Focus Questions

1. Focus Questions • What is the relationship between language and thought? • How do labels affect meaning? • What are the implications of recognizing that language is a process? • How do rules guide communication? • How does punctuation influence the meaning of communication? Verbal Communication

2. Language and Meaning • Language (words) in the human world • Features of Language (Symbols) • Arbitrary • Not intrinsically connected to what is represented; no natural relationship • Commonly shared & used in a society; meaning changes over time • Ambiguous • No precise, clear-cut meanings; within a range of meaning but with degrees of uncertainty • Specific to contexts, individual experience; relationships • Abstract • Not concrete or tangible • Various abstractness (degrees away from external, objective phenomenon) e.g, “reading matter” 讀物 Verbal Communication

3. Symbols and Meaning • Ladder of Abstraction (Korzybski & Hayakawa) • Steps away from observed phenomenon • See Figure 4.1 (page 103) • Overgeneralization • General language to describe groups of people • Perceptions (recall) consistent with labels used • Labels predispose selective perception Verbal Communication

4. 8 “Cow”抽象化階梯 Wealth: characteristics of “Bessie” are left out. 7 Asset: all valuable things 6 Farm assets: in common with other salable items on the farm 5 Livestock: referring to characteristics in common with chicken, goats.. 4 Cow: common characteristics; not peculiar to specific ones 3 “Bessie”: the name we give to the object (cow) 2 Cow: not the word, but the object experience 1 Cow: consists of atoms, electronics…etc; scientific reference Verbal Communication

5. Principles of Communication • Interpretation creates meaning • Active, creative process of making sense • Process of constructing meaning • Brute facts vs. Institutional facts • Brute fact: objective, concrete phenomena (e.g., huddling in football) • Institutional fact: interpreted meaning of brute fact (players planning the next step) • Communication is guided by rules (p. 106: task-to-do) • Rule learning through socialization • Regulative rules: specify when, how, where… • Constitutive rules: define meaning Verbal Communication

6. Principles of Communication (continued) • Punctuation affects meaning • Marks a flow of activity into meaning units • Determines initiation, interaction, invitation, participation… • In personal relationships: demand-withdraw pattern (Figure 4.2, p. 108) Verbal Communication

7. Symbolic Abilities • Language defines phenomena • Totalizing: one label represents a person totally; ignoring other aspects • Totalizing: spotlighting an aspect; stereotyping: describing with group characteristics • Language evaluates phenomena (not neutral) • Symbols are loaded with ‘value’ • Loaded language • Language organizes experiences • Categories that we place people Verbal Communication

8. Symbolic Abilities (2) • Language allows hypothetical thinking • Visions of the future • Language allows self-reflection • I : spontaneous, creative self • Me: socially conscious self • 佛洛依德︰ • id本我 – unconscious & instinctive • ego自我 – between id and superego • superego超我 – of moral and social rules Verbal Communication

9. Symbolic Abilities (3) • Language defines relationships & interaction • Three dimensions of relationship-level meaning • Responsiveness: question & statements (responses, feedback) • Liking: When we say “I care about you.” • Power: Establishing control Verbal Communication

10. Guidelines for Verbal Comm. • Engage in person-centered communication • Be conscious of levels of abstraction • Qualify language • Avoid overgeneralization • Avoid static evaluation: She ‘is’ selfish • Indexing technique: evaluation only applies to specific times, circumstances • Own your feelings and thoughts: Claim feelings but not blame others for that • You vs. I language (p. 120) (Note: Chinese cultural & syntax differences) Verbal Communication