Verbal Communication
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CHAPTER TOPICS
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Language is Symbolic
Understandings and Misunderstandings
The Impact of Language
Gender and Language
Culture and Language
Looking Out/Looking In
Thirteenth Edition
Language is Symbolic
Cat
Symbol- word
Referent- thing
Reference- meaning
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Understanding and Misunderstanding
• Semantic rules
• “Bikes” are for riding and “books” are for reading
• Equivocation
• Statements that have more then one meaning
• “Family catches fire just in time.”
• Syntactic Rules
• Govern the grammar of language
• Relative Language
• Words that gain their meaning by comparison
• Static Evaluation
• Statements that contain or imply the word is lead
to mistaken assumptions about people
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Understandings and Misunderstandings
• Abstraction
• Is vague in nature
• Pragmatic Rules
• Govern the way speech
works in everyday interaction
• Consider the difference
between:
• I love you
• I love ya
• I luv U
Figure 5.1 Page 165
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The Impact of Language
• Naming and Identity
• They shape the way others think of us
• They shape the way we view ourselves
• 1900’s most popular names
• Bertha, Mildred and Ethel
• 2010’s most popular names
• Sophia, Isabella and Olivia
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The Impact of Language
• Affiliation
• language can build and demonstrate solidarity
with others
• Convergence
• The process of adapting one’s speech style to
match others
• Divergence
• Speaking in a way that emphasizes one’s
differences from others
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The Impact of Language
• Power
• Power difference between two statements:
• “Excuse me, sir. I hate to say this, but I . . .I . . .I
guess I won’t be able to turn in the assignment on
time. I had a personal emergency, and . . .well . . .it
was just impossible to finish it by today. I’ll have it
on your desk Monday, OK?”
• “I won’t be able to turn in the assignment on time.
I had a personal emergency, and it was impossible
to finish by today. I’ll have it on your desk
Monday.”
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The Impact of Language
• Powerless Language
• Hedges:
• “I’m kinda disappointed . . .” “I think we should . . .” “I guess
I’d like to . . .”
• Hesitations:
• “Uh, can I have a minute of your time?”
• “Well, we could try this idea . . .”
• “I wish you would—er—try to be on time.”
• Tag questions:
• “It’s about time we got started, isn’t it?”
• “Don’t you think we should give it another try?”
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Disruptive Language
Three linguistic habits to avoid
•Fact-Opinion Confusion
Fact
Opinion
You forgot my birthday.
You keep interrupting me.
You don’t care about me.
You’re a control freak.
•Emotive Language
Seems to describe something but actually announces the
speakers attitude toward it
If you approve, say
If you disapprove, say
Thrifty
Traditional
Cheap
Old-fashioned
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Fact-interference confusion
• A: Why are you mad at me?
• B: I’m not mad at you. Why have you been so
insecure lately?
• A: I’m not insecure. It’s just that you've been so
critical.
• B: What do you mean, “critical?” I haven’t been
critical. . . .
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The Impact of Language
• “It” Statements
“It bothers me when you’re late.” vs “I’m worried when you’re late.”
• “But” Statements
• the word but cancels the thought that precedes it:
• Questions
• Some questions are used to avoid making a declaration
• “I” and “You” Language
“I” statements accept responsibility
“You” statements express judgment
• “We” Language
• Implies the issue is the concern of both parties
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Gender, Culture and Language
Gender Differences in Content & Conversation Style
• Ultimately the language between sexes is more
similar than it is different.
Culture
Low-context cultures
• Generally value language to express thoughts,
feelings, and ideas as directly as possible.
High-context cultures
• Generally value using language to maintain social
harmony.
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