Encoding and Decoding

Encoding and Decoding

• Author: Graham Murdock, Loughborough University, UK

Historical Context

• 1949 Publication: Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver published The Mathematical Theory of Communication.

• Influence: This work is regarded as seminal in the field of information studies, influenced by Shannon's wartime cryptography work at Bell Labs.

• Communication as Engineering: The theory approached communication as an engineering issue, focusing on maximizing efficiency in information transmission.

Encoding and Decoding

• Transformation Process: Communication involves converting messages into signals for transmission and then back into understandable messages.

• Definition of Terms:

  • Encoding: The process of converting a message into signals.

  • Decoding: The process of interpreting the signals back into a message.

• Morse Code Influence: The encoding/decoding framework was modeled after Morse code's method of using dots, dashes, and pauses for communication.

Limitations of the Theory

• Focus on Technical Aspects: The initial theory primarily addressed technical transmission issues without considering the semantic aspects of communication.

• Weaver's Reflection: Weaver acknowledged that the theory was a preliminary step, stating it didn’t adequately address the construction and interpretation of meaning in communication.

Semiotic Research Expansion

• Subsequent Developments: Scholars in Europe expanded the concept of encoding/decoding, analyzing how media texts create meaning and how audiences interpret them.

• Umberto Eco's Contribution:

  • In 1965, Eco and a team presented a paper about semiotic research on TV program organization and reception.

  • Codes and Communicative Conventions: Focused on how specific signs (words, images, objects) are coupled with meanings.

  • Introduced the idea of subcodes that modify meanings in a semiotic framework.