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The Nature of Language

The Nature of Language. Language as a Barrier and Bridge. Language is Symbolic. Words are arbitrary symbols that don't have any meaning in themselves We assign meaning to words. Language is Subjective. The same word can be interpreted differently by different people

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The Nature of Language

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  1. The Nature of Language Language as a Barrier and Bridge

  2. Language is Symbolic • Words are arbitrary symbols that don't have any meaning in themselves • We assign meaning to words

  3. Language is Subjective • The same word can be interpreted differently by different people • This interpretation is dependent on many factors • Key: Don't assume others intepret the same way you do

  4. Language is Governed By Rules • Phonological Rules: Govern how sounds are combined to form words e.g. Champagne is same spelling in French and English but is governed by different phonological rules • Syntactic Rules: Govern word arrangement. • Every word must contain one vowel • Words must be arranged in order to have meaning • Children often get this wrong when they are learning language e.g. The hot is stove

  5. More Rules... • Semantic Rules: Govern our use of language – governs meaning – what the words mean • Pragmatic Rules: Help us to decide the interpretation of a message • Not everyone interprets same way e.g. Humour • These rules are the social rules of language e.g. turn taking when talking

  6. The Impact of Language • Naming and Identity: Research has found that more common names (Michael, John, Wendy) are related with positive ratings and less common names with negative ratings. • Women and names: Research has found characteristic differences in women who take their husband's names vs. not • Ms, Miss and Mrs.

  7. (cont) • Affiliation, Attraction, Interest:: Adopting a certain style of language can demonstrate ties (choice of vocabulary, rate of talking, number and placement of pauses, level of politeness) • Matching speech style = convergence • Emphasizing differences = divergence • Power: Language can be powerful or powerless • Passive or Active

  8. The Uses and Abuses of Language • Equivocal Language: consists of words that have more than one commonly accepted definition: • E.g. Family catches fire just in time • Trees can break wind • Abstraction: Language use can be highly abstract through to specific • Abstractions can be appropriate or VERY problematic

  9. (cont) • Euphemisms: Pleasant terms substituted for blunt ones e.g.? • Relative Language: Words that gain their meanings by comparisons • E.g. Did you attend a large or small school (this depends on what you compare it with)

  10. The Language of Responsibility • Is signals something static • It replaces ownership: It bothers me when you are late, I am bothered when you are late • But statements cancel the thoughts that precede it • You expresses a judgment to another person • We statements implies the issue is a concern to the speaker, and others • I can signal ownership and honesty

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