Chapter 6 Flashcards
What are the features of Language
- Language is symbolic
- Language is governed by rules
- Language is subjective
- Language is interpreted differently in different parts of the world.
Phonological rules
rules that govern how sounds are combined to form a word.
Syntactic Rules
Rules that govern the way symbols can be arranged.
Semantic Rules
Rules that govern the meaning language as opposed to the structure.
Pragmatic Rules
Rules that govern the interpretation of language in terms of its social context.
What is the triangle of meaning
The indirect relationship between a word and the things or idea represented.
Thought or reference
Symbol
Referent.
Linguistic Relativity
The idea that language both reflects and shapes the worldview of those who use it.
What are the impacts of language
- Name and Identity
- Credibility and Status
- Affiliation
- Power and Politeness
Names
- Shape the way others think
- The way we view ourselves
- The way we act.
Credibility and Status
The words we use and how we pronounce them
Affiliation
Adapting speech to fit in.
Convergence
The process of adapting one’s speech style to match that of others you want to identify with
Divergence
Changing your speech to stand out from everyone else in a group. To distance yourself
Powerless Language
Indirect and hesitant word choice, with hesitations.
Powerful language
direct and forceful word choice.
Sexist Language
Words, phrases and expressions that unnecessarily diminish either sex
Racist Language
Language that classifies members of one racial group as superior and others as inferior.
Ambiguous Language
words and phrases that have more than one commonly accepted meaning
Abstraction
Convenient ways of generalizing about similarities between several objects, people, ideas or events
Abstraction Ladder
a range of more-to-less abstract terms describing an event or object
Euphemism
an innocuous term substituted for a blunt one
Relative Language
Gaining meaning by comparison
Evaluative language
Seems to describe something, but really just announces the speaker’s opinion.
It statements
statements that replace I with it. Used to avoid responsibility
I language
Language that identifies the speaker as the source of a message.
But statements
A statement in which the second half cancels the meaning of the first half
You language
Language that expresses a judgement of the other person.
We language
language that implies the issue is the concern and responsibility of both the sender and receiver.
Low-context culture
Uses language primarily to express thoughts, feelings and ideas as directly and logically as possible.
high-context culture
Uses subtle, often non-verbal cues to maintain social harmony.
Verbal Communication Styles
- Direct or indirect
- Elaborate or succinct
- Formal or informal
