Spoken Language
I. Language is our primary mode of communication, so, if we want to understand communication, we need to understand what language is.
A. Language is symbolic.
Symbols differ from other signs because they are arbitrary and conventional.
Words are symbolic but so are numbers, shapes, and images.
B. Language is a kind of knowledge. It is implicit knowledge that allows us to produce and understand utterances.
C. Language is rule-governed and productive.
The fact that we can understand and produce sentences we have never heard before suggests that language consists of rules.
We use these rules to create verbal meaning.
D. Language affects the way we see the world.
We store data-even visual data-in words; this can sometimes distort perception.
According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, we use the categories of our language to understand the world.
E. Language takes many forms including pidgins, creoles, lingua franca, jargon, argot, dialects, taboos and the like.
II. To communicate one must master different but interrelated levels of language.
A. One must master the sound system of language.
Phonology is the study of the sounds of a language.
The smallest unit of sound is the phoneme.
B. It's also important to understand the meaning systems of language.
Semantics is the study of language symbols including word formation and the structure of words.
The smallest unit is the morpheme.
C. Words are combined into phrases and sentences according to rules of syntax.
Syntactics is the study of the rules governing the combination of words into permissible strings.
The smallest unit is the sentence or utterance.
D. To truly communicate, it's necessary to understand how sentences work in social contexts.
Pragmatics is the study of how people use language to achieve goals in social contexts.
Whenever we talk, we perform speech acts that indicate our purpose or goal. Others understand our meaning only if they can identify the speech act we are enacting.
Language behavior must be appropriate to context: to episode, relationship, the participants' life scripts, and to culture.
III. Understanding the pragmatic rules that govern discourse is essential for good communication.
A. Different contexts call for difference forms of discourse.
Conversation calls for one kind of discourse. a. It is the most reciprocal and egalitarian of all discourse forms. b. It is also informal, spontaneous, private and relational. c. Meanings need not always be specifically articulated to be understood.
Classroom discourse, on the other hand, is quite different. a. It is often highly controlled, impersonal and scripted. b. It is public, explicit, and task-oriented.
B. To make sense to one another, communicators must interact cooperatively.
Grice's maxims are an example of the kinds of conventions that govern cooperative interaction.
Communicators must be able to track conversations and build off one another's contributions.
It's also important to know when to make a conversational move so as not to violate turn-taking conventions.
Conversational partners must be able to repair conversational rifts.
Knowing how to end a conversation is a necessary skill.
C. To become more aware of the hidden assumptions and unintended effects of a given discourse form, we should consider four questions.
What is the purpose of this discourse?
What rules regulate discourse?
What is the normal style and structure of this discourse?
What are the effects of engaging in this kind of talk?
IV. Language use is closely tied to social identity.
A. Men and women use language differently.
Studies of language use during games show gender differences. a. Boys celebrate competition with boasting, teasing and mocking insults. b. Girls try to avoid the appearance of conflict.
Women enjoy trouble-talk more than do men.
There are gender differences in storytelling style.
Men use report talk while women specialize in rapport talk.
B. People from different cultures use language differently.
High-context cultures consider contextual cues as part of their messages; low-context cultures rely primarily on words an are less concerned with context.
Some cultures value direct and open communication, while others value subtle indirectness.
Some cultures are more expressive than others.
Finally, cultures differ in the value they place on formality.
V. Linguistic choices count and sometimes have unintended effects.
A. Sometimes ambiguous language can be more effective than clear communication.
B. By using immediate language, communicators can appear close and caring.
C. Level of abstraction can affect receiver comprehension.
D. Metaphors have interesting implicit meanings.