Communication - A Social Interaction?
Communication - a Social Interaction?
What is communication? In his text ‘Kommunikation als soziale Interaktion’ Roland
Burkart tries to answer this question. He describes communication as a reciprocal communicative interaction between at least two beings, with the intention of exchanging a meaning though a medium.1 One of the conclusions he reaches is that complete understanding is never possible. To fully understand how he reaches this conclusion we need to look at his model of communication. According to Burkart people connect and exchange information through a medium with the help of signs and symbols. Stored meanings of these signs and symbols are invoked reciprocally and the personal and individual experience dimension2 is updated. When two people with the same native language communicate, their supply of signs will be (almost) identical. But their supply of meanings3 and the experience dimensions are based on all the previous experiences the person has made. Every person, even with the same cultural background has experienced different things and therefore meanings and experiences are personal and individual and will always differ, although due to diverse socialization mechanisms (e.g. the Media or Family) and the general convention of signs in a speech community, where artificial signs are given a specific meaning, there will be extensive similarities. 4 When person A and person B communicate though a medium and with the help of signs and symbols both activate their experience dimension and influenced by this associate differing meanings with these symbols. Provided there is some affinity between the two dimensions they will overlap. This intersection will result in understanding and communication. So even if the communication is successful it is only a result of the intersection. As long as the meanings and experience dimensions are not identical and congruent, which is theoretically impossible there will not be a complete
What is communication? In his text ‘Kommunikation als soziale Interaktion’ Roland
Burkart tries to answer this question. He describes communication as a reciprocal communicative interaction between at least two beings, with the intention of exchanging a meaning though a medium.1 One of the conclusions he reaches is that complete understanding is never possible. To fully understand how he reaches this conclusion we need to look at his model of communication. According to Burkart people connect and exchange information through a medium with the help of signs and symbols. Stored meanings of these signs and symbols are invoked reciprocally and the personal and individual experience dimension2 is updated. When two people with the same native language communicate, their supply of signs will be (almost) identical. But their supply of meanings3 and the experience dimensions are based on all the previous experiences the person has made. Every person, even with the same cultural background has experienced different things and therefore meanings and experiences are personal and individual and will always differ, although due to diverse socialization mechanisms (e.g. the Media or Family) and the general convention of signs in a speech community, where artificial signs are given a specific meaning, there will be extensive similarities. 4 When person A and person B communicate though a medium and with the help of signs and symbols both activate their experience dimension and influenced by this associate differing meanings with these symbols. Provided there is some affinity between the two dimensions they will overlap. This intersection will result in understanding and communication. So even if the communication is successful it is only a result of the intersection. As long as the meanings and experience dimensions are not identical and congruent, which is theoretically impossible there will not be a complete