Communication

In general terms, we could describe communication as the process in which we send or exchange information by means of speech, writing or signs. The different ways of transmitting a message have given rise to two types of communication: verbal communication and non-verbal communication.

Verbal communication is the process in which information is exchanged through the use of sounds. These sounds are usually assembled to form words, and these words are organised in sentences in accordance to the syntactical rules of a particular language. For this reason, verbal communication is commonly used as a synonym of articulated language (like English, Catalan, Spanish or French, for example), but it also includes such unarticulated sounds as a baby’s crying or a shout of pain, which are also forms of verbal communication.

On the other hand, non-verbal communication refers to the communicative process in which the information is transmitted by means of what is called body language, which includes gestures, body position, face expressions and specific behaviour. In our daily life, we normally use a combination of verbal and non-verbal communication.

When we speak of communication, we usually think of language, that is, we think of verbal communication. However, non-verbal communication is often more important than language itself. For this reason, understanding non-verbal communication is very important when we have to deal with other people in our daily work because this type of communication can reinforce our messages or it can conceal the messages that we do not want to transmit. Non-verbal communication covers a range of factors, which include body language, tone, appearance and physical surroundings.

Body language is very much used in the sales field, for example. Salespeople are trained to observe and interpret the body language of potential customers in order to understand their non-verbal signals and so increase the probability of sales success. The careful control of body position, eye contact and hand movements will contribute to a better communication with the public. For this reason, it is very important to control your non-verbal communication skills. The figure below shows some examples of body language.

Some behaviours are considered positive as they are commonly seen as encouraging communication, whereas others are considered negative because they show anxiety, aggressiveness, boredom and other negative feelings. Direct eye contact, scratching your nose, arms crossed on chest, standing with hands on hips, sitting with your legs apart, placing your hand on your cheek, open palms, drumming fingers, tilted head… these are all examples of negative and positive feelings transmitted by body language. Therefore, it is very important to control these gestures and use them consciously to transmit the appropriate message in each specific situation. However, focusing on body language alone can cause some misunderstandings.

There are other aspects which we should consider, as for example personal space. When two people are talking to each other, they tend to stand at a specific distance apart. The average personal distance is different from one culture to another, but it also depends on the relationship between the people. In general, in the Anglo-Saxon cultures people tend to require more personal space than in Latin cultures, where the distance is smaller and people usually feel more comfortable standing closer to each other.

Another issue to take into account when we want to communicate effectively is physical contact. In Anglo-Saxon cultures, touching the other person while speaking is considered a bit too intimate for casual acquaintances and may lead to discomfort for the person with whom we are talking, whereas in Latin cultures there is a greater tendency to touching the other person.

Learning a foreign language does not only mean to practise the different skills and learn the words and grammar rules, but it also means to control the body language that is used in a particular context.

• acquaintance: conegut/da (persona)
• appearance: aparença, aspecte
• articulated: articulat/da, ordenat/da
• behaviour: comportament
• body language: llenguatge corporal
• communication: comunicació
• communicative: comunicatiu/va
• discomfort: incomoditat
• facial expression: expressió de la cara, gest facial
• gesture: gest
• issue: aspecte, qüestió
• information: informació
• language: idioma, llengua
• message: missatge
• misunderstanding: confusió, malentès
• non-verbal communication: comunicació no-verbal
• personal space: espai personal
• physical surroundings: entorn físic
• process: procés
• sign: signe
• signal: senyal
• sound: so
• speech: parla, discurs
• to assemble: organitzar, articular, ordenar, ajuntar
• to communicate: comunicar
• to conceal: amagar, ocultar
• to encourage: animar, fomentar
• to exchange: intercanviar
• to give rise to: originar
• to interpret: interpretar
• to reinforce: reforçar
• to take into account: tenir en compte
• to transmit: transmetre
• tone: to (de la veu)
• unarticulated: inarticulat/da, no ordenat/da
• verbal communication: comunicació verbal

There is a specific type of language that is used in certain situations. This language is sometimes called social language and it is composed of some words and expressions which are used for a variety of purposes, as for example, to give instructions, to give commands, to make suggestions, to make an invitation, to make a request, to give advice or to express wishes and opinions.

Giving instructions means explaining someone how to do certain tasks. We can give instructions to operate a machine, to do a certain task, to cook a dish or to go to a certain place, and although the vocabulary changes in each situation, the way of giving the instructions remains the same. On the other hand, a command (also called an order) is very much the same as an instruction, but the meaning is more intense.

Both for instructions and commands, we must use a form of the verb called the imperative.

The most common way of giving instructions and commands is by using the imperative form of the verb.

Instructions:

Here is an example of a text giving some instructions to send an email (the imperative forms are in bold type):

When you give instructions, especially in a written text, it is very important to make a good use of connectors. In written instructions, you will generally need time connectors. Notice the connectors in our example (in bold type):

Another way of giving instructions is with the modal verbs should or must. By using should, you are in fact giving advice, or recommending things to do. With must, you are implying an obligation, so you can use this modal verb when you think that the instruction is very important.

