My Failure to Communicate

Clifford Lutton lexes at MINDSPRING.COM
Fri Feb 23 18:22:47 UTC 2001


    Yesterday I attempted to describe, IMHO, what happens when communication occurs.  Last night, when I should have been sleeping, I realized that the attempt had failed to be explicitly as inclusive as it should have been.  So what was a HO is now a VHO: 

    Communication occurs in events.  Natural languages are not its only media. Often these events require reciprocal participation - output and input exchanges -  between communicators and communicatees; often they do not.

    Communication events occur when the presence, appearance, and/or act(s) of communicators are perceived and interpreted (assigned significance) by communicatees.

    Communicators are animate (botanical?) and inanimate (e.g. people, pets, works of art, clouds, etc.).  Their participation in communication events may be intentional or not intentional.

    Communicatees are animate (and botanical?) individuals capable of participating in and interpreting communication events.  Their interpretations may be accurate or inaccurate.

     If I'm wrong here, I'll appreciate being set straight.

    Best to all,

Clifford Lutton
300 West Parkwood Road
Decatur, GA 30030-2823, USA
404-371-8935
lexes at mindspring.com
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