Question

Three Marks Question:
Explain briefly any three semantic barriers to communication.

Answer 1

The following are three semantic barriers:
a. Inappropriate vocabulary: Sometimes due to poor vocabulary or wrong use of words by the communicator, the information may not be clearly expressed.
b. Use of words that have multiple meanings: Sometimes, a word may have more than one meaning; or two or more words may have the same pronunciation (such as idle and idol). In such cases, the correct interpretation of the word remains ambiguous.
c. Lack of proficiency: In certain cases, the proficiency of a language differs among the workers and the mangers. In such cases, a translation of the information into another language may be required to make it understandable to the workers. However, in the process of translation some of the words or sentences may get misinterpreted. For example, in a translation of an instruction from English to Hindi, the meaning of certain words might change.