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.
