How to Master Successfully Any Language of the World 8
[Language is] a systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of
conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having understood meanings.
Merriam-Webster
The purposes of language:
1. Assistance (!) in conveying ideas or feelings
2. Making you accepted in a group (society, nation etc.)
Conveying (getting and receiving) ideas (information, orders, information requests) and
feelings (physical, emotional or other) should be done in a way, acceptable between two
or more persons. One single person generally does not need a language.
Language and Communication
Communication using a language is subdivided into 4 parts:
Speaking
Listening
Writing
Reading
Speaking and listening are referred to as oral communication, while writing and reading
are written communication. These two types usually differ in words and in grammar.
They may differ slightly or significantly. Naturally, people (as they are still children)
learn oral communication before they start to learn the written. There is a plenty of
people (even of pre-school age) who use oral communication perfectly, and do not know
to read and to write at all. In the earlier times there were even more such people.
However, there are relatively very few people who know reading and writing, but cannot
speak a language.
Speaking and writing will be referred to as outgoing communication, while listening and
reading are incoming communication. Outgoing communication may require more skills
to be mastered, compared to incoming. Yet once outgoing communication is mastered,
incoming communication gets in very quickly, too.
Non-verbal communication is a type of communication by itself. However, I’m going to
deal with it inasmuch as it relates to using a language, and no more.
Copyright © 2012 Dmitry Slomov. All rights reserved.
Dmitry Slomov is a language learning consultant, a tutor and the author of the Russian Language Course – Lessons with Dmitry
Contact Dmitry at: http://www.courseofrussian.com/en/contact.html
