U3 Communication: Communication styles

Question 1

What is communication?

Answer 1

The transmission of a message from one person to another

Question 2

What are humans constantly communicating?

Answer 2

Their:
- Thoughts
- Feelings
- Observations
- Hopes

Question 3

How is communication social?

Answer 3

• It involves inter-relationships among people
• It requires that people acquire a shared understanding of what particular sounds, words, signs and gestures mean
• It’s the means through which people influence others and are influenced by them

Question 4

What does communication require?

Answer 4

• A message
• A speaker/sender of a message
• A hearer/listener of the message

Question 5

Why is communication usually more complex than just the three simple components?

Answer 5

• The speaker can also be a listener
• There may be multiple messages, which might contradict each other
• Messages may be verbal (spoken) or non-verbal
• Use of different media (visual, spoken, written) can affect the way a message is received
• Different communication styles impact how effectively a message is conveyed

Question 6

What is an individual’s communication style dependent on?

Answer 6

• The culture they were raised in
• Their socioeconomic background
• Their gender

Question 7

What does communication style involve?

Answer 7

• Accent
• Vocabulary
• Grammar
• Types of ideas attempted to express

Question 8

What is communication style often considered as?

Answer 8

An attribute: something we have or are

Question 9

What are the three communication styles?

Answer 9

• Assertive
• Aggressive
• Passive

Question 10

What are the features of an assertive communication style?

Answer 10

• Beliefs, feelings, opinions and thoughts are expressed in an open, respectful way that doesn’t violate the rights of others
• Actions and words are used to express boundaries in a calm and confident manner

Question 11

What are the features of an aggressive communication style?

Answer 11

• No respect for others
• Disregard for other’s needs, feelings and opinions
• Safety of others is sometimes compromised
• Involves demanding, manipulative, angry and self-promoting behaviour
• Body language involves fist clenching, crossed arms and scowls

Question 12

What are the features of a passive communication style?

Answer 12

• No respect for themself
• No importance given to own needs, feelings and opinions
• Own needs are put after everyone else’s
• Allows others to decide how things turn out
• Body language includes covering face, looking down and avoiding eye contact

Question 13

Who are the two theorists on the impact of social background on communication style?

Answer 13

• Bernstein
• Labov

Question 14

What was Bernstein interested in and what did he claim?

Answer 14

• The relationship between language style and social class
• He claimed people from the working and middle classes in the UK used different kinds of language codes

Question 15

What, according to Bernstein, are language codes?

Answer 15

Types of language used that reflect particular social groups

Question 16

What is the working class?

Answer 16

People that work for wages in jobs such as manual labour and industry

Question 17

What is the middle class?

Answer 17

People that work for salaries as professionals in in the public service

Question 18

What are the two language codes proposed by Bernstein?

Answer 18

• Restricted language code
• Elaborated language code

Question 19

What is restricted language code?

Answer 19

Language using short and simple sentences

Question 20

What is elaborated language code?

Answer 20

Language using complex, precise sentences

Question 21

How are restricted code and elaborated code different in terms of abstract ideas?

Answer 21

• Restricted code rarely involves abstract ideas
• Elaborated code often involves abstract ideas and future possibilities

Question 22

How is compliance gained differently with restricted and elaborated code?

Answer 22

• Restricted code: commands are used to gain compliance
• Elaborated code: explanations are used to gain compliance

Question 23

How is the use of descriptive words different with restricted and elaborated code?

Answer 23

• Restricted code doesn’t use many descriptive words
• Elaborated code uses many descriptive words

Question 24

How are restricted code and elaborated code different in terms of context provided within sentences?

Answer 24

• The meaning of a sentence in restricted code only makes sense with context
• The whole meaning of a sentence in elaborated code is clear from the sentence alone

Question 25

Which language codes does each social class use, according to Bernstein?

Answer 25

- Working class: restricted code - Middle class: both restricted code and elaborated code

Question 26

Why did Bernstein introduce the ideas of restricted and elaborated language codes?

Answer 26

To explain the relatively poor performance of working class school students on language-based subjects when they were achieving the same as their middle class classmates on mathematical subjects

Question 27

When is restricted code better than elaborated code?

Answer 27

In situations where there's a lot of shared and assumed knowledge in a group of speakers

Question 28

What message does the use of restricted code carry and why?

Answer 28

- A social message of inclusion, as it's acknowledged that as person is 'one of us' - Because restricted code uses shared understandings, meaning and background knowledge

Question 29

When is elaborated code better than restricted code?

Answer 29

In situations where speakers can't restrict their language due to no shared understandings

Question 30

Why did Bernstein believe that middle class students have access to both restricted and elaborated codes?

Answer 30

They are more geographically, socially and culturally mobile than working class students

Question 31

What effect did Bernstein believe the fact that working class children could only use restricted code have?

Answer 31

- He believed they had a language deficit due to being only able to use restricted code - He believed this limited their ability to benefit form education

Question 32

What influence did Bernstein's theory have?

Answer 32

- Prompted education programs for young poor children in the USA during the 1960s and 1970s - The programs helped the children overcome their educational disadvantage by teaching them language they would need to know before they start school

Question 33

Why was Bernstein's suggestion that restricted codes can't effectively deal with new knowledge and ideas challenged?

Answer 33

It was often misunderstood, particularly in the USA

Question 34

What did Labov say about communication style?

Answer 34

- He studied children from New York who spoke Black English Vernacular (now called African American Vernacular English) - He believed that AVVE is different to English, but is just as complex and rule-governed as standard English, and therefore not deficient - He was concerned that teachers were being told not to accept AVVE as it was believed to be useless of learning and evidence of mental inferiorriy - His work encouraged linguists today to accept that language styles are just differences in language use rather than being inferior/superior to other styles

Question 35

What did Tannen do in relation to communication styles?

Answer 35

She recorded conversations between men and women to identify and understand gender differences in speech style

Question 36

What did Tannen propose?

Answer 36

Two communication styles: - Report talk: a type of talking used by men to gain and hold public attention to negotiate and maintain the status - Rapport talk: a type of talking used by women to establish and maintain relationship and intimacy by developing understanding and negotiating differences, involves private conversations where experiences are shared

Question 37

What did Tannen say about 'hedges'?

Answer 37

- She said that rapport talk used by women includes hedges - Hedges are words or phrases used to lessen the impact of a statement or request being made - It has been noted by others (Dallos) that hedges are actually use dby both men and women as a strategic device, rather than a sign of softness

Question 38

How did Tannen believe her two communication styles developed?

Answer 38

- They developed from childhood where boys and girls are socialised differently in terms of expectations about language styles - Girls are taught to maintain relationships through talking - Boys are taught to maintain relationships through actions

Question 39

What did Tannen say about communication styles affecting relationships between men and women?

Answer 39

- Lack of understanding and differences in communication styles can lead to disputes between men and women - Men and women understanding the differences in each other's reasons for their way of talking can reduce disputes