1.3 Defining Communication

Communication – one of the objects of investigation for communicative linguistics. It is a meaningful and substantial aspect of social interaction as well as the process of information exchange within the boundaries of human interaction during which information is imparted from a sender to a receiver with the help of a medium [8, p. 128]. “To

communicate” means to let one’s ideas, views, opinions or simply just a message, action or touch flow as information through a channel to a targeted listener. Communication is the process of information flow by which living creatures can convey and acquire information related to their surroundings; to carry out the daily life activities. Communication is

thus an information related behavior.

Interpersonal Communication – communication that occurs between two persons who have a relationship between them. It occurs every time when you send or receive messages and when you assign meaning to such messages [9, p. 28].

Whenever we speak about the process of interpersonal language communication we begin operating such terms as: sender (addresser) – the one who encodes information as a message which is sent via a channel (e-mail, letter, report, lecture, piece of news, etc.) to a receiver (addressee) who decodes the information. Interpersonal language

communication is always distorted by “noise”, occurs within a context, and involves some opportunity for feedback. Channel of communication can also be called medium – 1) verbal or auditory means, such as speaking, singing, tone of voice; 2) non-verbal, physical means, such as body language, sign language, paralanguage, touch, eye contact, or

the use of writing [13, p. 128].

Another important term for adequate understanding of interpersonal language communication is feedback [14, p. 4]. Feedback is a special type of message. When we send a spoken or written message to another person, we get feedback from our own message: we hear what we say, we feel the way we move, we see what we write. On the basis of this

information we may correct ourselves, rephrase something, or perhaps smile at a clever turn of phrase. This is self-feedback.

We also get feedback from others. The person with whom we are communicating is constantly sending us messages that indicate on how he or she is receiving and responding to our messages. Nods of agreement, smiles, puzzled looks, questions, asking for clarification are all examples of feedback.

Interpersonal communicators are conscious of one another and of their connection with one another. They are interdependent: what one person thinks and says impacts on what the other thinks and says.

Main Functions of Interpersonal Language Communication:

– contact function – readiness to transmit and perceive the message;

– informative function – exchange of information;

– stimulating function – making partner, audience or oneself perform certain physical, physiological, intellectual, spiritual or other activities;

– cognitive function – adequate perception and understanding of the content of message, as well as understanding of intentions, frames, settings, moods, feelings of those who participate in the act of communication;

– emotive function – emotional exchange, evoking feelings, psychological states, etc.;

– coordinative function – mutual orientation and co-ordination of actions of those who participate in the act of communication;

– establishing of relationships – understanding, accepting and fixation of one’s place in the system of role, state, business and interpersonal relationships;

– influencing function – influence the change of state, behavior, motivation of speaker: intentions, views, thoughts, decisions, impressions, needs, tastes, norms of behavior, evaluative criteria, etc.) [15, p. 129].