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Chapter 5: Language

The Nature of Language


1. Language: a structured system of symbols used for communicating meaning.
a. Humans are the only creatures on the planet who use language.
b. Many scientists believe that language evolved from early humans use of gestures to
communicate.
c. Language is characterized by the use of a specific type of symbol: words.
i. Words are the building blocks of verbal communication.
1. Verbal communication includes the words we speak and the words we write.
2. Language is Symbolic
a. Each word represents a particular object or idea, but it does not constitute the object or
idea itself.
b. One way to understand the symbolic nature of language is to remember that different
languages have different words for the same thing.
c. The meaning of words can change over time. The symbolic nature of language is never
static. Rather, it changes and evolves as words take on new meanings.
3. Language is Arbitrary (Mostly)
a. The meaning of almost all words is arbitrary: words literally mean whatever we, as users of
a language, choose for them to mean.
b. One major exception to the rule is onomatopoeia: a word formed by imitating the sound
associated with their meanings.
i. Ex: words such as buzz, meow, splash, and click are all onomatopoetic words
because their sounds reflect their meanings.
1. Onomatopoeia also varies by language.
ii. These types of words have iconic connection to their meanings they serve as an
icon or a representation of the meaning they symbolize.
4. Language is Governed by Rules
a. Phonological Rules
i. Deal with the correct pronunciation of a word, and they vary from language to
language.
b. Syntactic Rules
i. Govern the ordering of words within phrases.
c. Semantic Rules
i. Have to do with the meanings of individual words.
ii. These meanings may be arbitrary, but speakers of a language agree them upon.
d. Pragmatic Rules
i. Deal with the implications or interpretations of statements.
5. Language has Layers of Meaning
a. Types of Meaning
i. Denotative Meaning: the literal meaning of a word; that is, its dictionary definition.
ii. Connotative Meaning: implications that a word suggests in addition to its literal
meaning.
1. Your own personal meaning for a word. Does not have to be agreed upon by
a population or a culture.
b. The Semantic Triangle
i. Developed by Ogden and Richards to illustrate the relationship between words
and their denotative and connotative meanings.
ii. The semantic triangle portrays three necessary elements for identifying the
meaning in language.
1. The first element is symbol, which the word being communicated
2. The second element is the referent, which is the words denotative meaning
3. The third element is the reference, or the connotative meaning.
iii. As the semantic triangle illustrates, if several listeners hear the same word, they
might attribute the same denotative meaning to it but different connotative
meanings.
a. The meanings of words are situated in the people who use them and
not in the words themselves.
c. Loaded Language
i. Loaded Language: words with strongly positive or negative connotations.
1. Some called the Economic Stimulus Act a rescue plan while others called it
a bailout.
6. Language Varies in Clarity
a. Ambiguous Language: language having more than one possible meaning.
b. One reason language varies in clarity is that some words are more concrete than others.
i. A word that is concrete refers to a specific object in the physical word.
ii. In contrast a word that is abstract refers to a broader category or organizing
concept of objects.
iii. Hayakawas Ladder of Abstraction: the bottom of the ladder shows the broad,
abstract category that gets narrower and more concrete as you move up the
ladder.
7. Language is Bound by Context and Culture
a. The meaning in the language is affected by the social and cultural context in which it is
used.
b. Studies have show that for individuals who speak more than one language, the choice of
language can affect their perceptions.
c. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: the idea that language influences the ways that members of a
culture see and think about the world. The attitudes and behaviors of a cultures people
are reflected in its language.
i. Embodies two specific principles:
1. Linguistic Determinism: suggests that the structure of language determines
how we think. In other words, we can conceive of something only if we have
a term for it in our vocabulary.
2. Linguistic Relativity: suggests that because language determines our
perceptions of reality, people who speak different languages will see the
world differently.

