Language Use and Communication - examples

scent communication

dogs marking territory

light communication

fireflies illuminating in different patterns

electricity communication

electric eels sending pulses through water

color communication

octopi changing pigmentation

posture communication

dogs lowering their bodies to show that they are playful

gesture communication

humans waving as greeting

facial expression

humans smiling when happy

sign

saying “car” instead of having an actual car present

meaning

“item of furniture with legs and a flat top” for “table”

tokens

“the baby threw the rattle” → five of these

iconic sign

photos

iconic sign

onomatopoeia

iconic sign

baboons threatening by appearing to bite

indexical sign

animal tracks

indexical sign

smoke indicating fire

symptomatic sign

body temperature rising when sick

symptomatic sign

crying to indicate pain

symbolic sign

most words

symbolic sign

octagon meaning stop

symbolic sign

colors on traffic lights

signal

traffic lights

symbol

warning calls

graded sign

voice volume gets louder as it increases

graded sign

hands of a clock

discrete sign

digital clock

discrete sign

traffic lights

animal communication evolving to environment

eels sending electricty in muddy water (low visibility)

everything living communicates

trees sending chemical signals

signifier

word, sound, gesture, scent, visual image, etc.

smell signifier

scent of freshly-baked bread

smell signifier

scent of coffee

referents as ideas/concepts

“open” → store is “open for business” → door of shop is open

noise signifier

sound of car engine

iconic sign

kanji

iconic sign

emojis

signs are not consistent across cultures

an emoji may mean different things to different groups

different languages have different animal sounds

meow/nya

indirect iconic sign

harsh sound to indicate a harsh visual

indexical sign

footprints

indexical sign

laughter

symbolic sign

numbers

easy to change symbolic signs

replacing slurs with new, politically correct words

people talk to themselves

saying “chat” to an empty room

talking to oneself is “childish”

having an imaginary friend

normal talking to oneself

rehearsing

normal talking to oneself

praying out loud

talking to oneself in media

soliloquy

talking to a pet is normal

clear that the being one is speaking to is actually there

talking to oneself to excuse a past behavior

picking up a coin off the ground and saying “ooh, a penny” so as to not be seen as someone who regularly picks things up off the ground

talking to oneself to excuse a past behavior

saying something after trying to open the wrong car’s door

transition display

vocalizing when going from rainy outside to dry inside

spill cry

vocalizing when walking past the door you meant to walk through

threat startle

vocalizing when standing near a steep drop-off

revulsion sound

vocalizing when cleaning a fish

strain grunt

vocalizing when pushing something heavy

pain cry

vocalizing when a dentist’s tool nicks you the wrong way

floor cue

vocalizing when noticing a typo in the newspaper

audible glee

vocalizing when being brought your food at a restaurant

response cries during a story

someone says they got a paper cut, and another person says “ouch!”

filled pauses

“ah/uh/um”

words are indicative of usage

expletives tend to come from a place of blasphemy or bodily functions

expletive from blasphemy

“goddamn”

expletive from bodily function

“shit”

joking response cry

saying the word “gulp”

response cry clarifying a previous response cry

saying “shit! sorry”

pictograph

stick figure

logograph

& to mean “and”

phonographic writing

International Phonetic Alphabet

speech and writing are mediums for language

money represents the concept of the monetary system

English is not required to know sign language

babies learning signs like “more”

people can read something without understanding it

Mad Gab

writing spreads culture faster

the printing press

logogram

hieroglyphics

logogram

%

logogram

numerals

logograms can be understood without knowing the rest of the language

Arabic numerals

pictogram

drawings in Pictionary

pictogram

Olympic signs for different sports

acrophonic principle

the symbol for fish being simplified to “f”

many letters are indicative of different but similar sounds

“p” in “pot” vs. “stop”

many letters are indicative of different but similar sounds

aspirated vs. non-aspirated

Internet communication

texting

Internet communication

social media

Internet communication

ChatGPT

computer hardware

keyboard

computer hardware

screen

computer software

voice recognition

digital writing often reflects how people speak

emails are written very similarly to letters

digital writing often reflects how people speak

blogs are written very similarly to how the person speaks normally

there are many myths surrounding people who frequently communicate digitally

people who frequently communicate digitally are uneducated

there are many myths surrounding people who frequently communicate digitally

people who frequently communicate digitally are impolite

anonymity allows people to be more rude to each other

“kys”

anonymity allows people to be more rude to each other

hate speech

shortening formalities affects how they are perceives

“pls”

shortening formalities affects how they are perceived

“ty”

some forms of digital writing are transient in that they get lost in the commotion

one message in a large group chat

denoting actions in asterisks/brackets

“*smiles*”

generative AI is just predicting which word will come next based off what people commonly say

“she popped the toast in the…”

generative AI ruins the idea of self-expression

“idk what to cook for dinner, I’ll ask ChatGPT”

generative AI ruins the idea of self-expression

“I want to read this specific story but it doesn’t exist yet, I’ll ask ChatGPT”