RADIO LANGUAGE: MAIN ELEMENTS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The radio language is a kind of purely acoustic language implemented in the world of radio as a main aspect for communication. Unlike other media such as television or even social networks, radio cannot use visual elements as an instrument of expression, so much of the work in this media is oriented towards sound.

In this way, the radio language dictates a series of codes that give meaning to what is expressed through the radio. Through sound it is possible to generate images or representations of what is heard in the human mind and this is where the radio uses the four main elements of radio language: the word, music, silence and sound effects.

Radio language and its elements are widely used in the world of radio

Image by Samuel Morazan from Pixabay

Elements of radio language

Radio language combines sound and non-sound resources through voice, music, sound effects and silence. All these elements depend on the technical-expressive process in which they are combined and also on the sound and imaginative perception of the receivers.

The voice and the word

When mention is made of the voice, it refers to the language of human beings and includes the word as a special attribute. The latter is a dominant factor in any creative process when creating content for radio. For this reason, in most cases, the other radio elements become companions of the word.

The voice and the word allow to generate images through the auditory process. They emit descriptive data of the issuer that can generate ideas of what their attitude, character and even their appearance is like.

The word has a wide variety of characteristics or functions. The word can be:

- Enunciative or expository, to send informative messages free of connotations other than those expressed.

- Descriptive, to recreate scenarios, contexts, characters, objects, sensations, feelings, situations, etc.

- Narrative, is able to relate events that are generated in a given space and time

- Expressive, because it has the ability to express on the outside what happens inside a subject, such as feelings or emotions.

- Argumentative, allows to express opinions, ideas or reasoning that support a position before something.

The word and its variations

The word is defined as a sign that refers to some concept created by man. Words are very different from the object to which they refer. For example, the word "dog" does not really have any similarity to the animal in reality, it is only used to name it.

In this way, the radio draws on words to create communication codes with multiple meanings. The word, when spoken, can generate different meanings or intentions.

The tones or inflections in the voice are some factors that can determine meanings. Other factors that determine the meaning of a word above the word itself can be the person making the sound, whether the voice is male or female, the accent, etc.

Music

It is one of the leading creators of auditory images. Music allows to generate environments, sensations, emotions or even be an element to attract the attention of the audience.

Music is capable of generating environments and emotions through listening

Image by Niek Verlaan from Pixabay

Among other functions, within radio it can have a programmatic role, since most of the time it is usually the base or essential content of radio programs. Music has different characteristics within the radio language, some of them are:

- Referential, expository and decorative. It is capable of playing as an identifier for characters, situations or intentions. In this way, it develops as a companion to stories, tales, and more.

- Descriptive. Sometimes it allows to recreate the situation of a stage in a specific space and time.

- Narrative. Because it can accompany action or events to give them shape or intensity. For example, in a moment of suspense, the choice of music can increase the sense of intrigue in the listeners.

- Expressive. It allows to generate climates, atmospheres or states related to emotionality.

- Identifier. Music is also an element that can help identify people, programs, stations. Helps the audience recognize what they hear or what they are about to hear. For example, radio programs often identify their sections with "curtains", which consist of musical fragments of a few seconds that allow the segments to be separated by aural.

Sound effects

Sounds are signs that are produced through something, they exist as a consequence of an object, being or action that emits it. On the radio they are used to construct a logical meaning.

Its reproduction is important to make the intention that you want to be understood. For example, the sounds of bells or the singing of crickets are sound effects that can generate some meaning, connotation or mood. In the first case it can be linked to a wedding or religious act, while the second can wrap us in a rustic atmosphere or at night.

Some ways in which the use of sounds can be implemented are:

- Actions. They recreate some type of movement or objects in action, for example, a car engine or gunshots.

- Environment. Sounds that allow you to recreate a specific environment or a moment. For example, the waves of the sea to place the listener in a beach context or the howl of a wolf to speak of a mysterious night.

- Symbolic. They are created to form an idea of ​​what a particular sound might be like. They are used mostly in fantasy. For example, the sounds of a magic spell.

Silence

It refers to the absence of sound. It has various functions depending on its use. It can involve sentence endings, suggest tension, reflection, or even be used for rhetorical purposes. Its uses can be similar to those of sound effects.

The moment in which the resource of silence is used also has a force of meaning. For example, silence before an uncomfortable question, or before a painful situation and even after a message of deep reflection.

References

1. The Language of Radio. Recovered from culturca.narod.ru
2. (2011) RADIOPHONIC LANGUAGE. Alpha Media. Recovered from mariapinto.es
3. Perona, J. The radio language: introduction. Autonomous University of Barcelona. Recovered from clonica.net
4. Herrera S. Topic 1: The radio language. University Carlos III of Madrid. Recovered from ocw.uc3m.es
5. Sound language: sound resources and planes. Cefire - Ministry of Education, Research, Culture and Sports. Recovered from cefire.edu.gva.es