Lecture 2 - Verbal Communication Flashcards
Name the three types of codes that verbal messages reflect
- Semantic code
- Syntactic code
- Pragmatic code
Semantic code
Rules related with the meaning of words. Words have both denotative (primary and literal meaning) and connotative meanings (secondary meaning a word might convey)
Which code has words that have both denotative and connotative meanings?
Semantic code
Semantic triangle
a model showing the relationship between words and the reality that word represents
Syntactic code
Rules that indicate how sentences should be structured. It examines the logic, literacy, and grammatical rules associate with language.
ex: “I,” “want,” “party”
1. Party want I to go to
2. I wan tot go to the party
Pragmatic code
Concerns the function of language, and it reflects how people coordinate actions and activities during real-time communication.
Which code is this? Even though same symbol, correct sentence structure, people might have different interpretations depending on different contexts and situations
Pragmatic code because it can have different meaning.
Example: “you have a green light” can mean you have a green ambient lighting or there’s a green light while driving.
Verbal communication
The exchange of spoken or written language with others during interactions
What are the characteristics of verbal communication?
- Language is governed by rules.
- Language is flexible.
- Language is cultural.
- Language evolves.
Language is governed by rules (characteristic of verbal communication)
- Constitutive rules define word meaning: they tell us which words represent which objects.
- Regulative rules govern how we use language when we verbally communicate
What type of code uses constitutive rules?
semantic code
What type of code uses regulative rules?
syntactic and pragmatic code
Language is flexible (characteristic of verbal communication)
words are the primary symbols that we use to represent people, objects, events, and ideas
ex; what does “oz” mean? It can be Australia or wizards of oz.
Language is cultural (characteristic of verbal communication)
Within high-context cultures, people presume that listeners share common knowledge.
Within low-context cultures, people don’t presume that listeners share common beliefs, attitudes, and values.
Name a high-context culture
Asian cultures
Name a low context culture
Western cultures
Communication accommodation theory
This theory holds that people are motivated to adapt their language when:
- They seek for social approval
- They wish to establish relationship
- They view others’ language as appropriate and seek for high efficiency.
Language evolves (characteristic of verbal communication)
Many view language as fixed, but it is actually constantly changing.
- We add new words to our language (e.g. tweet, app, cyberbullying) and discard old ones (e.g., famelicose, groke)
- The meaning of words is also changing
Defensive communication (or defensiveness)
impolite messages delivered in response to suggestions and criticisms
- dogmatic message - you refuse the comment/message that’s supposed to be good for you
- superiority message - I am older than you so you don’t have the right to say that to me
- indifference message - he comments why he doesn’t agree with the other person’s message
- control message - control the conversation or redirecting the message
Cooperative verbal communication
- Take ownership with “I” language. “You” language places the focus of attention and blame on the other people.
- Include others with “we” language. “We” language emphasizes inclusion.
