Barrier and Bridge

7

FDHCM001: INTRO TO HUMAN COMMUNICATION

SULAY JALLOH

LANGUAGE:

BARRIER AND BRIDGE

LECTURES’ OBJECTIVES:

You Should Understand:

1. Identify at least two ways in which language has shaped and reflects your perceptions.

2. Recognize and suggest alternatives for equivocal language, relative terms, and overly abstract language.

3. Identify and suggest alternatives for fact-inference and fact-opinion confusion and for emotive statements.

4. Suggest appropriate alternatives for unnecessary or misleading euphemisms and equivocal statements.

THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE

DEFINITION OF LANGUAGE:

Language is a collection of symbols governed by rules, and used to convey messages between individuals.

1. Language is Symbolic

The elements of the English language consist of the letters of our alphabet along with punctuation marks, such as commas, periods, and so on.

These elements usually have no meaning by themselves. And in many combinations they are also meaningless.

2. Meanings Are in People, Not in Words

Meanings are social constructions (Ogden & Richards). E.g:

Problems arise when people mistakenly assume that others use words in the same way they do.

The key to more accurate use of language is to avoid assuming that others interpret words the same way we do. In truth, successful communication occurs when we negotiate the meaning of a statement.

3. Language is Rule-Governed

a) Phonological Rules govern how words sound when pronounced. E.g: Champagne, double and occasion are spelled identically in French and English, but are all pronounced differently.

b) Syntactic Rules govern the structure of language _ the way symbols can be arranged. E.g: correct English requires that every word contain at least one vowel and prohibits sentence such as “Have you the cookies brought”.

c) Semantic Rules deal with the meaning of specific words which make it possible for us to agree that “bikes” are for riding and “books” are for reading.

d) Pragmatic Rules help us to figure out what interpretation of a message is appropriate in a given context. E.g: You look very pretty today.

THE POWER OF LANGUAGE

Language allows us not only to satisfy basic functions such as describing ideas, making requests and solving problems, but also influences others and reflects our attitudes in more subtle ways.

1) LANGUAGE SHAPES ATTITUDES

Naming: What’s in a name? Research has demonstrated that names are more than just a simple means of identification: They shape the way others think of us.

Credibility: As the Dr. Fox Hypothesis claim: “An apparently legitimate speaker who utters an unintelligible message will be judged competent by an audience in the speaker’s areas of apparent expertise”.

Status: Speakers of standered dialect are rated higher than non slandered speaker in a variety of ways: They are viewed as more competent and more self confident etc.

Sexism and Racism: Casey Miller and Kate Swift argue that some aspects of language suggest women are of lower status than men. E.g: Mankind, Man made, Manpower and the like

2) LANGUAGE REFLECTS ATTITUDES

Power reflects how a speaker feels about his or her degree of control over a situation. E.g: refer to table 3.2:

Affiliation: Convergence for those who want to show affiliation with other. Divergence for those who want to set themselves apart from others.

Attraction and Interest: The language people use can suggest their degree of interest and attraction toward a person, object or idea. E.g: These and those. Good and not bad Nerveen and Sulay.

Responsibility: Language can reveal the speaker’s willingness to accept responsibility for a message. E.g: It and I. You and I. But etc.

TROUBLESOME LANGUAGE

1) THE LANGUAGE OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS: Most misunderstandings arise from some common problems that are remedied, after you recognize them.

a) Equivocal Language: Words that have more than one correct dictionary definition. E.g: One woman recalls:

“in the fourth grade the teacher asked the class what a period was. I raised my hand and shared everything I had learned about girls’ getting their period. But he was talking about the dot at the end of a sentence. Oops!”

b) Relative Terms: Words that gain their meaning by comparison. E.g: Is the school you attend large or small?

c) Slang is language used by a group of people whose members belong to a similar co-culture or other group. E.g: “bling bling”

d) Jargon is the specialized vocabulary that functions as a kind of shorthand by people with common background and experience. E.g: AWOL (absent without leave)

e) Overly Abstract Language as most objects, events and ideas can be described with varying degrees of specificity. E.g: a book, a textbook, a communication textbook, understanding human communication etc.

2) DISRUPTIVE LANGUAGE

a) Confusing Facts and Opinions: Factual statements are claims that can be verified as true or false. Opinion statements are based on the speaker’s beliefs. E.g: Europe is colder than Malaysia. The climate in Malaysia is better than Europe.

b) Fact-Inference Confusion: conclusions arrived at from an interpretation of evidence. E.g: I haven’t gotten a raise in almost a year. The boss is exploiting me.

c) Emotive Language: words that sounds as if they are describing something when they are really announcing the speaker’s attitude toward something. E.g: A man is commanding and a woman is demanding.

3) EVASIVE LANGUAGE is used to avoid communicating clearly

a) Euphemisms: is a pleasant term substituted for a more direct but potentially less pleasant one. E.g: “restroom” instead of “toilet”.

b) Equivocation: a deliberate vague statement that can be interpreted in more than one way. E.g: “Not bad” “you could” “possible”

GENDER AND LANGUAGE

Research has shown that there are significant differences between the way men and women communicate.

a) Content: Certain topics are common to both sexes: work, movies and television. Differences: Female discusses more on personal domestic subject, relationship problems, family, and health. Men discuss more on Music, current event, sport, business.

B) Reasons for Communicating: Both men and women, at least in the US, use language to build and maintain relationship. How men and women accomplish these goals is often different.

Conversational Style: In one study, women’s talk was judge more aesthetic; where as men’s talk was seen as more dynamic, aggressive and strong.

Non-Gender Variables: Despite the differences identified early, several research reviews have found that the ways women and men communicate are much more similar than different.

Sex Roles: Why is the research on gender differences so confusing? One reason for the confusion is that factors besides gender influence the way people speak: The setting in which conversation takes place, the expertise of the speakers, the social roles (husband/wife, boss/employee).

5) CULTURE AND LANGUAGE

Anyone who has tried to translate ideas from one language to another knows that communication across cultures can be a challenge.

a) Verbal Communication Styles: Each language has its own unique style that distinguishes it from others. E.g: Formality or informality. Precision or vagueness.

b) LOW AND HIGH CONTEXT COMMUNICATION STYLES

1) LOW CONTEXT

a) Majority of information carried in explicit verbal messages, with less focus on the situational context.

b) Self-expression valued. Communicators state opinions and desires directly and strive to persuade others.

c) Clear, eloquent speech considered praiseworthy. Verbal fluency admired.

2) HIGH CONTEXT

a. Important information carried in contextual clues (time, place, relationship, and situation). Less reliance on explicit verbal messages.

b. Relational harmony valued and maintained by indirect expression of opinions. Communicators refrain from saying “no” directly.

c. Communicators talk “around” the point, allowing others to fill in the missing pieces. Ambiguity and use of silence admired.