Notes on Language and Communication: Symbolic vs Non-Symbolic, Phonemes, and Dialect Variation

Non-Symbolic vs Symbolic Communication

• Behaviors as communication: the idea that actions can convey messages, not just explicit words.
• Example: a kid throws a pencil across the room. This action communicates frustration or a feeling, not a spoken statement.
• Speech as a vehicle for language: speech is just one way to convey language from internal symbols to another person.
• You can have all the words and symbols mentally, but without a vehicle to express them (like speech), others may not access them.
• Evidence vs signals: speech provides linguistic content, but nonverbal cues (facial expressions, posture) provide evidence of feelings or attitudes.
• Distinction between symbolic and non-symbolic communication:
  • Non-symbolic communication tends to be natural, automatic signals (e.g., facial expressions, gestures tied to immediate affect).
  • Symbolic communication uses intentional representations that stand for something else (e.g., pictures, letters, signs like ASL gloves, or nodding as a deliberate signal of agreement).
• “I think I got it, but maybe a little fuzzier” illustrates the idea that some understanding can be conveyed symbolically (uncertainty or nuance) rather than purely through raw emotion.

Examples and Categorization Exercise

• Task described: sort examples into non-symbolic vs symbolic communication.
• Dog growling
  • Category: non-symbolic communication. It is an immediate signal of distress or threat, not a deliberate symbol created to stand for a concept.
• Picture/communication board (pictures representing needs)
  • Category: symbolic communication. The pictures are symbols for objects or needs (e.g., picture of a glass of water represents water).
  • Clarification: point to the picture to communicate a desire; not pointing to the actual object.
• Writing a letter
  • Category: symbolic communication. Written text uses symbols (letters) to convey meaning; it is not directly signaling emotion.
• Smile while nodding
  • Clarification: the smile itself may be non-symbolic (natural facial display), but nodding to mean yes is symbolic because it functions as a deliberate, shared signal of agreement.
• Pointing to a desired object
  • Category: symbolic (and also nonverbal) in practice, as it uses a gesture to refer to something else; the act is a gesture, but it functions as a symbolic reference to an object.
• All sounds you’re hearing in the moment (phonetics focus)
  • Example: the symbol/notation for a sound: the example given, that the /k/ sound is represented by a letter that might appear as 'k' or other spellings.
• Phonetics focus: phonemes vs letters
  • Phonemes are speech sounds, not letters.
  • The letter-based grapheme system is not perfectly aligned with how we learn to read and write; there are many spelling rules and exceptions.

Phonemes, Symbols, and Orthography

• Phonemes are the basic sound units of language, not the letters that spell them.
• In phonetics, we use symbols between slashes to denote phonemes, e.g., $/k/$ represents the k sound, regardless of how it is spelled.
• Example: the symbol
  • $/k/$ represents the voiceless velar plosive sound as heard in "cat".
• The segment "sh" as a phoneme is represented as $/ʃ/$, found in words like "shout" and "position" and "tension".
• The relationship between phonemes and graphemes is many-to-many; one phoneme can be represented by multiple spellings, and one spelling can map to multiple phonemes depending on the context.
• Statement: Phonemes are distinct from letters; the letter system is not a perfect tool for teaching reading/writing because of irregular spellings and multiple rules.

Dialect Variation and Rules

• There are different dialects of English; rules about sounds and spellings vary by dialect.
• A common generalization given: in American English, one typically does not start a word with the consonant cluster /t/ + /s/ (illustrated by the example word "tsunami" which is a loanword from Japanese and begins with this cluster in its phonetic form).
• Tsunami is used as an example of a borrowed word with a /ts/ onset from Japanese; this shows how phonotactics (allowed sound clusters) can differ across languages and in loanwords.
• Emphasis: generalizations about English phonotactics can have exceptions due to loanwords and cross-language influence.

Sounds, Onsets, and Voicing Practice (Phonetics)

• The instructor leads an activity: say the letter sound /s/ and then /z/ to feel the difference.
• Onset/voicing distinction:
  • Place a hand on the throat to feel voicing differences between /s/ (voiceless) and /z/ (voiced).
  • Practical takeaway: voiceless sounds have little to no vocal fold vibration; voiced sounds do have vibration.
• The session highlights that even familiar letters (like s) have phonemic values that can be voiced or voiceless depending on context and surrounding sounds.

Foundational Concepts and Significance

• Language has two major layers:
  • The symbolic layer: words, pictures, signs used to represent concepts or objects.
  • The non-symbolic layer: natural, instinctive signals such as facial expressions and basic gestures.
• Important distinctions:
  • Phonemes vs graphemes: sounds vs letters; not a one-to-one mapping.
  • Onsets and clusters: permissible sound sequences vary by language and dialect; loanwords can introduce new clusters.
• The practical implication for communication:
  • To interpret meaning accurately, consider both symbolic content (what is being said) and non-symbolic cues (how it is said, facial expressions, body language).
  • When teaching reading/writing, recognize the imperfect one-to-one mapping between sounds and letters; leverage phonemic awareness and exposure to diverse spellings.

Practical and Ethical Implications

• Inference caution: interpreting another person’s feelings from nonverbal cues alone can lead to misinterpretation; corroborate with explicit statements.
• Accessibility and inclusion: picture boards and other symbolic communication tools support individuals with limited speech or access to spoken language.
• Cultural and dialect sensitivity: phonetic rules and what constitutes a permissible sound sequence vary across languages and dialects; avoid overgeneralizations.
• Educational relevance: understanding the difference between symbolic and non-symbolic communication helps in language teaching, speech therapy, and literacy education.

Connections to Foundational Principles

• Semantics: meaning conveyed by symbols and their combinations.
• Pragmatics: how context influences interpretation of both symbolic and non-symbolic signals.
• Phonology: study of sound systems, phonemes, and their organization in a language.
• Orthography vs phonology: the relationship between written symbols and spoken sounds; not always transparent.

Quick Reference Highlights (Key Points)

• Behavior can be communication; not everything communicates via words.
• Speech is a vehicle for sharing language symbols; internal ideas may exist without expression.
• Symbolic communication uses representational signs (pictures, letters, signs).
• Non-symbolic communication includes natural signals like specific facial expressions and certain gestures.
• Phonemes are sounds; letters are symbols that can map imperfectly to those sounds.
• The set of phonemes is denoted as $$ ext{Phoneme set} = \