WHAT MAKES COMMUNICATION A SCIENCE

Communication is a process through which a person or a group of persons shares information or messages with target audience using language or symbols which are mutually understood. Science on the other hand is defined according to the Oxford dictionary as “ an intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment ”.

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From the above two definitions, communication can be said to be a science of the society (social science) because it emanates from human behavior and thus involves a comprehensive study of such behavior.
It also sorts to; explain the social relationship among people and focuses on how people uses messages to generate meaning within and across various context, cultures, channels and the media. As science sort to explain the “structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment ” so does communication sort to explain and thus makes it a science (social science).

Communication is essential and a requisite for human existence because it is the central binding force that allows interactions among people. This means that it is the backbone, foundation and the fundamental principles of humans. This also means that there would be no friends or families and thus human social interaction would come to a stand still if communication does not exist.

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Communication as an academic field relates to all the way we communicate and the study of meaning in language (semantic). It encompasses the linguistic an philosophical study of meaning in language, formal logics and semantics.

As science seeks to explore the universe and it’s interaction with man through observation, so does communication seeks to explore the interaction between humans and it’s environment. This means that communication also pervades the animal world and seeks to interpret and study the roaring, hissing, barking, whining and creaking sounds of both animals and tree.

From the above statement points, it’s clear that the study of communication or communication is a science that seeks to explain the social relationship among people and thus makes it science (social science).