Chapter 10 10/6

In this chapter, Roman Jakobson’s model of a communication process is discussed. He suggests that there are 6 fundamental units in this communication process including the addresser, message, addressee, context, contact, and code. The addresser (sender) sends a message to the addressee (receiver). In order for the addressee to understand this message it must have some sort of context that is either verbal or capable of being verbalized. It must also have a code that is able to be understood by both the addresser and the addressee. Finally, the message must contain a contact, or a channel in which the message is sent. Author Robert Scholes adds to the discussion by saying that although the message unites a sender and receiver, the message is not always the same as the meaning. Therefore, someone must interpret the meaning of the message. This occurs a lot with mass media, as we receive messages from advertisements and must decipher the meaning of the message being sent. Later in the passage, Jakobson discusses the emotive, or expressive function. This function focuses on the addresser and interprets the speaker’s attitude on what he is speaking about. Jakobson believes there are messages that simply establish, prolong or discontinue a conversation, as well as check the attention level of the listener. There is also a referential function, which is defined in the book as the “accessory participation of the other functions in such messages must be taken into account by the observant linguist”. I don’t understand this last definition, so I am hoping we go over it in class.