Here is the text of our example with modal verbs:

You can respond to a person giving you instructions with a variety of expressions. For example, you can say:

• Ok, thank you, I’ll do that (Cat. D’acord gràcies, així ho faré).
• Yes, great, thanks for telling me (Cat. Perfecte, gràcies per explicar-m’ho).
• Thanks a lot (Cat. Moltes gràcies).
• I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t do that (Cat. Em sap greu però això no ho puc fer).

Commands:

We give a command when we need someone to do something immediately, or when we think that it is very important, but we can only give commands in informal situations. In formal situations, or when we are talking to a superior, we must make a request.

A command, which is usually accompanied by an imperative tone of voice, often implies a certain degree of impatience.

Examples of commnands are:

• Come here! (Cat. Vine aquí!)
• Sit down! (Cat. seu!)
• Take off your cap! (Treu-te la gorra!)
• Go! (Cat. Ves-te’n!)
• Give me alone! (Cat. Deixa’m en pau!)
• Don’t shout! (Cat. No cridis!)
• Don’t talk to me like that! (Cat. A mi no em parlis d’aquesta manera!)
• Shut up! (Cat. Calla!)

We can add please to soften the command: come here please!, don’t shout please!, please, shut up!.

We can respond to a command like this:

• Yes, sir/madam (Cat. Sí, senyor/senyora)
• Yes, of course (Cat. Sí, és clar)
• No, I won’t (Cat. No ho penso fer)
• Of course I won’t (Cat. Ni pensar-ho!)

Sometimes, we must give instructions to go to a certain place. This is called giving directions. To give directions, we normally use the imperative form of the verb together with certain words and expressions which are especific of this context.

Asking for directions:

We can ask for directions in the following way:

• Excuse me, how can I go to a bank? (Cat. Perdona, com puc anar a un banc?).
• Excuse me, can you tell me the way to the bank? (Cat. Perdona, em podries dir com anar a un banc?).
• Excuse me, is there a bank nearby? (Cat. Perdona, hi ha un banc per aquí?)

Giving directions:

The three basic expressions to give directions are (see the map):

• (1) Go straight ahead (Cat. Vés recte)
• (2) Turn (first) left (Cat. Gira (pel primer carrer) a l’esquerra).
• (3) Turn (second) right (Cat. Gira (pel segon carrer) a la dreta).

With these three directions you can direct a person anywhere, but there are others which are also very useful. For example:

• Go/walk along (West St.) (Cat. Vés/Camina per [West St.]).
• Go/walk across (West St.) (Cat. Travessa [West St.]).
• Turn left/right into (West St.) (Cat. Gira a l’esquerra/dreta [per West St.])
• Take (West St.) (Cat. Agafa [West St.]).
• Turn left/right outside (the bank) (Cat. Gira a l’esquerra/dreta en sortir [del banc]).
• Go straight on (Cat. Continua recte).
• Go straight on until you come to (West St.) (Cat. Continua recte fins a [West St.]).

When giving directions, the common pattern is first to show the way and then to explain the location of the place. Some common expressions to indicate location are (see map for reference):

• In…street (Cat. al carrer…): The bank is in East St.
• On the corner of…* (Cat. a la cantonada de…): The park is on the corner of West St and Main St..
• Next to … (Cat. al costat de…) The school is next to the bank.
• Opposite … (Cat. davant de…) The bank is opposite Zara
• Near … (Cat. a prop de… a la vora de…): The school is near Zara.
• Between … (Cat. entre…): The school is in East St between Main St and Station Rd.
• At the end of… (Cat. al final de…): The bank is at teh end of East St.
• Round the corner (Cat. al girar la cantonada): Zara is round the corner.

Sometimes we may also need to show the way inside a building or within a company’s premises. Here are some common expressions which we can use in this situation:

• Take the lift (Cat. Agafa l’ascensor).
• Go up/down to (the second floor) (Cat. Puja/baixa al [segon pis]).
• Go to the end of the corridor (Cat. Vés fins al final del passadís).
• It’s the (third) door on the left/right (Cat. És la [tercera] porta a l’esquerra/dreta).
• Go across the courtyard (Cat. Travessa el pati).
• It’s on the (second) floor (Cat. Està en el [segon] pis).
• It’s in the hall (Cat. És al vestíbul).
• It’s next to the reception desk (Cat. Està al costat de la recepció).
• Ask at the reception desk (Cat. Pregunta a recepció).

Now read the following conversation as an example (see map for reference):

In English, there is no specific verb tense to speak about the future, but we can refer to future events by using a modal verb (will), the expression be going to or even the present continuous and present simple tenses.

