Role and communication: a zoosemiotic approach

Abstract

[Abstract] The concept of role is wide-spread in social sciences in discussing social structure and interaction. It is also used in ethology but mainly to describe social structure when existent in those species under observation. Communication is the means for social interaction in each and every species. This presentation is an attempt to utilize the concept of role in order to analyze all cases of social communication where animal interaction is interdependent. Latter means arguing that the relationship constituted by two animals in a communicating act is mutually binding because and as long as both animals stay in character. The wider aim of this paper is to introduce yet unfamiliar vocabulary to the field of zoosemiotic research — it could be one of the ways of bringing social and natural sciences closer together and facilitating the dialogue between them. To achieve the goal in showing that interdependent social roles as well as relationships emerge and are created in communication, the following steps are taken: Firstly, the concept of social role is re-conceptualized in a way that permits it to be used in consideration with other species’ communicative abilities besides human; Secondly, zoosemiotic communication theory is adapted to include role concept and thereby latter’s area of application is revealed; Thirdly, by concentrating on the act of social communication and analyzing animals’ behavior, the concept of role is applied to refer to conduct and certain rules which make interaction mutually dependent for both parties. Fourthly, situations which can be described by terms role conflict and role change are considered in order to see their effect on ommunicating animals and on the act of communication itself.