The Message
Chapter 5
Semiotic Tradition
 Semiotics of language
 Ferdinand de Saussure
 Modern founder of structure linguistics
 Language is arbitrary
 Structure approach of Language Forms
 Consist of speech, sounds, words, and grammar
 Language use is NOT arbitrary
 Language needs meaning to represent something
Understanding the Structure
 Saussure
 Key is difference in three areas
 Sound
 Letters sound different: p versus b
 Word form differs
 Pat versus Bat
 Grammatical forms
 Verb tenses change meaning
 “has run” versus “will run”
Language vs. Speech
 Language (langue)
 Formal system of language used in communication
 Can be analyzed apart from its use (grammatical etc)
 Constant
 Speech (parole)
 The use of language to deliver a thought or
accomplish a purpose
 Flexible and changing
 Linquistics = study of Language not speech
Beyond Semiotics
 Linguistics not enough to understand human use of language
 Two primary focus:
 Generative grammar
 Cognitive study of how rules impact spoken
language
 Chomsky
 Discourse
 Use of language in communication
 Evaluates conversations, media productions, and
speeches
Nonverbal Communication
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfDWQG47pAQ
Theories of Nonverbal Coding
 Includes three dimensions:
 Semantic
 Meaning of signs
 Syntactic
 How signs are organized into system with other
sign
 Pragmatic
 Effects or behavior created by signs
Eight aspects of Nonverbal Communication
 Kinesics
 Clothing and artifacts
 Voice: Paralanguage
 Pitch, volume, rate, nonfluencies, silence
 Proxemics
Eight Aspects of Nonverbal Communication
 Colors
 Chronemics
 Touch: Haptics
 Olfactics: Smell
Tell me her story
Kinesics
 Ray Birdwhistell, Kinesics and Context, page 127
 Seven assumptions used for his theory of body
language
 Cultural Gaffes
Proxemics
 Edward Hall
 Three types of space
 Fixed-featured space
 Unmovable things
 Semi-fixed feature
 Movable objects
 Informal Space
 Personal territory between people
 Intimate, Personal, Social & public
Proxemics and Culture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gscRJhDNVmI
Theoretical Approaches to
Understanding the Message
 Speech Act Theory
 Action Assembly Theory
 Message Design Models
Speech Act Theory
 “ I will pay you back”
 Accomplishes the following:
 Utterance Act
 Propositional Act
 Illocutionary Act
 Perlocutionary Act
 Two types of rules with Illocution force
 Constitutive rules
 Used to tell how to interpret statement
 Creates framework for understanding
 Regulatory Rules
 Tell how to use speech to accomplish a goal
Action-Assembly Theory
 John Greene
 Evaluates how we organize knowledge to form messages
 Uses two types of knowledge
 Content Knowledge
 Knowledge about things, or events in speech
 Procedural Knowledge
 Knowledge about how to do things
 Takes center stage in theory
 Process of associating common actions becomes
procedural record
John, How are you?
Fine, Mary, how are
you?
Message Design Models
 Planning Theory
 Charles Berger
 Explain the processes people use to plan
communication behavior
 Communication Plans
 Mental images of steps used to accomplish a goal