech, writing, or gesture.
Language is a tool of communication.
 Communication:
Noun
Communication is a way of interchanging
messages or information between two or
more people, focusing on the message. 
Communication is a process of transferring
messages.
Types of
communication
 Verbal written listening

visual Non-verbal

There is 5 types of communication

   verbal
        communication
Ø In the literal sense, verbal communication is oral communication with words that you or others speak 
out loud
 This form of communication is further classified into four types, which are:
 1. Intrapersonal Communication
 This form of communication is extremely private and restricted to ourselves. It includes the silent
conversations we have with ourselves, wherein we juggle roles between the sender and receiver who
are processing our thoughts and actions. This process of communication when analyzed can either be
conveyed verbally to someone or stay confined as thoughts.
 2. Interpersonal Communication
 This form of communication takes place between two individuals and is thus a one-on-one
conversation. Here, the two individuals involved will swap their roles of sender and receiver in order
to communicate in a clearer manner.
 3. Small Group Communication
 This type of communication can take place only when there are more than two people involved. Here
the number of people will be small enough to allow each participant to interact and converse with
the rest. Press conferences, board meetings, and team meetings are examples of group
communication. Unless a specific issue is being discussed, small group discussions can become
chaotic and difficult to interpret by everybody. This lag in understanding information completely can
result in miscommunication.
 4. Public Communication
 This type of communication takes place when one individual addresses a large gathering of people.
Election campaigns and public speeches are example of this type of communication. In such cases,
there is usually a single sender of information and several receivers who are being addressed.
 Non-verbal
            communication  

nonverbal communication is about what's not said out loud,

there are tree types of non-verbal communication:

gestures

facial expressions

body language.
 A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication or non-
vocal communication in which visible bodily actions
communicate particular messages, either in place of, or in
conjunction with, speech. Gestures include movement of
the hands, face, or other parts of the body.

Gestures 
Facial expressions

a form of nonverbal
signalling using the
movement of facial
muscles. An integral part of
communication, facial
expression also reflects an
individual's emotional
state.
Body language
définition

Body language is the use of physical

behavior, expressions, and
mannerisms to communicate
nonverbally, often done
instinctively rather than
consciously. Whether you're aware
of it or not, when you interact with
others, you're continuously giving
and receiving wordless signals.
The four types of
body language
All people use one of four movements
to communicate their body language:

 LIGHT AND BOUNCY  SOFT AND FLUID DYNAMIC AND PRECISE AND BOLD
DETERMINED
Body language
 You have a buoyant, springy gait
as you move. You move around a
lot while sitting and standing,
frequently changing positions.
Because you find it difficult to
remain still or concentrate on
one subject for an extended
period of time, you may come
off as restless and fidgety to
others. You frequently sit on the
floor or in great comfort with
your legs crossed.
 
 Body language

 You stroll with grace and ease.

You move more slowly and keep
your feet planted firmly on the
ground. Your steps are incredibly
smooth and flowing, without any
bounce. You hold your head to
the side when sitting and standing
in an S-curve or with a relaxed
bend.
body language
 You move with purpose as you
walk, planting your feet firmly
and moving quickly. You may be
heard coming from afar. Due to
your intentional movement,
others can even hear you as you
sit. When you stand and sit, you
make angles. Legs crossed, one
leg raised beneath you, cocked
head, hands-on waist, or torso
bowed at the waist.
 Body language

 you have a very upright,

motionless, and stately gait, and
your body and limbs barely move.
You also sit very straight, with
your back straight, your feet flat
on the floor, and your hands
folded or by your sides. With a
formal appearance, your sitting
and standing could be deemed
proper.
There is also:

