Context in Communication (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what context is in communication, its characteristics, importance and examples. Also, the elements of communication.

communication context — The context is the extralinguistic situation that influences communication.

What is context in communication?

The context in communication is the set of conditions under which the transmission of a message occurs. It is the extralinguistic environment or situation that surrounds and influences the communicative action, for example, a work, political, cultural or school context.

Communication is the action of transmitting and receiving information. The communication process depends on the interaction of various elements (such as the type of sender, receiver, code, channel and context) for the exchange to be generated.

There are various factors, such as ideology, culture, age or social level, that determine the type of environment in which human beings develop. That context affects people's ability to interpret their environment and communicate.

Characteristics of the context in communication

The context in communication It is characterized by various factors, both physical and non-physical which give it the meaning of “communication environment” such as geography, history, the type of social group, the language or code of each interlocutor, noise or factors that make it difficult to transmit messages.

The language is not uniform or homogeneous. Human beings must adapt to each communication situation in which, in addition to linguistic diversity, it is necessary to understand the context in which the transmission of messages takes place so that communication is adequate.

Importance of context in communication

The importance of context in communication is that organizes and gives meaning to the message. The meaning of a message does not depend only on its grammatical, syntactic or lexical structure but also on the context that accompanies a statement and affects its interpretation.

The context in communication has to do with the set of knowledge and beliefs shared (or not) by the interlocutors, the factors and events surrounding it at the time the communication takes place.

Examples of contexts in communication

airport communication context — At the airport, specific symbols are used for communication.

Some examples of communication contexts are:

At school. It is the context that is defined by physical elements such as a classroom, a blackboard, tables, students and a teacher, and abstract elements such as educational practices and norms. The topics addressed in this environment are related to the subjects. There is an academic code in which students listen to the teacher's explanations, consult him in case of doubts and exchange ideas. The atmosphere is formal, respectful and learning. When everyone present understands how that school context works, they can communicate and interact appropriately.
In the supermarket. It is the context that is determined by physical elements such as a retail space, consumer objects available for sale, and non-physical elements such as employees, customers, and business norms. Due to the characteristics of the place, market codes and certain economic factors, customers know what kind of products they can consume in that type of store and what price they could pay for them. These rules are established and make the performance of the interlocutors possible, that is, they can communicate under that commercial code.
At the airport. It is the context that is determined by the physical elements such as the infrastructure of the place, the runway, the airplanes and the baggage scanning machines, and the non-physical elements such as the employees, the variety of languages to communicate (in the signage or loudspeakers) and the rules for travelers. Because it is a space traveled by people of various nationalities and cultures, certain safety and coexistence codes are followed that are respected by all passengers, even though they do not have the same customs or regulations in their country (for example, the requirement to enter a foreign nation with a tourist visa). When everyone understands how that airport context works, they can communicate and interact appropriately.

Elements of communication

The elements necessary for communication to occur are:

The issuer. He is the one who expresses a message to a receiver and initiates the communicative action.
The receiver. It is the one who receives a message and issues a response (non-response also implies a meaning for communication).
The message. It is the content of the communicative action and can have various purposes, such as persuading, informing, alerting or disseminating.
The channel. It is the physical medium through which the message is transmitted, such as a telephone, speech, writing or drawings.
The code. It is the system of signals or signs with which a message is created, such as the type of language, the braille system or traffic signs.
The context. It is the extralinguistic environment that surrounds the sender and the receiver, in which communication takes place and which influences the understanding of the message.