Appreciating the Power of Words
1. Naming Defines and Differentiates Us
a. Name: a linguistic device that identifies something or someone.
b. Naming and Identity
i. Although impressions are influenced by factors such as a persons appearance or
behaviors, they can also be shaped by his or her name.
ii. A persons name frequently suggests information about the persons demographic
characteristics, such as their sex.
iii. Names can also provide clues about a persons ethnicity.
c. Naming Practices
i. Practices of naming also vary according to culture and religion.
ii. In a study done by communication researchers, married women who kept their
birth names gave more importance to their personal concerns than to their
relationships. This is reversed for women who took their husbands names.
1. Research has confirmed that women who retain their birth names at
marriage score higher than other women on self-reports of masculinity and
feminist attitudes.
2. Name changers and name keepers dont appear to differ from each other in
their self-esteem, autonomy, or reports about he balance of control in
marriages.
2. We Use Words to Persuade
a. Persuasion: the process of moving people to think or act in a certain way.
i. Aristotle described three forms of rhetorical proof, which are ways to support a
persuasive argument. He explained the persuasive messages could be supported by
appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos.
b. Appealing to Ethos
i. Ethos: A speakers respectability, trustworthiness, and moral character.
1. A speaker who appears respectable and trustworthy is generally more
persuasive than one who does not.
2. Judgments about ethos always belong to the people with whom youre
speaking. Listeners decide for themselves how much integrity,
respectability, and trustworthiness a speaker has.
c. Appealing to Pathos
i. Pathos: listeners emotions
1. When people are emotionally aroused their receptivity to new ideas is
enhanced.
2. Peoples interpersonal emotional appeals often focus on generating negative
emotions particularly when a change in behavior is the desired outcome.
3. Some research has shown that appealing to positive emotions can be more
effective when the goal is to change someones opinions rather than his or
her behaviors.
d. Appealing to Logos
i. Logos: listeners ability to reason
1. If a particular belief, opinion, or behavior makes good sense, then people will
be inclined to adopt it if they have the capacity to do so.
a. Logos appeals arent always effective, particularly if some other force
(such as addiction) influences a persons behavior.
2. To reason means to make judgments about the world based on evidence
rather than emotion or intuition.
a. To maximize our effectiveness we select the arguments and evidence
we believe will be most relevant to our listeners.
3. Credibility Empowers Us
a. Credibility: the extent to which others perceive us to be competent and trustworthy.
i. Credibility is a perception that is influenced not only by a persons credentials but
also by his or her actions and words.
ii. Language is intimately tied to issues of credibility.
b. Clichs
i. Clichs: phrases that were novel at one time but have lost their effect because of
overuse.
1. Can diminish credibility. May make speakers sound uninformed or out-of-
touch.
c. Dialect: variations on a language that are shared by people of a certain region or social
class.
i. According to communication accommodation theory, we may be able to enhance
our credibility by speaking in a dialect that is familiar to our audience.
d. Equivocation: language that disguises the speakers true intentions through strategic
ambiguity.
i. We often use equivocal language when were in a dilemma, a situation in which none
of our options is good.
1. Some research suggests that males use more direct, less equivocal language
than females do, at least in face-to-face settings.
e. Weasel Words: terms and phrases that are intended to mislead listeners by implying
something that they dont actually say.
i. Advertisers commonly use weasel words when making claims about their produces.
1. Ex: four out of five dentists prefer The implication is that 80% of all
dentists prefer that brand, but that isnt what the statement actually said.
For all we know, only five dentists were surveyed to begin with.
f. Allness Statements: a specific form of weasel words or a declaration implying that a claim is
true without exception.
i. Ex: experts agree that corporal punishment is emotionally damaging to children
The implication is that all experts agree; however, the speaker provides no evidence
to back up that claim.
g. Choosing Credible Language
i. Most credible forms of speech avoid using weasel words and allness statements.
4. Language Expresses Affection and Intimacy
a. Affection: an emotional experience that includes feelings of love and appreciation that one
person has for another.
i. Research has found that the more affection spouses communicated to each other
during their first two years of marriage, the more likely they were still to be married
in thirteen years.
ii. Other research found that the more affection people receive from their parents
during childhood, the lower their chances of developing depression, anxiety, and
physical health problems later in life.
b. Intimacy: a characteristic of close, supportive relationships.
5. Words Provide Comfort and Healing
a. Using Language to Comfort Other People (Tips for using language to comfort other people
in times of loss.)
i. Acknowledge the loss.
ii. Express sympathy.
iii. Offer assistance.
b. Using Language to Comfort Ourselves
i. Many people find that journaling helps them find comfort and meaning even in
traumatic events.
1. Some evidence indicates that writing about our thoughts and feelings can
improve our health and lower stress.

