Language and Meaning : Helping Minds Meet

WHAT LANGUAGE IS

Language is a unified system of symbols that permits the sharing of meaning.A symbol stands for, or represents, something else.Word are symbols,and thus words represent things.Notice the words represent and stand for rather than are.This is a very important distinction.Word stand for,or represent,things but are not the things they stand for.Words are spoken sounds or the written representations of sounds that we have agreed will stand for something else.Thus,by mutual consent,we can make anything stand for anything.

The process of communication involves using words to help create meanings and expectations.However,as important as words are in representing and describing objects and ideas,the meaning of a vebal message is not stamped on the face of the words we use.Meanings are in people,not in words,Meanings are unique ; you have your meaning and other people have theirs.Evena common word such as cat  can bring to mind meanings ranging from a fluffy Angora to a sleek leopard.Your goal in communicating with another person is to have your meanings overlap,so that you can each make sense out of the other’s mesagges and understand each other.

HOW LANGUAGE WORKS : WORDS,THINGS,AND THOUGHTS

Language can fulfill its potential only if we use it correctly.The triangel of meaning,developed by two communication theorists C.K.Ogden and I.A.Richards helps explain how language works (see Figure 5.1).In Ogden and Richards’ triangel of meaning,the three points are thought,word, and thing.The broken line connecting word (a symbol) and thing (a referent,or stimulus) indicates that the word is not the thing and that there is no direct connection between the two.Thus,whenyou see words,you must constantly remind yourself that the only relationships between the word you use and the things they represent are those that exist in people’s thoughts (including,of course,your own).Frequendy,even the existance of an image (a physical object) does not establish meaning.Some years ago,a public service comercial depicting a rat and a child living in a tenement was shown on television.

THE COMMUNICATION OF MEANINS

The communication of meaning from one person to another is a key function of language.The factors identified in this section relate to problems in the sharing of meaning.

·         Meanings Are Both Denotative and Connotative

Sometimes we forget that we may experience a problem in communication if we consider only our own meaning for a word.Although we know what we mean,the crucial question is,What does our word bring to mind for those with whom we are communicating?When we think about what language means ,we must think in terms of both denotative (objective,or dictionary)meaning and connotative (subjective,or personal) meaning.

·         Whether Language Is Concrete or Abstract Influences Meaning

The ladder is composed of a number of descriptions of the same thing.Lower items focus specifically on the person,object,or event,while higher items are generalizations that include the subject as part of a langer class.As the words we use move from abstract (less specific)to concrete (more specific),they become more precise in meaning and are more likely to appeal to our sense and conjure up a picture.Specific words clarify meaning by narrowing the number of possible images a person pictures.Were we to talk,for example,about our children’s academic experience,we could say that one of our children is in college and the other in graduate school (rather high levels of abstraction),or we could get more concrete and say that our daughter is in the management school of a Big East University and our son is in the molecular biology Ph.D.program at Cornell at Sloan-Kettering.Using high-level abstractions serves a number of functions.First,because high-level abstractions function as a kind of verbal shorthand,they enable us to generalize,and our communication becomes easier and faster.Second,when we believe it is necessary,because they also enable us to be deliberately unclear,high-level abstrations allow us to limit understanding and avoid confrontations.When,for example,a friend asks you what you think of a new outfit or your boss asks you what you think of a new corporate strategy,if telling the truth appears too risky to you,you can offer an abstract answer to the question and avoid being put on the line.On the other hand relying on high-level abstractions can also cause meaning to become fuzzy primarily because the words you use can be interpreted ambiguously.Thus,becoming aware of levels of abstractions reduces the likelihood of misunderstandings.For example,if individuals do not have a reservoir of shared experiences or interpretations,using more concrete language can enhance understanding between them.The goal is to use the level of abstraction that meers the needs of your communication objectives and the situation.

CULTURE AND LANGUAGE

  Since culture influences language use.communication between members of diverse cultures can be a challenge.

·         Culture Influences the Words Used

Both the dominant culture (the culture in power,the mainstream culture composed of people who share the same values,beliefs,and ways of behaving and communicating and who pass them on from one generation to another) and co-cultures (groups of people such as African Americans,Hispanics,Asians,musicians,athletes,environmentalists,and drug users,who have a culture of their own outside the dominant culture) have different languages.Hence,usages vary from culture to culture.If a concept is important to a culture,there will be a large number of terms to describe it.For example,in our culture,the word moncy is very important and we have many words to describe it : Wealth,capital,assets,backing,resources,and finance are just a few.Similarly,the Inuit,or Eskimos,have a number of words for show,because they need to be able to make fine distinctions when speaking of it.

·         Cultural Differences  Can Lead to Confused Translations

Translating ideas from one language to another sometimes leads to prablems.Oftentimes the situation produced by a bungled translation,while costly,is still amusing.For example,an English-speaking representative of an American soft drink company could not understand why Mexican customers laughed when she offered them free samples of Fresca soda.

·         Culture Influences Communication Style

As notes in Chapter 2,anthropologist Edward Hall distinguished between two kinds of cultures : low-context cultures (cultures in which self-expression is valued and whose members use explicit verbal messages to communicate information directly) and high-context cultures (cultures whose members place less reliance on explicit verbal messages and more emphasis on indirectness as a means of preserving social harmony).Because members of Asian cultures practice the principles of omoiyari (listeners need to understand the speaker with out the speaker’s being specific or direct) and sassuru (listeners need to use subtle cues to infer a speaker’s meaning),they are apt to keep their feelings to themselves and use language more sparingly and carefully than do West-erners.

