Communication failure
Communication failure refers to an unsuccessful attempt on the speaker's part to modify the partner’s mental state in the desired way [Bosco, Tirassa].
This message is unintentionally misleading, ineffective, or offensive [Simplicable.com].
Failure of a communicative act occurs when one or more of the success conditions regulating each stage is not satisfied. Consequently, successful and unsuccessful communication is treated as an “all or none” phenomenon: either the felicity conditions are satisfied, and communication succeeds, or they are not, and communication fails.
The following types of failure occur in communicative interaction: failure of the expression act, failure of the actor’s meaning, and failure of the communicative effect.
In the categories Failure of the expression act, and Failure of the actor’s meaning, non-comprehension and misunderstanding of the communicative act are distinguished. Non-comprehension occurs when the partner doesn't understand the move or game planned by the actor and therefore can't proceed in his comprehension process. On the contrary, a misunderstanding occurs when the partner erroneously construes a move or game different from the initially planned game or move by the actor. In the category Failure of the communicative effect, rejection of the move (a weak denial of the actor’s proposal by the partner), and refusal to play the game (a strong denial) are distinguished [Bosco, p. 1398-1404].
A communication failure can also be defined as an interruption of a company's workflow. It usually occurs when employees have different purposes, which can impact how effectively they cooperate. Furthermore, their incompatibility internally can lead to issues externally, where stakeholders, clients, and consumers become affected by the mistakes. For instance, the price of products may fluctuate, or supporters may decide to support competing brands [Indeed].
⠀ Bosco F.M., Bucciarelli M. and Bara B.G. (2006). Recognition and recovery of communicative failures: a developmental perspective. Journal of Pragmatics, 38: 1398-1429.
⠀ Bosco F.M., Tirassa M. (2010). Communication failure. The pragmatics encyclopedia. Retrieved from: https://web-archive.southampton.ac.uk/cogprints.org/6877/1/2010-ComFailure-Encyc.htm.
⠀ Communication failure. Simplicable.com. Retrieved from: https://simplicable.com/new/communication-failure.