Analysis of 50 Ways to Understand Communication Article Authored by Berger - Coursework Example

? Communication Communication Structuralism is a movement of intellect which was initiated during the period of 20th century and the movement is used to analyze a particular field which contains complex systems that are made up of parts that are related to each other (Berger, 2006, p.20). According to structuralism all the activities conducted by human beings including perception and thinking are created and are not naturally available and it relies on the idea that all things around human nature has a certain meaning associated with it because of the system of language in which human beings are operating. The movement of structuralism is closely connected to the study of signs and symbols and how individuals created meanings of these signs and symbols. The movement of structuralism is said to have been originated in the theories of Ferdinand de Saussure during the early period of the 1900s (Berger, 2006, p.20). Saussure was the one who developed signs and symbols and believed that all languages constitute of difficult system of symbols and these symbols help in expressing ideas and there are certain regulations that are governing the way these symbols are used. He asserted that any particular symbol is a matter of chance and a link does not exist between a word and the meaning attached to it. For example: the word “dog” does not signify an image of an animal. Structuralism even states that a literary piece of work has zero origin and the individual authoring a piece of literary work simply occupies an already existing language which assists him/her in created sentences for his/her story. 2. Culler states that society is a primary reality, by this statement he is entering into an argument against Ferdinand de Saussure who is of the idea that human beings are the ones who have created society and the society itself was not created first (Berger, 2006, p.14). Basically, Culler is entering into a chicken and egg debate in which the issue is whether chicken created eggs or the eggs created chicken. Culler is arguing that it was not the humans who created the society, and society preceded human beings. Culler states that the society is not an outcome of behaviors conducted by human beings and is not demonstration of the human mind. Culler even stated that if an individual wants to conduct a study on human behavior and wants to analyze human behavior, he/she should first study the society and he even added that meanings are derived when an individual interacts with the society and thus they should be explained in the context of the society. Culler has raised a significant debate against the assumptions of structuralism, this is because if the society would not have existed human beings would not have learned how to interpret the meaning of a specific sign or object and this is because the meaning of science do not evolve out of nowhere, they are created by the society. The society is very important for the development of communication as due to its existence, humans learn how to speak and write and learn meanings of different signs and symbols. 3. The patterns in which stories and speeches are narrated and told are a huge field of study and one of the greatest theorists who contributed to this study was William Labov during 1972 (Berger, 2006, p.40). According to Labov there are six steps if story telling starting from abstract in which an overview of the story is provided. For example: In a recent speech on animal behavior I attended, the speaker started by proving an overview of what he is going to talk about. Next comes the orientation in which the speaker informed us about which animals he is going to talk about, their behaviors at under different situations and the reasons for exhibiting that behavior. Next is the complicating action in which the speaker informed us about the events in which he will narrate the entire topic starting off with a background, concentrating on theorists and application of theories and in the end he concludes. Next he provided an evaluation of the events in which he informed us about the meanings attached with different animal behaviors. Next he provided the resolution by proving insight regarding what is the reaction of individuals to animal behavior and lastly he added a coda by talking about what currently is happening currently in the field of study. Speakers even tend to resort to bracketing which means that they let the audience know when a particular story is going to start or when it is going to end by using talks that are recognized as entrance as well as exit talks such as “long time ago” and “they continued to excel in their lives”. 4. During her research Tannen figured out that girls tend to perform better in academics when they are being a part of female only educational institutes as compared to boys only educational institutes (Berger, 2006, p.41). She states that girls achieve higher in girls only educational system because the method through which both the genders communicate with individuals from same sex is quite different. She states that girls tend to share secrets with their friends from same gender while boys try to take the central stage and compete in class rooms and are much vocal as compared to girls in order to gain attention. In class rooms where both the genders study together, voice of the female gender is suppressed against the voice of the male gender. This is a clear reflection of the contemporary society as women are now exchanging roles with the male gender and are trying to adopt masculine skills, while the male gender are now accepting female gender roles. For example: now a day’s a rapid increase in working women is occurring while fathers sit at home and look after the home and the kids. Media has contributed heavily in blurring gender roles; they now portray the male gender speaking politely in different shows especially in the field of fashion. In this field the male gender is not only speaking in a polite manner, they even act and dress in similar manner. On the other hand females are shown speaking in a much thicker tone and they are exhibited in demanding positions. 5. According to Ferdinand de Saussure, a sign (symbol/semiotic) comprises of a particular signifier and signified and these two elements can never be recognized as entities that are different (Berger, 2006, p.14). By the term signifier he refer to the form that is taken by a particular sign and by the term signified he refers the concept that is represented by the signifier. Both the signifier and the signified combine together to form a whole which is a symbol or sign. The linkage that takes place between the entities of signifier and signified is regarded as the signification. For example: a term “open” is a sign that may be placed on a closed door of a retail outlet and this sign comprises of a signifier which is the term “open and the concept that is associated with this sign which is the signified means that the retail outlet is currently open and is taking in customers. He further adds that a sign cannot be regarded as a sign until both the signifier and the signified is present. If any one of the two is not present then the sign will be simply meaningless. He even stated that a signifier can have more than one signified. For example: the “open” sign in a lift may be placed on a button of a particular lift which may mean that the user of the lift has to push the open marked button to open the door. This means that the signifier’s signified should be interpreted along with the context in which it is placed. 6. Farb defines language as a system of human activity as well as grammar and language can be analyzed through various theories of exchange and game play and it can even be recognized a system that shares several rules and regulations and is a system that allows the user to be creative while using it (Berger, 2006, p. 1). Farb even compares language to game play in which there are certain number of works which is similar to a game of puzzle have certain number of puzzles and these words are easily recognized by those who are natives of that language which is similar to puzzle players who know the where a certain piece of the puzzle fit in the overall puzzle. Speech is considered very essential for the society as well as the members of the society. This because when individuals learn how to talk they are able to create sentences and with these sentences they communicate with others, share ideas and opinions and maintain social relationships. It is the language that is used by individual’s leads to the establishment of individual cultures and once the culture is developed it is transferred through speech to the other members of the society so they can learn cultural norms and abide by these norms. Speech is very important for humans to accomplish various tasks, for example: speech is used in classrooms by students to learn further and speech is used in business settings to share ideas. Bibliography Berger, A. A. (2006). 50 ways to understand communication: a guided tour of key ideas and theorists in communication, media, and culture. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Read More