The Use and Abuse of Language
1. Humor: Whats So Funny?
a. Seen as a way to enhance language.
b. Researchers have discovered that specific parts of the brain process humor, and that
without the violation of expectations (without the punch line) those neurological
structures dont light up or provide the mental reward we associate with a good joke.
c. Humor can provide so many personal and social benefits, in fact, that a good sense of
humor is something both women and men strongly seek in a romantic partner.
i. Self-deprecating humor are seen as especially attractive in others.
d. Not all effects of humor are positive.
2. Euphemisms: Soft Talk
a. Euphemism: a vague, mild expression that symbolizes something more blunt or harsh.
b. We use euphemisms when we want to talk about sensitive topics without making others
feel embarrassed or offended.
i. They require a technical understanding of the language and an understanding of
cultural idioms.
ii. Excessive use of euphemisms can desensitize people, causing them to accept
situations they would otherwise find unacceptable.
1. When a euphemism becomes conventional, people may use it without
thinking about what it really means.
2. When euphemisms are used specifically to disguise or distort meaning
they are referred to as doublespeak.
a. Ex: friendly fire (firing on ones own troops) and collateral damage
(for civilians killed inadvertently)
3. Slang: The Language of Subcultures
a. Slang: the use of informal and unconventional words that often are understood only by
others in a particular group.
b. Slang can serve an important social function, by helping people distinguish between those
who do and dont belong to their particular social networks.
c. A form of informal speech closely related to slang is jargon. Jargon is the technical
vocabulary of a certain occupation or profession.
i. The purpose of jargon is to allow members of that occupation to communicate with
one another precisely and efficiently.
4. Defamation: Harmful Words
a. Defamation: language that harms a persons reputation or gives that person a negative
image.
i. Under most legal systems, a statement must be false to be considered defamation.
b. There are two forms of defamation:
i. Libel: refers to defamatory statements made in print or some other fixed medium,
such as a photograph or a motion picture.
ii. Slander: is a defamatory statement that is made aloud, within earshot of others.
1. Slander is more common than libel in interpersonal interaction.
5. Profanity: Offensive Language
a. Profanity: is a form of language that is considered vulgar, rude, or obscene in the context in
which it is used.
b. Profanity is context-specific: what makes a word profane is that it is considered rude or
obscene in the language and context in which it is used.
c. In recent years, some social groups have recognized that they can reduce the negative
effects of certain profane terms themselves by making the terms more commonplace, thus
lowering their shock value. That practice is called reclaiming the term.
d. In certain contexts, the use of profanity can act as a social lubricant by establishing and
maintain an informal atmosphere.
6. Hate Speech: Profanity with a Hurtful Purpose
a. Hate speech: is a specific form of profanity meant to degrade, intimidate, or dehumanize
people on the basis of their gender, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, race,
disability status, or political or moral views.

Improving Your Language Use
1. Consider the Effect You Wish to Create
a. Shared Knowledge Error
i. When you presume your listeners have information that they dont have, you are
making a shared knowledge error.
b. Shared Opinion Error
i. Shared opinion error occurs when you incorrectly assume that your listeners share
your opinions.
c. Monopolization Error
i. The monopolization error occurs when one speaker inappropriately dominates the
conversation.
2. Separate Opinions from Factual Claims
a. A factual claim makes a statement that we can verify with evidence and show to be true or
false in an absolute sense.
b. An opinion expresses a personal judgment or preference that we could agree or disagree
with but that is not true or false in an absolute sense.
c. The more strongly we feel about an issue, the more we tend to think of our beliefs as facts
rater than opinions.
3. Speak at an Appropriate Level
a. Good messages must be understandable to listeners.
i. If the language is to complex you are talking over peoples heads
ii. The opposite problem is talking down to people, or using language that is
inappropriately simple.
1. Individuals often talk down by mistake.
b. Simple and complex language each has its appropriate place.
4. Own Your Thoughts and Feelings
a. Good communicators take responsibility for their thoughts and feelings by using I-
statements rather than you-statements.
i. A I-statement claims ownership of what a person is feeling or thinking.
ii. A you-statement shifts that responsibility to the other person.

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