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Human communication, 'as the saying goes, is a clash of symbols' it covers a multitude of signs. But it is more than media and messages, information and persuasion; it also meets a deeper need and serves a higher purpose. Whether clear or garbled, tumultuous or silent, deliberate or fatally inadvertent, communication is the ground of meeting and the foundation of community. It is, in short, the essential human connection.
Ashley Montagu
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes that communication is not just about exchanging information, but is fundamental to human connection and community.

Ashley Montagu highlights the complexity of human communication, indicating that it transcends mere words and messages. It serves a profound purpose in fulfilling human needs for connection and belonging, acting as the foundation for relationships and communities, whether expressed clearly or lost in misunderstanding.

Themes

CommunicationConnectionCommunitySymbolsMeaning

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of effective communication in relationships.

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