Semantic noise in communication and information systems

Semantic noise is not as simple to define as the mechanical noise, mainly because of its intangible nature. If we had to define it in the elementary form, then, it could be defined as problems created due to language or interpretation barriers. Of course these could include the persons' communication tactics, mutual understanding, life experiences, partialities, interpretation of words, etc. It wouldn't be incorrect to say that one of the main aims of communication could be to avert any situation that could create semantic noise.

One of my most common experiences is the simple language barrier, when I interact with people in a global setting, whether it be of a conference or an exhibition, I always find myself in a situation where my target does not know much of English and is finding it difficult to understand what I am trying to convey to him. Usually in such situations I prefer using signs and gestures that are normally widely understood to get my message across. Also sometimes, the vocabulary that I have used has been tended to be interpreted in ways that I hadn't used them in, which then called for immediate clarification of what I initially meant to say with the utilization of supplementary words. This usually is the case because of the difference in life styles and experiences.

One of the key factors, as illustrated in the Shannon-Weaver model, is feedback. It is only through the feedback of the receiver that the sends to the sender, whether, the feedback could be direct (said out loud by the receiver or pin-pointed by him) or it could be interpretive (facial expressions) where the sender will have to realize on his own what the receiver is thinking and counter it with possible solutions. Advertisers get this feedback through market research, politicians through public opinion polls, etc.

Another important component in the success of a message that is being sent is the decoder/decoding process, which is jus like encoding for the sender; the efficiency of the decoder/decoding process also plays a huge part in the creation or avoidance of semantic noise.