·         Culture and Globalization.Influence the Language Used

Because of the popularity of Hollywood and the Internet,the use of English around the world is growing.In the era of globalization,even some companies,such as French telecommunications company Alcatel,now use English as their internal language.not everyone is pleased with this side effect of globalization,however.The fear among non-English-speaking nations is that,if their citizens use English,the use of their native languages will disappear,threatening national identity.

·         Hip Hop and Rap Talk

Hip hop is a social community that uses rap,a special language,to help express its culture.Rap is a celebration of language that speaks to both the body and the brain.Since its introduction about a quarter of a century ago,rap has been maligned and praised,condemned and luaded.It has been blamed for promoting violence and misogyny,praised for promoting peace and minority influence.In 2003,the U.S. government began to broadcast raps on the airwaves of Radio Sawa in an effort to win over Arab youth.

GENDER AND LANGUAGE

Language influences the attitudes we hold about males and females,as well as the way that males and females perceive eachother.

·         Sexism in Language

Sexist language perpetuates negative stereotypes and negatively affects our communication.Frequently,the way we use language reflects the society in which we live.

·         Gener and Speech Style

Sometimes the sex of communicators affects not only the meaning we give to their utterance but also the very structure of those  utterance.Woman,for example,tend to use more tentative phrases,or qualifiers,in their speech than men do.Phrases like “I guess”,”I think” and “I wonder if” abound in the speech patterns of women but not in those of men.This pattern is also passed on to the very young through their favorite cartoon characters.Just as their realilife counterparts are apt to do,female cartoon characters,more than male characters,use verbs that indicate lack of certainty (“I soppose”) and words judged to be polite.

·         Gender-Lects

Gender affects how men and women use and process language in a number of other ways as well.According to linguist Deborah Tannen,men and women speak different gender-lects.While women speak and hear a language of connection and intimacy,Tannen finds that men speak and hear a language of status and independence.

LANGUAGE AND POWER 

Both men and women have the potential to influence the way others perceive them by communicating in ways that make them appear more cunfident,more forceful,and thus more in control of a situation.The language people use helps us type them as having power or lacking power as powerful or powerless.

Some people seem to announce their powerlessness through their language.It is assumed that,because they speak indirectly,they lack self-confidance and power.In contrast,persons perceived to be “powertalkers” make definite statements,such as “Let’s go out to dinner tonight”.Powertalkers direct the action ; they assume control.

PROBLEMS WITH MEANING : PATTERNS OF MISCOMMUNICATION

If we do not make an attempt to analyze how people’s backgrounds influence them in assigning meaning,we may have trouble communicating with them.For most of us,words have more than a single meaning.In fact,a commonly used word can frequently have more than 20 definitions.We know that a strike in bowling is different from a strike in baseball.We know that striking a match is not the same as striking up the band.For this reason ,we must pay carefil attention to the context of a message.

PROFANITY AND OBSCENITY : THE COARSING OF LANGUAGE

In 1995,Random House published a guide called The F Word.It seems that the use of the f-word had become so ubiquitous that such a book was judged justified.What this suggests is that the use of insults,vulgar expressions,and speech that degrades and encourage hostility in others is on the rise.It has become the language used to communicate.

In 2001,a female employee of a major construction company complained to the company’s director of human resources about the cursing used in the company’s facilities.The use of profanity distressed workers.The company countered by publishing “A Language Code of Ethics”,Separate and apart from its sexual harassment policy guide.It defined inappropriate language as “unwanted,deliberate,repeated,unsolicited profanity,cussing,swearing,vulgar,insulting,abusive or crude language”.

THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT LANGUAGE : HOW TO MAKE LANGUAGE WORK FOR YOU

Whenever we communicate,we consciously or unconsciously select the level of language we will use.Normally,the words we select depend on the person with whom we are communicating and the situation in which we are communicating.

TECHNOLOGI AND LANGUAGE USE

Internet user Andrew Walker sometimes lapses into onlinespeak when writing offline : In one school paper,he wrote,”Surplus is an excess.But surplus can also mean 2 much”.His instructor deducted 10 points.The protocol of informality that marks electronic communication for Andrew and millions of others has led to our using language in ways we never would have before and has set off a debate regarding whether the internet invigorates language or strips it of its expressive power.

GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING LANGUAGE SKILLS

Throughout this chapter we have stressed that mastery of certain language skills will improve your ability to communicate effectively with others.Use the following guidelines to ensure that your words work for you rather than against you.

·         Identify how Labels Affect Your Behavior

We can state one of the most fundamental precepts of language simply and directly : Words are not the things they represent.Always remember that words are nothing more than symbols.

·         Identify How the Words You Use Affect Your Feelings and Attitudes

It is important to recognize that few of the words you select to describe things are neutral. S.I. Hayakawa and Alan R Hayakawa,authors of Language in Thought and Action,notes this :

We are a little too dignified,perhaps,to growl like dogs,but we do the next best thing and substitute series of words,such as “You dirtly double crosser.!! ”The filthy scum.!! “ Similarly,if we are pleasurably agitated,we may,instead of purring or wagging the tail,say things like “She’s the sweetest girl in all the world.

·         Identify How Experience Can Affect Meaning

Since we assign meaning on the basis of our experience,and since no two people have had exactly the same set experiences,it follows that no two people have exactly the same meanings for the same world.This aspect of language should be neither lauded nor curse ; it should simply be remembered.