We normally express the future with the modal verb will. The syntactical structure is the following:

• WILL + BASE FORM

Conjugation of the future with ‘will’:

The following table shows the conjugation of the verb work in the future with will:

Use of the future with will:

We use the future with will:

1) To give information about the future:

• They will go on strike tomorrow. (Cat. Demà faran vaga).
• Will you come to work next Monday? (Cat. Vindràs a treballar el dilluns que ve?).
• I will retire next year. (Cat. Em jubilaré l’any que ve).
• I will be 38 next week. (Cat. La setmana que ve compliré 38 anys).

2) To make predictions and talk about what we think or guess that will happen:

• It will rain all the week (Cat. Plourà tota la setmana).
• I think that I will stay at home tonight (Cat. Crec que em quedaré a casa aquesta nit).
• I’m sure that you will all pass the exams (Cat. Estic segur que tots aprovareu els exàmens).
• I guess that you will come, won’t you? (Cat: Suposo que vindràs, no?).

3) In conditional sentences, to say what will happen if the condition becomes true:

• If I pass the exams, I will be very happy (Cat. Si aprovo els exàmens, estaré molt content).
• What will you do if you are fired? (Cat. Què faràs si et despatxen de la feina?).

4) In a series of interpersonal meanings to express requests, offers, promises, etc.

• Will you come here, please? (a request) (Cat. Pots venir, si us plau?).
• Don’t worry, I’ll help you with your English (an offer or a promise) (Cat. No t’amoïnis, t’ajudaré amb l’anglès).

Time adverbials:

We commonly use the will-form with time adverbials that refer to the future. For example:

• Tomorrow (Cat. demà): Tomorrow I’ll call you tomorrow, is that ok?
• Next week, next month, etc. (Cat. la setmana que ve, el mes que ve, etc.): I think she’ll be 60 next year.
• Tonight (Cat. aquesta nit): it won’t rain tonight so we can go out.
• In the future (Cat. en el futur): in the future, we’ll do everything with computers.
• One day (Cat. un dia): you will understand me one day, don’t worry.

In this form of the future, we must conjugate the verb be in the present simple. The syntactical structure is the following:

• AM/IS/ARE + GOING TO + BASE FORM

Conjugation of the future with be going to:

The following table shows the conjugation of the verb work in the be going to-form.

Use of the future with be going to:

We use the future with be going to:

1) To express a future event which is already planned and decided:

• We are going to buy a new car next year (Cat. L’any que ve comprarem un cotxe nou).
• Are you going to study for the exam tonight? (Cat Estudiaràs per a l’examen aquesta nit?).
• I’m going (to go) to France next summer (Cat: El proper estiu aniré a França).

2) To predict the future on the basis of present evidence and say that something will happen very soon in the future.

• She is going to have a baby in May (Cat. Tindrà un bebè al mes de maig).
• Look at those clouds! It’s going to rain (Cat. Mira aquells núvols! Està a punt de ploure).

Time adverbials:

The future forms with be going to are commonly used with some time adverbials that refer to a near future. For example:

• Tomorrow (Cat. demà): Tomorrow I’m going to stay until 10 in the evening .
• Next week, next month, etc. (Cat. la setmana que ve, el mes que ve, etc.): he’s going to start next week.
• Tonight (Cat. aquesta nit): are you going to have dinner at home tonight?

We can use the present simple and the present continuous tenses to speak about the future. In this case, the sentence must include a reference to the future (tomorrow, tonight, etc) to distinguish the verb tense from its present meanings.

The present simple:

The present simple with a future meaning is used to:

1) Speak about future events which are part of a timetable or a regular schedule:

• The sun sets at 7:34pm tomorrow (Cat. Demà el sol es pon a les 7:34 de la tarda)
• The classes start at 8 next Monday. (Cat. El proper dilluns les classes comencen a les 8)
• What time does your train leave tomorrow? (Cat. A quina hora surt el tren demà?)
• Do you work next weekend? (Cat Treballes el proper cap se de setmana?)

The present continuous:

The present continuous with a future meaning is used:

1)To express arrangements and fixed plans, when the time and date have already been decided. For example:

• What are you doing this evening? (Cat. Què fas aquesta nit?, què tens pensat fer aquesta nit?).
• I’m staying at home tonight (Cat. Aquesta nit em quedaré a casa).
• He’s retiring next year. (Cat. L’any que ve es jubila; l’any que ve té la intenció de jubilar-se).

The main difference between the future with will and the future with be going to is the intentionality of the action. If we need to express our intention of doing something, we must use the be going to-form; if we just want to express something that will happen independently of our intention, we must use will. Compare these sentences:

• I’m going to help you (=I have thought about it and it is my intention to help you).
• I will help you (=I didn’t think about it, but I will help you; I take the decision at the moment of speaking).

For this reason, when speaking about a person’s age, we must always use ‘will’:

• I will be 50 next week (Cat. La setmana que ve compliré 50 anys).

It is wrong to say: I’m going to be 50 next week.