Focus Questions





What is the relationship between language
and thought?
How do labels affect meaning?
What are the implications of recognizing
that language is a process?
How do rules guide communication?
How does punctuation influence the
meaning of communication?
Verbal Communication
1
Language and Meaning


Language (words) in the human world
Features of Language (Symbols)

Arbitrary



Ambiguous



Not intrinsically connected to what is represented; no natural
relationship
Commonly shared & used in a society; meaning changes over time
No precise, clear-cut meanings; within a range of meaning but
with degrees of uncertainty
Specific to contexts, individual experience; relationships
Abstract


Not concrete or tangible
Various abstractness (degrees away from external, objective
phenomenon) e.g, “reading matter” 讀物
Verbal Communication
2
Symbols and Meaning

Ladder of Abstraction (Korzybski & Hayakawa)



Steps away from observed phenomenon
See Figure 4.1 (page 103)
Overgeneralization



General language to describe groups of people
Perceptions (recall) consistent with labels used
Labels predispose selective perception
Verbal Communication
3
“Cow”抽象化階梯
7
6
8
Wealth: characteristics of
“Bessie” are left out.
Asset: all valuable things
Farm assets: in common with other
salable items on the farm
5
3
2
1
Livestock: referring to characteristics
in common with chicken, goats..
4
Cow: common characteristics;
not peculiar to specific ones
“Bessie”: the name we give to the object (cow)
Cow: not the word, but the object experience
Cow: consists of atoms, electronics…etc;
scientific reference
Verbal Communication
4
Principles of Communication

Interpretation creates meaning



Active, creative process of making sense
Process of constructing meaning
Brute facts vs. Institutional facts



Brute fact: objective, concrete phenomena (e.g., huddling in
football)
Institutional fact: interpreted meaning of brute fact (players
planning the next step)
Communication is guided by rules (p. 106: task-to-do)



Rule learning through socialization
Regulative rules: specify when, how, where…
Constitutive rules: define meaning
Verbal Communication
5
Principles of Communication
(continued)

Punctuation affects meaning



Marks a flow of activity into meaning units
Determines initiation, interaction, invitation,
participation…
In personal relationships: demand-withdraw
pattern (Figure 4.2, p. 108)
Verbal Communication
6
Symbolic Abilities

Language defines phenomena



Language evaluates phenomena (not neutral)



Totalizing: one label represents a person totally;
ignoring other aspects
Totalizing: spotlighting an aspect; stereotyping:
describing with group characteristics
Symbols are loaded with ‘value’
Loaded language
Language organizes experiences

Categories that we place people
Verbal Communication
7
Symbolic Abilities (2)

Language allows hypothetical thinking


Visions of the future
Language allows self-reflection



I : spontaneous, creative self
Me: socially conscious self
佛洛依德︰



id本我 – unconscious & instinctive
ego自我 – between id and superego
superego超我 – of moral and social rules
Verbal Communication
8
Symbolic Abilities (3)

Language defines relationships &
interaction

Three dimensions of relationship-level
meaning
Responsiveness: question & statements (responses,
feedback)
 Liking: When we say “I care about you.”
 Power: Establishing control

Verbal Communication
9
Guidelines for Verbal Comm.



Engage in person-centered communication
Be conscious of levels of abstraction
Qualify language




Avoid overgeneralization
Avoid static evaluation: She ‘is’ selfish
Indexing technique: evaluation only applies to
specific times, circumstances
Own your feelings and thoughts: Claim feelings
but not blame others for that

You vs. I language (p. 120) (Note: Chinese cultural &
syntax differences)
Verbal Communication
10