Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 1971

Understanding through Language

James J. Mullen

Abstract

Although language is our chief means of communication, there are a number of problems connected with its use. A writer must be aware of these problems and learn to overcome them if he is to be understood by his readers. Some of the problems are: 1. Our language system is not adequate to meet all needs. 2. Words themselves do not have “meaning”—people give them meaning. 3. “Meaning” has several dimensions including denotative, connotative, structural and contextual. The writer must give attention to all of these types of meaning. 4. There is a basic conflict between maximum accuracy in writing and maximum understanding in reading. One of the most valuable tools used in improving understanding is redundancy. A reader's understanding level must be low if the rate of information flow exceeds his capacity to deal with it.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1971-01-01
DOI
10.2190/7tdb-j4mt-70d1-bkl7
CompPile
Open Access
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References (6)

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