Chapter 2: Communicating Verbally

I. Understanding the Nature of Language

There are several things to keep in mind when discussing language.

Words Are symbols.

• A symbol is something that stands for something else.
• Symbols were created by humans so that they might convey meanings for other humans.
• Symbols can have different meanings for different people.
• Symbols can have more than one meaning for the same person.
• Words are symbols that have been developed by cultures to represent objects, concepts, actions, characteristics, and conditions.
• A collection of words and the ways in which they are interrelated is language.

• There is no "right" way to pronounce, use, and spell words in language.
• When a particular society agrees to follow a particular set of rules, it creates the conventions, or practices, of that particular language.

• Words are empty vessels waiting for people to assign them meaning.
• The relation among a thing (object), an idea (what we think), and a word, a symbol (what we write or speak) is expressed in Richards and Ogden's triangle of meaning.
• When you hear or read the symbol, your mind links it to the idea (reference) in our memory, which ideally corresponds to the thing itself (referent).
• Misunderstandings occur when the words we use do not refer to the thing we intended.
• This happens because the meanings are in the people, who assign them to the symbols, not in the symbols themselves.
• The accepted meaning of a word for the majority of the population is its detonation.
• A particular association of a word is its connotation.

• Meanings, spellings, and pronunciations of words change over time.
• New words are created, and some old words fall out of favor or are forgotten.
• The conventions, or grammar, also change.

• Structure, which governs the use of words, follows certain rules that are less likely to change in a short period of time.
• Syntax is the arrangement of words in a statement, usually according to a pattern, such as a subject (actor) and predicate (action).
• People can incorporate new words into their sentences because they learned the syntax of their language.

• The structure of one language may be different from that of another.
• People who have the most power in society have historically determined what is proper language.
• In England the development of rules of grammar distinguished the upper classes from the lower classes. Grammar continues to distinguish classes in America today.
• No language has a standard form. Everyone speaks a dialect, a variation of a language spoken by a group of people.
• Dialects are often regional.
• Dialects do not indicate the speaker's intelligence.

• Spoken language evolves much more quickly than written language.
• Spoken language is not inferior to written language.
• People in print-based cultures tend to be individually focused and linear in thinking. People in oral cultures tend to be group focused and recursive (circular) in thinking.
• Communication studies focus on both oral and written language.
• A collection of symbols is a text. A memo, a movie, and a parade are all texts that communicate a message.

Abstraction Increases uncertainty.

• The more abstract (removed from specific reality) a word is, the easier it is to misinterpret.
• Skillful communicators use descriptive language that is concrete and rich in detail.

• Euphemisms are soft words used when people might be offended by harsh words. Rawson states several principles guiding the formation of euphemisms:
• Foreign words sound more refined.
• Bad words are not so obvious when abbreviated.
• Indirection is less upsetting than direction.
• Euphemisms can be unclear.

• Idioms are phrases that cannot be understood by the literal meanings of their separate words.
• The more familiar a person is with a language, the more difficult it is to explain an idiom to someone not brought up in that language.

• A linguistic community is any distinct group of language users, such as members of a profession.
• Many professions have a specialized vocabulary, or jargon.
• Changing one's language (jargon) from one linguistic community to another is called code-switching.
• Code-switching means changing vocabulary (words used), phonology (pronunciation), syntax (arrangement of words), and topics.
• Almost everyone does code-switching to meet different situations.

• Slang (a specialized, informal language) tends to be less enduring than other kinds of language. Some slang quickly goes out of fashion.
• Slang limits the inclusion of people who are unfamiliar with it.
• According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, cultures develop language in ways that reflect the priorities they set on experiences relevant to them.

Politically correct language reflects a concern to respect other people's identities through the use of a language, but it has been called impractical and an abridgment of the freedom of speech.
Cultural sensitivity is respect for the identity of other cultures. Culturally sensitive people do not use derogatory terms to refer to people of different race, lifestyles, or genders from their own.

Language Is Power.

• The power to name is one of the key ways in which the powerful dominate the powerless.
• Sharing the power to name among people acknowledges everyone's right to fix his or her own identity and promotes good will among communicators.

• Sexist language is biased language that perpetuates stereotypes about gender.
• Sexist language reinforces the idea that vast differences exist between men and women and make one superior to the other.
• Culturally sensitive people monitor their language to avoid terms that suggest differences.

1. Use gender-neutral pronouns when you are not dealing specifically with men or women, for example, by using plurals.
2. Substitute inclusive terms such as workers for workmen.
3. Do not assume that any task, activity, or gender is exclusive to either gender.
4. Resist the temptation to assume the gender of a person you do not know.
5. Avoid loaded terms that demean people.

Helpful Links!

"Human Communication and Semantics" - This site explores the functioning and disfunctioning of the communication process, as well as proposals for more effective communication. There are also many essays devoted to the process of effective communication and the intent to better understand semantics. "Verbal Communication Skills" - This online newsletter, entitled "Improving Verbal Skills", provides an overview of what it takes to be a good verbal communicator. The site also provides a detailed chart highlighting the possible factors that may distort verbal communication, as well as a neat partner activity that reinforces good listening skills. At Your Bookstore
Eble, C.C. (1996). Slang and Sociability: In-group Language Among College Students. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. Elgin, S.H. (1993). Genderspeak: Men, Women and the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-defense. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Hulit, L.M., & Howard, M.R. (1997). Born to Talk: An Introduction to Speech and Language Development (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Milroy, L., & Muysken, P. (Eds.). (1995). One Speaker, Two Languages: Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on Code-switching. New York: Cambridge University Press.