 Eye contact. Since the visual sense is dominant for most people, eye contact is
an especially important type of nonverbal communication. The way you look at
someone can communicate many things, including interest, affection,
hostility, or attraction. Eye contact is also important in maintaining the flow of
conversation and for gauging the other person's interest and response.
 Touch. We communicate a great deal through touch. Think about the very
different messages given by a weak handshake, a warm bear hug, a patronizing
pat on the head, or a controlling grip on the arm, for example.
 Space. We all have a need for physical space, although that need differs
depending on the culture, the situation, and the closeness of the relationship.
You can use physical space to communicate many different nonverbal
messages, including signals of intimacy and affection, aggression or
dominance.
 Voice. It's not just what you say,
it's how you say it. When you speak, other
people “read” your voice in addition to
listening to your words. Things they pay
attention to include your timing and pace,
how loud you speak, your tone and
inflection, and sounds that convey
understanding, such as “ahh” and “uh-
huh.” Think about how your tone of voice
can indicate sarcasm, anger, affection, or
confidence.
  Written communication is any written message that
two or more people exchange. Written communication
is typically more formal but less efficient than oral
communication. Examples of written communication
include:
  Emails

 written
            communication   Text messages
  Memos
  Bulletins
  Emails
  Faxes
  written advertisements.
 visual
       Communication

 Visual communication is the practice of using visual elements to get a

message across, inspire change, or evoke an emotion. Visual Communication
exists in two parts; communication design and graphic design: Communication
design refers to crafting a message that educates, motivates, and engages the
viewer.
 Decorative

representational

 mnemonic
There are 7
types of visual organizational
communication: Relational

transformational

 interpretive visuals.
 decorative

 Decorative visuals are usually

added to educational materials
for aesthetic appeal and for
humorous and motivational
purposes. These visuals usually
serve as eye candy to make the
content more exciting.
representational

 Representational visuals show

an object in a realistic way.
These images have a high
degree of correspondence to
the real items that they
represent. In some cases,
extraneous detail is omitted
from representational visuals,
even though the visual still
depicts the object realistically
Mnemonic

 Mnemonic visuals help people recall details, facts, or concepts that are taught in a
lesson. These visuals provide cues so the learner can retrieve factual information more
easily. Mnemonics sometimes relate to specific cultural or linguistic practices.
organizational

 Organizational visuals show

relationships among content of
your lesson. These visuals are
usually shown as charts,
concept maps, or (tree)
diagrams. 
Relational

 Relational Visuals are used to show relationships among multiple variables.

These relationships are usually visually shown in charts and diagrams
transformational

 Transformational visuals show changes in time and space. Visuals that show
motion are usually used for these purposes, such as animations, video, or line
drawings with arrows or other signs indicating motion.
 interpretive
visuals
Interpretive visuals illustrate a principle,
theory, or cause-effect relationship
listening  communication

 Listening is the ability to
accurately receive and
interpret messages in the
communication process. •
Listening is key to all effective
communication, without. the
ability to listen effectively
messages are easily
misunderstood. • Listening is
one of the most important skills
you can have.
 Informational listening

Discriminative listening

There are 7 Biased listening

types of Sympathetic listening

listening Comprehensive listening

communication Empathetic or therapeutic listening

Critical listening
 When you want to learn something, you’ll use
informational listening to understand and
retain information. 

It usually takes a high level of concentration to

perform this type of listening. That’s because
• Informational l you need to be highly engaged to understand a
new concept.
istening
You also need to apply critical thinking to what
you are learning. This is so you can understand
what you’re learning within the context of
relevant information.
 Discriminative listening is the first listening type
that you’re born with. Everyone innately has
discriminative listening skills.

You use this type of listening before you even know

how to understand words. Instead of relying on
Discriminative words, discriminative listening uses tone of voice,
verbal cues, and other changes in sound.
listening Discriminative listening is how babies understand
the intention of a phrase before they can
understand words. If someone speaks to them in a
happy and amused tone of voice, they’ll smile and
laugh back.
 Biased listening is also known as selective
listening.

Someone who uses biased listening will only listen

Biased listeni for information that they specifically want to
hear.
ng
This listening process can lead to a distortion of
facts. That’s because the person listening isn’t
fully in tune with what the speaker wishes to
communicate.
 Sympathetic listening is driven by emotion.

Instead of focusing on the message spoken

sympathetic list through words, the listener focuses on the
feelings and emotions of the speaker. This is
ening done to process these feelings and emotions.

