1. Can One Not “Not Communicate?
Proseminar in Communication—COM 422
John R. Baldwin—Illinois State University

2. Pragmatics of Communication Background (Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson, 1967)
Gregory Bateson and the study of schizophrenic children
Hmmm…The problem may not be in the child…it must be in the ____________.
Communication double-binds
Discrepancy in messages (especially verbal and nonverbal)
What’s going on in this video?
Lindenstrasse (German Soap Opera)
Erich, Helga, Marion (22:00)

3. WB&J’s 5 Axioms One cannot not communicate
All communication has content + relationship
The nature of relationship depends upon how partners punctuate sequences
Humans communicate digitally and analogically
All interchanges are symmetrical or complementary

4. Some thought questions
How do the axioms relate to family or relational “systems” (something we may talk about later in the course?)
For WB&J, what defines
Communication?
Message?
Interaction?

5. Compare and Contrast Relationship/ Analog Content / Digital
“Defines relationship, “imposes behavior”
“Describes things” (report)

6. One Cannot Not Communicate
What do the authors mean?
When would this axiom apply for WB&J?
How do other axioms relate to this one, if at all? (some may relate more than others!)

7. Applying the axioms
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!

8. More on communication…

9. Language in a System: Communication
Sending
Meaning
All of These
Receiving
Interpreting
Conceptual
Pragmatic

10. ALL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS HAVE
A MODE OF TRANSMISSION
SIGNS
SIGNALS

11. ALL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS HAVE
PRAGMATIC FUNCTION

12. TRUE LANGUAGE-BASED COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS HAVE
CONCEPTUAL FUNCTION
INTERCHANGEABILITY
CULTURAL TRANSMISSION
ARBITRARINESS
DISCRETENESS
DISPLACEMENT
PRODUCTIVITY

13. Language productivity (continued)
EMERGENT
EVOLVES
BUT ALWAYS RULE GUIDED (set by language and culture)
Phonetic
Semantic
Syntactic
Pragmatic

14. A thought question:

15. A first look at a class exercise