Lesson 3: Communication in a Digital World PDF

Lesson 3 As discussed in Lesson 1, the advancements in digital technology paved the way to innovative modes and platforms of communication. The massive and rapid developments in digital communications ushered in a new era of communication that does not simply rely on words, but also on images and o...

Lesson 3 As discussed in Lesson 1, the advancements in digital technology paved the way to innovative modes and platforms of communication. The massive and rapid developments in digital communications ushered in a new era of communication that does not simply rely on words, but also on images and other semiotics of the channel used to convey the message. The effects of cultural and global issues to communication were highlighted in previous discussions, as well as the impact of effective communication to society and the world. This has highlighted the importance of exploring the concept of World Englishes, or as defined by Celce- Murcia (2014), the regionally distinct varieties of English that have arisen in parts of the world where there is a long and often colonial history of English being used in education, commerce and government. There is no debate that the English language has become the most widely used language for most purposes of communication in international diplomacy, business, science, education and entertainment. Over time, this widespread use of English spoken side by side with local languages - has given rise to local varieties of English with their own standards. Examples of World Englishes are Indian English, West African English, Singapore English, and Filipino English. One major issue that has been raised with respect to these established varieties is that they are often not fully intelligible to users of other varieties of English. For example, a Filipino ordering food in a restaurant in Singapore for the first time would be confused when he is asked, \"Having here, or take away?\" because in the Philippines, they are more accustomed to \"Dine in, or take out?\" Kirkpatrick (2007) proposes a scale with two extremes that characterize this problem: Extreme 1: The goal of national or regional identity. People use a regional variety of English with its specific grammar, structure and vocabulary to affirm their own national or ethnic identity (e.g. Only Filipinos use the terms \"senatoriable\", \"congressman\", \"chancing\", and \"bedspacer\", among others, and use these when communicating with other Filipinos). Extreme 2: The goal of intelligibility. Users of a regional variety should ideally still be readily understood by users of English everywhere else in the world to fully participate in the use of English as an international language (e.g. Users of Filipino English have to understand that they have to use \"bin\" instead of \"trash can\" or \"lift\" instead of \"elevator\" when in a country using British English). The challenge is to find a good balance between the identity-intelligibility extremes. Hence, speakers of the English language may resort to code-switching (i.e., using English and another language in the same statement). For example, Filipinos may use a strongly local version of Filipino English to communicate with fellow Filipinos using English as medium, but they should use a weaker and more formal version when communicating with users of other varieties of English, especially when international intelligibility is necessary. Multimodality Multimodality is a fairly new concept in the general academic setting, but can be a very powerful tool in light of digital and multicultural communication. A text or output is considered multimodal if it uses two or more communication modes to make meaning. It shows different ways of knowledge representations and meaning-making, and investigates contributions of semiotic resources (language, gestures, images) that are co-deployed across various modalities (visual, aural, somatic, etc.). Most importantly, multimodality highlights the significance of interaction and integration in constructing a coherent text A multimodal text can either be one of the following: Paper (books, comics, posters, brochures) Digital (slide presentations, blogs, web pages, social media, animation, film, video games Live (performance or an event) Transmedia (A story is told using multiple delivery channels through a combination of platforms, such as comics, film, and video games all working as part of the same story with the same message.) The creation of multimodal texts and outputs requires a creative design concept that orchestrates the purposive combination of text, color, photo, sound, spatial design, language, gestures, animations and other semiotics, all with the unitary goal of bringing meaning to life. In creating a multimodal text, the Purpose, Audience, Context must all be considered. As to purpose, the creator of the text must be clear on the message and the reason(s) why the message has to be delivered. As to audience, the nature, interests and sensitivities of the target audience must be considered so the text will not be offensive and hurt people\'s sensibilities. As to context, the message should be clearly delivered through various semiotic resources, and in consideration of the various situations where and how the text will be read by different people having different cultural backgrounds.