In “Signature Event Context,” Derrida tackles a weighty question: What is communication? Early in the chapter he offers his definition of communication, “I have been constrained to predetermine communication as a vehicle, a means of transport or transitional medium of a meaning, moreover of a unified meaning.” (Derrida, 1) Recognizing the limitations of his definition, he proceeds to break that definition down into what he considers the two basic forms of communication: written language and spoken language.
He then addresses the merits of written and spoken language based on their value, how the idea of absence affects each form and the intentions of the author/speaker as it relates to the message they are trying to communicate. The emphasis on written communication supposes that it somehow is more accurate, reliable and accessible then spoken word, a supposition that is in many ways inaccurate.