By using sympathetic listening, you can provide

the support the speaker needs. You can
understand how they’re really feeling, not
what they say they are feeling.
 Unlike discriminative listening, comprehensive listening requires
language skills.

This type of listening is usually developed in early childhood.

comprehensive
listening People use comprehensive listening to understand what someone
is saying using words.

Several other types of listening build on comprehensive listening.

For example, you need to use comprehensive listening to use
informational listening and learn something new.
 Empathetic listening is useful to help you see from other
people’s perspectives.

Using this type of listening, you can try to understand

someone else’s point of view as they’re speaking. You can
also try to imagine yourself in the other person’s shoes.

Empathetic o Instead of just focusing on their message, you can use

r therapeutic empathetic listening to relate to someone else’s

experiences as if they were your own.

listening This is different from sympathetic listening.

 If you need to analyze complex information, you’ll need to use
critical listening.

Using critical thinking while listening goes deeper than

comprehensive listening. Instead of taking the information at
face value, you can use critical listening to evaluate what’s being
said.
Critical liste
ning
Critical listening is crucial when problem-solving at work. 

For example, you’d use this type of listening when trying to

choose how to handle an unusual and complex client request.
Characteristics of
communication 
Clear

 Clarity is ensuring what you’re

saying is communicated clearly
and with no room for
misunderstanding. Good advice
for being clear includes:
 Use simple language and focus
on core points of your message
 Don’t use idioms to prevent any
confusion and ambiguity
 Be clear in your mind about
what you want to say and its
purpose before you say it
Concise

 Convey your points in a succinct and concise way. Short

sentences are more likely to keep the attention of the
listener, so try to use as little words as possible to
communicate your message. 
 Concise communication is non-repetitive, saves time, and
is more comprehensible for the audience. 
Concrete

A concrete message is precise and backed

by confidence as well as the use of
supporting facts and figures. 
Correct 

 You should use the most suitable language for your

specific message, and the best form of communication.
Correctness also means keeping your language free of
mistakes, whether that’s grammatical, spelling, or other
inaccuracies. 
Coherent 

 Coherent conversation makes sense and flows logically.

Think carefully about the order of your points and how
you can make it come across in an easy-to-understand
way. It’s also important to be consistent with style and
content when delivering multiple forms of
communications.
Complete

 Make sure nothing is missing. Complete communication

ensures the audience has all the information they need,
and are able to easily come to the desired conclusion
Courteous

 It’simportant to be polite and respectful of your

audience. Being friendly, considerate, and
professional will make your communications much
more effective. You should also be transparent,
open, and honest, and be happy to answer any
questions if applicable. 
language
 Language
importance
 Language is a structured system
of communication that consists
of grammar and vocabulary. It is
the primary means by which
humans convey meaning, both in
spoken and written forms, and
may also be conveyed through
sign languages.
 Language
characteristics
Language is a system

  language is a structured system of

communication which consists of a set of sounds,
signs and/or written symbols which are used by
the people of a particular country, region or
group for talking, writing or communicating.
Language is symbolic

 Almostevery single language system ever used by

humans is primarily made up of symbols. A symbol
is something that stands in for or represents
something else.
 Symbols can be communicated verbally (speaking
the word hello), in writing (putting the letters H-
E-L-L-O together), or nonverbally (waving your
hand back and forth).
Language is systematic

 Although language is symbolic, its symbols are arranged in

a particular system, not in random manners.
 For example, If we regard a language as being made up of
sounds, we find out that only certain sounds occur in any
one language that these occur in certain regular and
predictable patterns.
 Certain sounds do not exist in certain languages. This
makes a language mutually intelligible.
 Language is social

 Language is social in that interaction with other persons is

psychologically necessary to learn language.
 We use language to be in a community, to communicate
with others. We depend on others when learning
language, and we constantly borrow one another’s uses of
expression.
 Language helps us perform various social functions, and
many of its uses have become institutionalised.
Language is arbitrary

