1 language: barrier and bridge language: barrier bridge language is symbolic the natural world ...
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3 LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE Understanding and Misunderstanding Relative Language Words that gain their meaning by comparison Do you attend a large or small school? Fast and slow Smart and stupid Short and long Static Evaluation Statements that contain or imply the word is lead to mistaken assumptions about peopleTRANSCRIPT
1LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
LANGUAGE: BARRIER & BRIDGE
Language is Symbolic The Natural World
Smoke means something is burning A fever means someone is ill
Language is Symbolic Connection between words and the
ideas or things they represent is arbitrary
2LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
Understanding and Misunderstanding Understanding Words
Semantic rules “Bikes” are for riding and “books” are for
reading Equivocation
Statements that have more then one commonly accepted definition
Newspaper Headlines: “Family catches fire just in time.” “20-year friendship ends at the altar.” “Trees can break wind.”
3LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
Understanding and Misunderstanding Relative Language
Words that gain their meaning by comparison Do you attend a large or small school? Fast and slow Smart and stupid Short and long
Static Evaluation Statements that contain or imply the
word is lead to mistaken assumptions about people
4LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
Understandings and Misunderstandings
Abstraction Is vague in nature Behavior language is
specific to things people do or say
Abstraction Ladder Abstract language can lead
to miscommunication
Figure 5.1 Page 165
5LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
Understandings and Misunderstandings
Syntactic Rules Govern the grammar of language
Pragmatic Rules Govern the way speech works in
everyday interaction Consider the difference between:
I love you I love ya I luv U
6LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
Understandings and Misunderstandings Pragmatic Rules
What do you infer by the following sentences? “Would you like a drink?” “Would you like something to drink?”
Pragmatic Rules of Email When reading an email what do you think
when you come across CAPITAL LETTERS?
7LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Naming and Identity Names are more than just a simple
means of identification They shape the way others think of us They shape the way we view ourselves 1900’s most popular names
Bertha, Mildred and Ethel 2015’s most popular names
Alexander, Noah, Emma, and Olivia
8LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Affiliation Speech can build and demonstrate
solidarity with others Convergence
The process of adapting one’s speech style to match others
Divergence Speaking in a way that emphasizes one’s
differences from others
9LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Powerless Language Hedges Hesitations Intensifiers Polite forms Tag questions Disclaimers Rising inflections
10LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Powerless Language Hedges:
“I’m kinda disappointed . . .” “I think we should . . .” “I guess I’d like to . . .”
Hesitations: “Uh, can I have a minute of your time?” “Well, we could try this idea . . .” “I wish you would—er—try to be on time.”
Tag questions: “It’s about time we got started, isn’t it?” “Don’t you think we should give it another try?”
11LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Powerful Language Powerful speech is culturally based Language that is too powerful may
intimidate In some situations, polite forms of
speech can enhance effectiveness
12LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Disruptive Language Three linguistic habits to avoid Fact-Opinion Confusion
Fact OpinionYou forgot my birthday. You don’t care
about me.You keep interrupting me. You’re a
control freak.You tell a lot of ethnic jokes. You’re a bigot.
13LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Disruptive Language Fact-interference confusion
A: Why are you mad at me? B: I’m not mad at you. Why have you been
so insecure lately? A: I’m not insecure. It’s just that you've
been so critical. B: What do you mean, “critical?” I haven’t
been critical. . . .
14LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Disruptive Language Emotive Language
Seems to describe something but actually announces the speakers attitude toward it
If you approve, say If you disapprove, say
Thrifty CheapTraditional Old-fashionedExtrovert LoudmouthCautious Cowardly
15LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Language of Responsibility “It” Statements
Note the difference in each set of sentences: “It bothers me when you’re late.” “I’m worried when you’re late.” “It’s nice to see you.” “I’m glad to see you.” “It’s a boring class.” “I’m bored in the class.”
16LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Language of Responsibility “But” Statements
In each sentence the word but cancels the thought that precedes it: “You’re really a great person, but I think
we should see other people.” “You’ve done good work for us, but we’re
going to have to let you go.” “This paper has some good ideas, but I’m
giving you a D grade because it’s late.”
17LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Language of Responsibility Questions
Some questions are used to avoid making a declaration “What are we having for dinner?” Could
mean, “I want to eat out.” “How many textbooks are assigned in that
class?” Could mean, “I’m afraid to get into a class with too much reading.”
18LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Language of Responsibility “I” and “You” Language
“I” statements accept responsibility for a message
“You” statements express judgment “You left this place a mess!” “You didn’t keep your promise!” “You’re really crude sometimes!”
19LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Language of Responsibility “I” and “You” Language
An “I” statement has four elements: The person’s behavior Your interpretations Your feelings The consequences that the other person’s
behavior has for you
20LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Language of Responsibility “I” and “You” Language Example:
“I get embarrassed (feeling) when you talk about my bad grades in front of our friends (behavior). I’m afraid they’ll think I’m stupid (interpretation). That’s why I got so worked up last night (consequence).”
21LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Language of Responsibility Reservations about “I” language
“I get too angry to use ‘I’ language” “Even with ‘I’ language, the other person
gets defensive” “ ‘I’ language sounds artificial”
22LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
The Impact of Language
Language of Responsibility “We” Language
Implies the issue is the concern of both parties “We need to figure out a budget that
doesn’t bankrupt us.” “I think we have a problem. We can’t
seem to talk about money without fighting.”
23LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
Gender and Language
Content Female friends spent more time
discussing: Relationship problems, family, health
Male friends spent more time discussing: Current events, music, sports, business
Consider the gender’s impact on language: “I want to talk about important things, like
how we’re getting along. All he wants to do talk about the news or what we’ll do this weekend.”
24LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
Gender and Language
Conversation Style The myth that women are more talkative
than men does not hold up under scientific scrutiny
Men’s speech is characteristically: More direct, succinct, and task-oriented
Women’s speech is more typically: indirect, elaborate, and focused on
relationships
25LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
Gender and Language
Nongender Variables The link between gender and language
isn’t as clear-cut as it might seem The language between sexes is more
similar than it is different. One scholar suggested that the popular
book, “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus” should be changed to “Men Are from North Dakota, Women Are from South Dakota.”
26LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
Culture and Language
Verbal Communication Styles Low-context cultures
Generally value language to express thoughts, feelings, and ideas as directly as possible.
High-context cultures Generally value using language to
maintain social harmony. Learn to discover meaning from the
context in which a message is delivered: nonverbal behaviors, history of the relationship, etc
27LANGUAGE: BARRIER AND BRIDGE
Culture and Language
Verbal Communication Styles Language and Worldview
Linguistic relativism The worldview of a culture is shaped and
reflected by the language its members speak.
The Eskimos have a large number of words for snow