The myriad of definitions of communication typically boil down to:
Further, some intentionality is usually required between the sender and the receiver. In other words, a sender must intend to send a message to a receiver, who, in turn, is attempting to decipher the message. So, simply not receiving a message is not communication, but, ignoring a message is. That distinction, however, is often lost on the sender, who may not be able to tell the difference. Interestingly, communication courses and workshops spend vast amounts of time in getting people to learn (re-learn?) how to listen. They also attempt to get senders to gauge whether or not their messages are being received.
Communication is much broader than language in several ways. First, communication can occur at all levels of complexity whereas language is highly complex. Second, communication can occur in any sensory channel (see below), but language is limited to the auditory channel; at least it was before the invention of writing. Communication may occur in channels as varied as the chemical, tactile, visual, surface wave, electrical, and auditory (Wilson, 1975). Evolutionarily, the auditory channel appears to be favored by its characteristic as the best candidate for development of a complex communication system like language. For instance, its properties allow the creation of a sufficiently large set of short-lasting sounds. In addition, the human vocal apparatus also seems to have evolved so as to produce such sounds. It is hard to imagine a system like language in any of the other sensory channels.
Major Channels of Communication and Their Characteristics
Language takes place primarily in the auditory channel, but communication can take place in many channels. Below, the major channels of communication are listed and described (Wilson, 1975). Try to see why the auditory system may best be suited for the evolutionary development of language. Imagine a language system in another channel. What would it be like?