 Swiss linguist De Saussure claimed that language is

arbitrary because of the lack of a natural
relationship between the signifier (language form)
and the signified (referent).
 The sounds of a word gives very little to no clue
to the meaning of the word. When you say or
write dog, it doesn’t really gives us any clue to
what it means.
 Language is cultural

 Language is one of the most important parts of any culture. Culture as a

whole is transmitted through language.
 The fact that humankind has a history in the sense that animals do not is
entirely the result of language.
 We learn about the culture of a new country, our own culture thanks to
language.
Language is dynamic

 language is dynamic because it is always changing,

evolving, and adapting to the needs of its users.
 The language we use today is different from the language
our parents used and different from that used in Middle
Ages.
 New words appear regularly. Dictionaries change.
Pronunciation differs. Even grammar rules evolve.
 Language is
variation
 Language is variation. There is more
than one way of saying the same
thing. Speakers may vary
pronunciation (accent), word choice
(lexicon), or morphology and syntax
(grammar).
 Variation happens for many
different reasons. Sociolinguistics,
the study of social factors affecting
language, is based on the ideas that
language varies because of different
social reasons such as age, race,
gender, social-economic status,
geography, etc.
Language is meaningful

 A language signal/symbol always conveys meaning. In

linguistic terms, all the symbols/signals of language have
a semantic content.
 The semantic content means each symbol is associated to
something in the real world.
 Humans are able to give the same symbol a meaning, and
very often, more than one meaning, and they’re still able
to distinguish all of them.
Language is human
 Language is human as it differs from animal
communication in several ways. The
characteristics highlighted above set apart
language from animal communication forms.
 Some of these features may be part of
animal communication; yet they do not form
part of it in its entirety.
Types of language
There are 12 types of language

Colloquial
 Argot  Cant  Creole
Language

Lingua
 Dialect Jargon Lingo
Franca

Vernacula
 Patois  Pidgin Slang
r
Argot

 An argot is a language primarily developed to disguise conversation, originally

because of a criminal enterprise, though the term is also used loosely to refer
to informal jargon.
 Cant

 Cant is somewhat synonymous with argot and jargon and refers to the

vocabulary of an in-group that uses it to deceive or exclude nonusers.
Colloquial Language

 Anything not employed in formal writing or conversation, including terms that

might fall under one or more of most of the other categories in this list, is a
colloquialism. Colloquial and colloquialism may be perceived to be pejorative
terms, but they merely refer to informal terminology.
 Creole

 A creole is a more sophisticated development of a pidgin, derived from two or

more parent languages and used by people all ages as a native language.
 Dialect

 A dialect is a way of speaking based on geographical or social factors.

Jargon

 Jargon is a body of words and phrases that apply to a specific activity or

profession, such as a particular art form or athletic or recreational endeavor,
or a medical or scientific subject. Jargon is often necessary for precision
when referring to procedures and materials integral to a certain pursuit.
Lingo

 This term vaguely refers to the speech of a particular community or group and
is therefore loosely synonymous with many of the other words in this list.
Lingua Franca

 A lingua franca is a language often adopted as a common tongue to enable

communication between speakers of separate languages, though pidgins and
creoles, both admixtures of two or more languages, are also considered lingua
francas.
Patois

 Patois refers loosely to a nonstandard language such as a creole, a dialect, or

a pidgin, with a connotation of the speakers’ social inferiority to those who
speak the standard language.
Pidgin

 A simplified language arising from the efforts of people speaking different

languages to communicate is a pidgin. These languages generally develop to
facilitate trade between people without a common language. In time, pidgins
often evolve into creoles.
Slang

 A vocabulary of terms (at least

initially) employed in a specific
subculture is slang. Slang terms,
either invented words or those
whose meanings are adapted to
new senses, develop out of a
subculture’s desire to disguise
— or exclude others from —
their conversations
Vernacular

 A vernacular is a native language or dialect, as opposed to another tongue

also in use, such as Spanish, French, or Italian and their dialects as compared
to their mother language, Latin. Alternatively, a vernacular is a dialect itself
as compared to a standard language (though it should be remembered that a
standard language is simply a dialect or combination of dialects that has come
to predominate).