We each carry with us a unique set of previous experiences. These form our frame of reference. Signs can have only such meaning as an individual's experience permits him to read into them. The words on this page are nothing more than a collection of ink dots sprayed by a machine, the pattern of which have been decided by the writer, assisted by a computer. All may be won or lost in making the link between the map of the writer and the map of the reader.
Language is far richer than just words.
In fact only a small part of what we communicate is conveyed verbally. Intonation, stress, pronunciation, accent, collocation, semantics and syntax are important. These too all involve a process of encoding and decoding and therefore a risk of misinterpretation due to differing frames of reference. Congruence is also very important between verbal and non-verbal communication. Our body language and facial expression needs to confirm what we are saying.