Symbolic Forms

Can be linguistic or nonverbal -- oral, visual, musical, kinesthetic, etc.
Example: Various representations of “way to school.”
Possess two distinguishing characteristics.
Displacement: Can represent something that is not physically present.
Productivity: Can produce an infinite number of representations using a finite number of symbolic elements.
That’s how communication “produces, … reality.”

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University of ColoradoDepartment of CommunicationBob Craig's Web HomeE-mail Bob Craig