Write a summary of the following passage within 100 words:
Communication is part of our everyday life. We greet one another, smile or frown
depending on our moods. Animals too, communicate. Just like us, interaction
among animals can be both verbal and non-verbal. Singing is one way in which
birds can interact with one another. Male blackbirds often use their melodious
songs to catch the attention of other blackbirds. These songs are usually rich in
notes, encoding various kinds of messages. Songs are also used to keep off other
eir territory, usually a place where they dwell. Large mammals in the
oceans sing too, according to adventurous sailors. Enormous whales groan and
grunt while smaller dolphins and porpoises whistle and click. These sounds are
surprisingly received by other mates as far as several hundred kilometers away.
Besides singing, body language also forms a large part of animals' communication
mode. Dominant hyenas exhibit their power by raising the fur hackles on their
necks and shoulders, while the submissive ones normally surrender to the powerful
parties by crouching their head low and curling their lips a little, revealing their
teeth in friendly smile. Insects such as wasps armed with poisonous bites or stings
usually have brightly painted bodies to remind other predators of their power.
(206 words)
Answers
Communication (from Latin communicare, meaning "to share")[1] is the act of conveying meanings from one entity or group to another through the use of mutually understood signs, symbols, and semiotic rules.
The main steps inherent to all communication are:[2]
The formation of communicative motivation or reason.
Message composition (further internal or technical elaboration on what exactly to express).
Message encoding (for example, into digital data, written text, speech, pictures, gestures and so on).
Transmission of the encoded message as a sequence of signals using a specific channel or medium.
Noise sources such as natural forces and in some cases human activity (both intentional and accidental) begin influencing the quality of signals propagating from the sender to one or more receivers.
Reception of signals and reassembling of the encoded message from a sequence of received signals.
Decoding of the reassembled encoded message.
Interpretation and making sense of the presumed original message.
The scientific study of communication can be divided into:
Information theory which studies the quantification, storage, and communication of information in general;
Communication studies which concerns human communication;
Biosemiotics which examines communication in and between living organisms in general.
The channel of communication can be visual, auditory, tactile (such as in Braille) and haptic, olfactory, electromagnetic, or biochemical.
Human communication is unique for its extensive use of abstract language. Development of civilization has been closely linked with progress in telecommunication.Nonverbal communication describes the processes of conveying a type of information in the form of non-linguistic representations. Examples of nonverbal communication include haptic communication, chronemic communication, gestures, body language, facial expressions, eye contact etc. Nonverbal communication also relates to the intent of a message. Examples of intent are voluntary, intentional movements like shaking a hand or winking, as well as involuntary, such as sweating.[3] Speech also contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, e.g. rhythm, intonation, tempo, and stress. It affects communication most at the subconscious level and establishes trust. Likewise, written texts include nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, the spatial arrangement of words and the use of emoticons to convey emotion.
Nonverbal communication demonstrates one of Paul Wazlawick's laws: you cannot not communicate. Once proximity has formed awareness, living creatures begin interpreting any signals received.[4] Some of the functions of nonverbal communication in humans are to complement and illustrate, to reinforce and emphasize, to replace and substitute, to control and regulate, and to contradict the denovative message.
Nonverbal cues are heavily relied on to express communication and to interpret others' communication and can replace or substitute verbal messages. However, non-verbal communication is ambiguous. When verbal messages contradict non-verbal messages, observation of non-verbal behaviour is relied on to judge another's attitudes and feelings, rather than assuming the truth of the verbal message alone.
There are several reasons as to why non-verbal communication plays a vital role in communication:
"Non-verbal communication is omnipresent." [5] They are included in every single communication act. To have total communication, all non-verbal channels such as the body, face, voice, appearance, touch, distance, timing, and other environmental forces must be engaged during face-to-face interaction. Written communication can also have non-verbal attributes. E-mails and web chats allow an individual's the option to change text font colours, stationary, emoticons, and capitalization in order to capture non-verbal cues into a verbal medium.
"Non-verbal behaviours are multifunctional." [6] Many different non-verbal channels are engaged at the same time in communication acts and allow the chance for simultaneous messages to be sent and received.