AndSo effective communication requires that words be clearly defined. We cannot have an intelligent discussion until we agree what we are talking about.Language can communicate power and statusMalapropWhorf-sapir hypothesis-Metaphors and similes- (this may sound like English class) but- it is very important to examine our similes and metaphors to reveal how they affect the way we think.Do words have power aside from what they symbolize? Or the power we wish to give them?The spoken word is an actionRead intro to John-DiscussionGo over papers and scholarly sourceReview com abstracts, journal articles and APA w/ julie’s powerpoint “Language which does not convey a clear meaning fails to perform the very function of language.” AristotleNothing is more common than for men to think that because they are familiar with words, they understand the ideas they stand for.” -John Henry Newman “Our care must be not that the audience will understand us, but the audience will find it impossible to miss understand us.” – QuintillianLanguage: a collection of symbols governed by rules and used to convey messages between individuals.Where does language come from?Steven Pinker writes in The Language Instinct about the amazing and naturalability of humans to form language and follow language rules.There are prescriptive rules- how we ought to talk that we are taught in schoolAndDescriptive rules- describe how people do talk. They are completely different things.Most language rules are not taught to you. – yet we do not say things like –“apples the boy eat” or “who did you meet john and?”He goes on to criticize those who insist we must follow ridged rules of grammar for he believes that it is more of a natural process and language should only be what makes sense.- Many linguistic researchers believe that there only a few patterns of languages, we are born with these “formulas” –incoded genetically – and as babies we just fill in the specific language to the formula. 3 characteristics of the nature of language:1. symbolic- arbitrary constructions that represent a communicator’s thoughts.2. Meaning resides in people, not words!*What a particular word means to you depends on your cultural background,personal history, and psychological characteristics.Ex. The word “Capitalism” means different things to different people.For one person, it might mean “Business, Free Enterprise, Entrepreneur, Wealth, Opportunity…” For another person it might mean “Class warfare, Inequality, or Greed…”But dictionary defines it as: “An economic system in which the means of production and distribution aremostly privately owned and operated for profit.”One of most important skills you’ll learn in college is how to: Define terms correctly…Which not easy! In order to make logical and persuasive arguments you must be able to define your terms and defend your definition as being the best definition.So effective communication requires that words be clearly defined. We cannot have an intelligent discussion until we agree what we are talking about.3. Language is “Rule Governed.”If you know the rules and use them, you will seem credible and people will trust you, listen to your arguments.(1) Phonological Rules-Govern Pronunciation. Ex. Von’s has fresher produce than Ralph’s… -American workers make more money per hour than South American workers because they produce at a higher level. -The parking at CSUF often brings me to tears… If that guy in the red car takes my spot I’m going to tear his head off.(2) Syntactic Rules-Deal with the structuring of words (Ex. In English, every sentence must have noun & verb)(3) Semantic Rules- These deal with the meaning of words (But remember, not everybody uses dictionary definition of word… Not all words are in the dictionary- seek agreement)(4) Pragmatic Rules- Deal with what messages are appropriate in what situations. (Ex. At work or in classroom, sexual humor usually inappropriate. , how do I interpret a message?) Power of Language-Language shapes AttitudesWe label things we value- and our labels reveal our values What are God terms? (Weaver)- family values, freedom, libertyNaming-We talked about the importance of naming in terms of labels we assignSymbols carry meaning.Even the right name is important-children with “normal” popular names receive higher grades.- How does this affect people from minority cultures who live and interact with the dominate culture?- movies are often hits or flops based on their title and not their content- In the 1970’s there was a diet product, brown chewy squares that weresupposed to suppress appetite- called Ayds- They were dropped from the market in the 1980s when the disease AIDS became recognized. Not many people would want to buy and eat a heath product called Ayds. - Racial identity can be an issue of names- what do I call my self? Doesit give me pride? Identity? History? A people ? respect? - Black v. African American- Sometimes an identical action or situation may be called by a new name to receive attention or value. International law dictates that The UN, will not always step in and stop a civil war with military action, but if we beleive genocide is going on , we will intervene. In Bosnia- Herzegovina, civil war had been happening for sometime and people groups were killing other groups across religious and ethnic lines. Only when this was finally called genocide did the UN and USA step in. - We can study the power of language and names when we look at our recent presidents- -Clinton – “did not have sexual relations” names were very tricky- President Bush – names terrorists as evil, those who oppose us part ofthe axes of evil. – names shape our perception of political truthLanguage allows us to conceive of and communicate the abstract.Adler –only way to know religion is through language. we cannot talk about the supernatural with our symbols- language helps us transcend.Burke- Negative does not exist in nature- We can point to a stake and our dog understands .Cannot point to the absence of something, like what if there was a world with out death?Must have language to form our ideas of these bigger concepts. “Thou Shalt not Kill”- it is only a concept, the absence of something that we would not have with out symbols, languageBut these
View Full Document
Unlocking...