Communication and Culture

COMMUNICATIONCULTURECODECONTEXTREPRESENTATIONIDENTITYPOWERVALUE

KEY CONCEPTS! SHOULD BE USED IN 3 OF THE 4 ESSAYS

Achieved Roles; a role in which a person assumes voluntarily e.g. Employee, friend, girlfriend

Ascribed Roles; a role in which a person is given e.g. Daughter, student, granddaughter

Semantic Memory; is our shared or cultural memory. We learn to read people in certain ways

Episodic Memory; unique to you, makes you an individual personality.

PUBLIC SELF

PRIVATE SELF

CORE

PRIVATE SELF

PUBLIC SELF

ROGERS

COOLEY-LOOKING GLASS THEORYThe version of the self we find in other peoples responses

SHULTZ states that there are three reasons as to why we communicate

-To control -For inclusion-For affection

OPEN SELF(GENDER, RACE, NAME)

BLIND SELF(THINGS OTHERS SEE BUT YOU DON’T)

HIDDEN SELF(YOUR PERSONAL SECRETS)

UNKNOWN SELF(TALENTS YOU DON’T KNOW YOU HAVE)

THE JOHARI WINDOW

THINGS THEY DON’T KNOW

THINGS THEY KNOW

THINGS I KNOW THINGS I DON’T KNOW

GOFFMAN

Goffman argues that we all put on a persona, and that everyone is acting. We use props and stages throughout our everyday lives.

We use cynical and sincere performances. Cynical-fakeSincere-not fakeWe also use masks.

Ego StatesCharacteristic set patterns of behaviour

Natural Child instinctive/curious/childish/emotional

Adapted Child flirty/lying/deceivingNurturing Parent nurturing/boosts self

esteem/’no blame’ cultureControlling Parent

punishing/belittling/superior/low self esteem Adult dull/boring/coherent/logical

Attitudes-our tendency to react favourably or unfavourably to people, objects or situations.

Beliefs-our views of existence; what we think is true

Values-the worth you play on things, events and people. Values are the bedrock of all behaviour. Societies values are found in the media.

Ideal selfRealistic Self The bigger the gap between your ideal self and

realistic self, the lower a persons self esteem.

Dissonance; when information about the self comes in and conflicts with the idea of the self

WHAT YOU WANT TO BE

WHAT YOU ACTUALLY ARE

BARRIERSPsychological BarriersHow we perceive other people, determines the way we approach

them and how we communicate with them

Organisational BarriersThe structure of organisations themselves. A good organisation is

having clearly defined and smoothly operating channels of communication between its different members and departments

Mechanical BarriersA fault in the communication channel

Semantic BarriersInvolves problems of meaning at each end of the communication

process

Non-Verbal Communication

Functions Forms-Feedback Body Language; -Non-verbal Leakage - Posture -Regulate Speech - Facial Expression (5 Universal)-Reinforce Speech - Orientation-Emotional Carrier - Proxemics (personal space)-Replaces Speech - Hand Gestures (kinesics) -Self presentation - Dress and Appearance - Head Movements - Eye Contacts

Paralanguage- Fillers - Pace -Tone- Volume - Accent - Silence -Pause

DEFINITION: Bodily communication, other than words and language

A code is a system of communication which requires three elements;

1) Rules e.g. Rules of grammar2) Signs e.g. Anything that expresses a meaning3) Shared Understanding e.g. A group that shares the same

knowledge and understanding of rules and signs within that specific group

POLYSEMIC when something has more than one meaningSEMANTIC the study of meanings, and how meanings of words

can change or adopt other meaningsSEX IS OUR BIOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTION.GENDER IS CREATED BY OUR CULTURAL EXPERIENCES

CODE SWITCHING the ability to switch dialect e.g. Cheryl Cole in different contexts

LANGUAGEDEFINITION: Language is a symbolic sign system that requires a code and

shared meaning between sender and receiver to be effective.

Functions-explaining -informing -creative-displace (bounce back and forth between past and present) -entertain -phatic talk

FORMS-slang -dialect (regional) -jargon -sociolect (class/group)-idiolect (personal) -taboo

Context and audience dictate our language/the words we use.

Our language can change due to; -regional/cultural identity-role/status-intellect -power/value-attitudes-age-gender

ICONIC

INDEXICAL SYMBOL

SIGNIFIEDSIGNIFIER

DENOTATION CONNOTATION

ENCODINGDECODING

SHARED MEANING OF CODE AND ITS CONNOTATIONS

Restricted Code; used mostly in group situations with a limited and predictable vocabulary

Elaborated Code; used mostly by professionals e.g. Teachers, a wider range of vocabulary and less predictable

LANGUAGE AND GENDERWords have hidden power relations behind them. These power

relations are usually about status, power and gender. Language has a relationship with all three.

It has been argued that gender is socially constructed. This idea suggests that although we are born male and female biologically, we learn to behave in a male and female way. Gender is created by our cultural experiences. One of the chief ways in which we experience culture is through our use of language. It follows that language is likely to be a key factor in differentiating the way in which gender is constructed and how males and females learn to behave. Dale Spencer argues that language reflects the dominance of men in our society. Patriarchy is the notion that power relations in our society favours men. Therefore, it could be argued that language is controlled by men e.g. The use of the word ‘man’ or ‘mankind’ to represent human beings of both sexes. However, the feminist movement has changed this a lot.

