Language

Language is Symbolic
Arbitrary connection between words and ideas/things
they represent.

TREE

LOVE

Language is Rule-Governed
Semantic Rules - assigned word meanings
Semantic Misunderstandings
Equivocal language has more than one commonly
accepted definition.

Relative words gain meaning by comparison.

Static Evaluation assumes people are consistent
and unchanging.

Abstract language is vague in nature.

Label and Reword

Give me a small piece of cake.
Theres a new book in the library; you should check
it out.

Josh is a troublemaker.
Natasha needs to get real.

Language is Rule-Governed
Syntactic rules - word arrangement
"It was cool to feel that cool air in the morning.
Pragmatic rules - appropriate uses and interpretation

"Let's get together sometime."

The Impact of Language

Naming and Identity
Names shape the way:
others think of us.
we view ourselves
we act

The Impact of Language

Affiliation
Converge - adpting ones speech style to match others
Diverge - emphasizes ones difference from others
When do we converge and diverge?

The Impact of Language

Power(less) Language (pg. 165)
powerful speech is culturally based
too powerful may intimidate
powerless (i.e. polite forms) can be effective

The Impact of Language

Language Responsibility
it, but, I, you, weer

It, But, You

"It" statements avoid responsibility
"It's a boring class" vs "I'm bored in the class"
"But" statements cancel the thought that precedes it
"You're a really great person, but..."
"You" language expresses judgment
Positive judgement - "You look great today!"
Critical judgement - "You look tore up!"

I, We
"I" language takes responsibility without making
judgement.

Describe the other person's behavior, your feelings, and the

consequences of the behavior.

Note: "I" statements work best in moderation.

We" language implies shared concern/responsibility.
"We have a problem."
Note: "We" can be presumptuous.

Transform You into I

Youre not telling me the truth!
You think only of yourself.
Quit fooling around!
pg. 172

Gender and Language

Is there a difference between the way men and
women speak?

Content
Reasons for Communicating
Conversational Style

Content
Similarities
Common topics: work, movies, television
reserved discussions of sex/sexuality,

personal appearance for members of samesex

Content cont.
Female Friends

Male Friends

personal/domestic subjects

current events

relationship problems

music

family

sports

health/reproductive matters/weight

business

food

other men

clothing
men and other women

Whos Gossiping What?

Close friends and family?
Sports figures and media personalities?

Reasons for Communicating

Both use language to build and
maintain relationships.

Accomplished differently:
Woman

to involve feelings,

relationships, and personal

problems.

Men

to make conversation fun

(more joking and teasing)

Conversational Style
Women are more talkative than men.

MYTH!

Mens speech more likely to be direct, succinct, task

oriented

Womens speech more likely indirect, elaborate, relational

oriented

Nongender Variables
Women and men communicate more similar than different.
E.g. no significant difference between use of profanity,
qualifiers, or tag questions

Other factors influence language use:

social philosophy
problem-solving orientation (cooperative or competitive)
occupation
gender role

Culture and Language

Low-context cultures
uses language to express thoughts,

feelings, and ideas as directly as possible

High-context cultures

Across cultures

uses language to maintain social

elaborate -

discover meaning from the context,

formality -

harmony

nonverbal behaviors, history of

relationship, etc

succinct

informality

Language and Worldview

Linguistic Relativism - worldview of a culture is

shaped and reflected by the language its members speak.

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - Language defines our experience

Navajo - no possessives (his/her/our/your)

Penan - 1 word for hesheit, but 6 words for we

Language and Worldview

How close is the relationship between language and
perception?

Moderate View

Language is not required to think about or perceive the

world in a particular way.

Language is a tool to communicate, rather than a mirror

of perception.

Journal Suggestions
Choose one. (Typed. 2-3 pages. Due 10/19)
1.Analyze a misunderstanding in terms of semantic or
pragmatic rules.
2.How does the impact of language operate in your life?
(i.e language responsibility)
3.Analyze how gender or cultural differences (or both)
affected the quality of interaction.