Communication - Meaning and Origin

The origin of the word "communication" is believed to have Latin roots. Latin is now a dead language and has contributed significantly to modern English vocabulary. In Latin “communicare” means “to make common”. So, how does “communicare” in Latin become “communication” in English? Well, for instance, imagine you have an idea or a thought in mind and when you share it with someone else, that idea or thought becomes common in both of your minds. Sharing is the act of communication and therefore the word “communication” involves making an idea common between two or more minds. Thus, “communicare”, which means “to make common” becomes “communication”, which means “the activity of conveying”.

Communication, therefore involves the transfer of ideas, thoughts, information, emotions and feelings among different people. Effective communication is one which brings about an understanding of those ideas and thoughts and results in a response. The response may be immediate or delayed, may use a set of words or action, may be verbal or non-verbal; what matters is that there is a response. In communication terminology, we call it “feedback”. We shall deal with feedback in detail, in the future. This kind of communication exists not only among humans, but among animals too. Their objectives differ from our objectives.

American Management Association defines communication as 'any behaviour that results in an exchange of meaning' This means that communication involves:

• A sender who transmits his ideas
• A receiver who receives those ideas
• a feedback or a response to the idea received

The following video describes the history of communication in a beautiful way. Enjoy watching!

Stay tuned for a detailed discussion on ‘The Process of Communication’ in the next post.