Language and Media

Language is a primary means of socialization.

It enables us interact with social, political and economic power structures.

It is the primary medium for the construction and transmission of knowledge ad for the spread of ideas.

Language and society are inseparable.

Apart from being the primary tool for communication, language helps establish peace and order in society by exercising authority and power. However, it can also destroy society when used inappropriately.

Media represents language related issues.

Media’s use of language is central to the constitution of what people think language is or ought to be like.

Individuals across the world are exposed to images and information irrespective distance. Thus, today there is a global flow of communication and information.

5 key elements that link language and media and take research in the field forward:

1.       Communication process is essentially linear; with the result that

2.       Audiences are passive receivers at the end of a chain of media influence

3.       Whose key function is the transmission of information

4.       In the performance of which the media work no differently from any other, face to face, source of representations while,

5.       Simultaneously (and paradoxically) adopting the rhetoric of public address.

According to the linear model, social influences are unidirectional.

Linear to Cyclic Communication

With the coming of television came Lasswells Theory of communication – ‘who says what in which channel to whom and with what effect’.

Sender -> message -> receiver

Hall then gave the Encoding and Decoding – cyclic model of communication

From Passive to Active Audiences: Interpretations – Different people and cultures analysed differently.

From Information Transmission to Ritual Communication – For e.g. Anthropology - Media can be analysed as generating occasions akin to ceremonies which hold us – producers and consumers of media meanings within a shared culture. E.g. Friendship Day

Live broadcasting of ‘historic’ events – e.g. Olympic Games, Royal Wedding (England), Funeral of  Mother Theresa, etc.

Global audiences can participate from wherever they are.

From “Just Talk” to Public Communication – Political talk – everyday talk. The speaker claims to speak the truth and invites listeners to share knowledge, to trust the speaker and join in a shared value system.

Today media provide open access, unconstrained conversation and consensus-seeking.

From addressing the Public to a Diversity of Rhetorical Forms – Media intends to inform and persuade – response of audience is conceived in terms of attitude change. Earlier larger audiences gathered at the same place at the same time to hear a discourse. Today that is not necessary.

Broadcast media uses the communicative style with informal conversation. (Today it is more interactive – you can tweet, comment, like, post, etc.)

Social Media is changing Language – E.g. Unfriend, selfie

Online platforms change fast. However, they have an impact on and influence the language in which we write. (formal writing has now become a combination of informal, personal communication)

New ways of communicating

-          Acronyms

-          Abbreviations

-          Neologisms

-          Emoticons

-          Limited no of characters

-          Hashtags

With social media we tend to share more personal information to an even larger audience.