Anchorage; method of ensuring a specific interpretation of an image Channel; method we use to pass on a messageConvention; a rule/style/model for organising signs in a text Icon; sign which has a direct representation of something Index; a sign which has no concrete link to the thing it representsSymbol; a sign which has no association to the thing it representsParadigm; a set of signsSyntagm; the combination of signs from a paradigm to create a

messageIdeology; a system of beliefs of how life should be livedSign; that which stands for represents an object/idea or mental

conceptSignifier; the label we give a sign Signified; mental association we have for an object/wordDenotation; literal description of something Connotation; the mental associations which a sign has

Defi niti ons

Myth; way of explaining/simplifying/organising our perceptions of the world-making our shared understanding seem natural or taken for granted.

Semiotics; study of signsModel; message is read or interpreted in a diagrammatic formEncode; to convert a message into a means capable of being

transmittedDecode; to convert an encoded message into a form which can be

understoodBarrier; anything which interferes with the process of communicationFeedback; message(s) we receive back from the receiverMode of address; the term described in which a text speaks to its

audienceRegister; describes the variations in the use of language or other

communication codes associated with a particular contextForm and content; the essential relationship between the shape of a

text and what’s in itMessage; the meaning carried by an act of communication or text Open/closed texts; two tendencies of a text: ‘Open’

allow/invite/encourage a wide range of interpretations. ‘Closed’ reading in a limited number of ways (sometimes only one)

Reader; the active interpreter of a messageReading; intended/preferred reading. Negotiated reading.

Oppositional reading. Sender; the originator of communicationReceiver; someone to whom a message is directedText; anything which can be read for meaning Discourse; a system of representation based on the reality of

communication in specific contextsEntropy; a communication that is high on new information and

this is highly unpredictable is aid to be entropicNarrative; the way in which a text reveals information to an

audience in order to create a story Polysemic/polysemy; refers to a capacity of a text/part of a

text to be read in several different ways

CULTURE!

Fashion

Shock

Individuality

Food/drink

Multi-Cultural

Music

Behaviour

Dance

Belief

Customs/Traditions-Bonfire night-Christmas-PromBeing British

Norms-Rules and Regulations-Manners-Politeness

Religion

ValuesConform

Media

T.V/Magazines

Politics Sign Systems

Language

NVC Gestures

Culture is a big group of peopleCulture affects our identity, our sense of selfCulture affects out identity in the same way as a group does

Mainstream Culture white, young, able bodied

Minority age ethnic minorities disability gender asylum seekers sexuality non English speakers wealth

Culture

British-ness

IdentitySigns-the flag; pride/belonging-food; chippy/curry/pie-national anthem-music; Britpop; oasis

Language-elaborated code; no taboo-restricted code; common-phatic talk-power and value language-signifier/signified-code switching Language teaches us the meaning of symbols; -symbolic code systemSpoken word. Symbolic code-signs with rules and shared understanding.

Body LanguageFacial expressions, gesture, posture, orientation, proxemics, hand movements, eye contact.

ParalanguageTone, volume, pitch, pace, pause, accent.

Mass MediaTV, film, magazines, internet, music. We assimilate American Value. Power and status.

Customs, norms, patterns of lifeProm superficial materialistic American Dream Fairytale night for girls

Popular Culture-Visceral.......appeals to base emotions-Voyeuristic........nosey -Mainstream-Fake, superficial, shallow, formulaic, artificial -exploitation of audience-stifles creativity-big audiences-homogenous......all the same -ephemeral........easily forgotten-It has to appeal to everyone so it has to be dumbed down........simplified, base interests, trivialised, sensationalised.-Ideological-Celebritized

High Culture-Diversity and choice-Educated and elite-Lots of creativity-Improving civilization-Educational...Morally uplifting-Values; education, brain development, challenging-High art, poetry, literature, opera, classical opera, ballet

Folk Culture-Organic-Produced by the people, for the people-Traditional

Semiotic(study of signs)AnalysisQuestion 3 of the Exam1) Identify the Paradigms of the textse.g. Images, body language, colour, layout, dress codes, logo, font, language.2) State the dominant Signifiers(the label we give a sign)

3) For each of the four dominant signifiers state the; Denotation Literal meaning of something e.g. Describe what is there in one sentenceConnotation Mental associations of somethingMyth Cultural connotations e.g. StereotypesIdeological Gender, self esteem, power and status4) Sytagm an overall meaning of paradigms5) Conclusion show off bring in barriers oppositional readers

Deconstructing Texts

List 4 e.g. Clothing, body language, colour, font

Process Analysis (Laswell)More mathematical (formulaic) 1) Identify the sender encodes message preferred reading2) Identify the audience/receiver decodes message3) Identify the form the message takes (Channel) e.g. Leaflet, flyer, poster And why the sender chose to use it4) Identify the purpose persuade entertain change behaviour change attitudes5) Barriers x3 mechanical problems with semanticmeaning psychologicalbreakdown

Attitudes/values/beliefs

Personal

Bad juxtapositioning/there could be no mechanical barriers

E.g. Language codes.........because language codes need shared understanding