ABSTRACT
Malinowski argues that his theory of the context of situation can be applied to all forms of expression. The magical act is not only expressed in a different language from the language of ordinary life, but also by an actor who is believed to be far above ordinary men, and whose skill in expression of the spell is the result of long and hard training. Language has many referents in work, play, worship, and civic affairs, but it also has another, and equally powerful referent, in itself as an art of expression. In Malinowski, communication is so central to his theory of society that it can properly be called a social theory of communication. Malinowski's society is an authoritarian society, and his explanation of the function of language is true only to the extent that communication is controlled. Social organization is discussed as a kind of "charter" whose effects are derived from past myths of origin.
