Chapter 4 Flashcards
The system of symbols (words) that we use to think about and communicate experiences and feelings.
Language
The specific system of symbols that one uses to describe people, things, and situations in one’s mind.
Cognitive language
The system of rules for creating words, phrases, and sentences in a particular language.
Grammer
The process of learning individual words in a language and learning to use that language appropriately and effectively in the context of the situation.
Communication acquisition
5 competencies for how language behaviors function
Controlling Informing Feeling imagining ritualizing
How is control used as an instrument in language
To exert influence over others and our environment
The use of language to both give and receive information; one of the five functional communication competencies
Informing
Four aspects of informing
Questioning
Describing
Reinforcing
Withholding
The use of language to express emotion; one of the five functional communication competencies.
Feeling
The ability to think, play, and be creative in communication—one of the five functional communication competencies
Imagining
Learning the rules for managing conversations and relationships; one of the five functional communication competencies.
Ritualizing
The study of the relationship among symbols, objects, people, and concepts—refers to the meaning that words have for people, either because of their definitions or because of their placement in a sentence’s structure (syntax).
Semantics
The ability to use the symbol systems of a culture appropriately
Pragmatics
The basic, consistently accepted definition of a word.
Denotative meaning
The emotional or attitudinal response people have to a word.
Connotative meaning
A model that ranks communication from specific, which ensures clarity, to general and vague.
Abstraction ladder
Language that employs offensive words to deride a person or group.
Hate speech
Inappropriate, damaging, mean, sarcastic, or offensive statements that affect others in negative ways.
Hurtful language
Using terms that stereotype people according to their group membership and ignoring their individual differences.
Labeling
Words that are infused with subtle meanings that influence our perceptions about the subject
Biased language
Language that replaces exclusive or negative words with more neutral terms.
Politically Correct Language
Words or expressions considered insulting, rude, vulgar, or disrespectful
Profanity
The social norm for appropriate behavior.
Civility
Theory that explains how language and identity shape communication in various contexts.
Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT)
Three ways context is important
Language reflects context
Language builds on context
Language determines context
A more formal, polite, or “mainstream” language, used in business contexts, in the classroom, and at formal social gatherings
High Language
A more informal, easygoing language, used in informal and comfortable environments
Low language
best description of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?
Language shapes our thoughts
