Chapter 3- Verbal communication Flashcards
What are the different rules that words can follow?
- Semantic
- Syntactic
- Pragmatic
What are semantic rules?
Define word meanings. Context can alter their interpretations.
What are Syntactic rules?
Govern sentence structure like grammar and punctuation. The way symbols are arranged.
What are pragmatic rules?
Helps us holistically understand messages. Considers context and communication objectives.
-Denotative and connotative meanings
What does language play a role in shaping?
Our perception
-labels allow us to understand our experiences
What do our words reflect?
Our attitude and feeling towards people or things
What is the concept of level of abstraction in language?
Words can either be concrete or abstract
What are concrete words?
tangible items
What are abstract words?
concepts or ideas
What is the abstraction ladder?
Moving from abstract to concrete/specific ideas
What are the two meanings that words can be given?
- Denotative
- Connotative
What are denotative meanings?
Dictionary definition
What are connotative meanings?
Subjective meanings (vary among individuals)
How does language connect others?
Shared speech patterns create a sense of affilliation
What is convergence and divergence in relation to language?
We adjust our language to converge (become more similar) or diverge (differentiate) from others
Convergence- build relationships
Divergence- signal independence
What are the categories of bias/stereotypes?
Race
Gender
Age
Sexual orientation
Ability
What is biased language?
Words that reflect unfair or prejudiced views that are not neutral/objective. Tend to perpetuate stereotypes.
-Doesn’t promote inclusivity
What is formal language?
-Professional, grammatically correct, objective and complex.
-Academic or official content is formal
What is informal language?
Casual, simple and often uses contractions and abbreviations.
-Everyday communication
What is jargon?
technical language specific to a profession.
-Others outside of that group may not understand it
What are colloquialisms?
Informal expressions that vary from region to region
What is slang?
Nonstandard language often used by certain groups like young adults
What are idioms?
Expressions or figures of speech whose meaning cannot be understood by interpreting the individual words literally.
What are cliches?
expressions that have been overused to the point they’ve lost their original meaning
What is improper language?
Vulgarity, cursing. Unprofessional.
What is ambitious language?
language with various meanings that can lead to misinterpretation.
What are euphemisms?
Polite or less blunt ways of saying something
What is relative language?
Language varies depending on the person communicating because each persons perspectives vary
What is status evaluation?
Idea that things are not constant and vary over time and language represents that change
What is equivocal language?
Words that have more than one commonly accepted definitions.
What is abstraction?
Language that is vague and unclear
What is “I” language?
A statement that describes the speaker’s reaction to another person’s behaviour without making judgments about the behaviour’s worth
What are two kins of disruptive language?
- Fact-opinion confusion
- Inference
What is fact-opinion confusion?
occurs when inferences or assumptions are presented as facts
What is an inference?
A conclusion that is arrived at from an interpretation of evidence
What does RELATE stand for?
Respect
Empathize
Listen
Ask
Try
Explain
