Early thoughts on communication

Communication
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Communication is the process of exchanging information, usually via common system of symbols. It takes a wide variety of forms, from two people having a face-to-face conversation, to hand signals, to messages sent over global telecommunication networks. The process of communication is what allows us to interact with other people; without it, we would be unable to share knowledge or experiences with anything outside of ourselves. Common forms of communication include speaking, writing, gestures, and broadcasting.

Communication somehow involves transferring thoughts from one mind to another.

Charles Peirce (USA, 1839-1914) had developed the idea that communication must be understood purely in terms of its observable features and effects.

Three levels of semiotics:

syntax: the grammatical or other structure of a sequence of verbal or other elements

semantics: the standardized meaning or meanings of the sequence of elements

pragmatics: the observable effect on those involved in the communication

In the early 1900s - notably with the work of Ferdinand de Saussure - there began to be more emphasis on the general question of how languages really operate, and the point was made that the verbal elements or signs in a language should be viewed as somehow intermediate between tangible entities like sounds and abstract thoughts and concepts. The ultimate meaning of any given sign inevitably depended on the meanings of signs related to it.

By the 1950s anthropological studies of various languages - notably by Benjamin Whorf - had encouraged the idea that concepts that did not appear to fit in certain languages simply could not enter the thinking of users of those languages.

How do these thoughts tie into the web?