Chp. 5: Language

Book: pgs. 67-79

PDF: pgs. 77-89

Language

• Definition: Words or symbols are created to express thoughts and feelings. They are symbolic and can be arbitrary.

Problems with Language

• Labeling

  • Accepting labels may overlook individual differences.

• Abstract or unclear language can create wrong or confusing meanings in your receiver’s mind. They state a general idea but leave the precise meaning to the receiver’s interpretation.

• Multiple meanings have words that take on different meanings in different contexts

• Polarization (either-or fallacy) - reducing a conclusion to only two sides or choices

• Under or overuse of Politically Correct language

• Profanity: insulting, rude, vulgar, or disrespectful words or expressions

Characteristics of language

• Arbitrary

  • Symbols are not directly related to the things they represent

  • “Car” has no relationship to the things we drive around town

  • It is connected to what we think is a “car” - it’s subjective

  • Words have generally agreed upon meaning (denotative). They allow us to communicate with others.

• Ambiguous

  • Words do not have absolute meaning

  • Meaning is fuzzy in real life

  • Dictionary definitions (denotations) are not always what we mean when we use words. Football or soccer.

  • Words have connotations, the feelings associated with that word, meanings we give to things through experiences

• Abstract

  • Language is intangible

  • We use and interpret language

  • The more specific we are in our language, the less abstract, and the less likely for interpretation.

  • Evasion: avoiding giving details

  • Euphemism: using inoffensive words to replace offensive words

  • Slang: using informal, nonstandard words

  • Jargon: using technical language

• Negative

  • Language creates a void or separation

  • When we use a word, we are also not using other words

  • Sometimes it’s best to explain what you don’t mean in order to achieve understanding (what something is not).

Three parts of language

• Signifier = the thing in our experience

• Signified = idea we have for that thing

• Sign = the symbol we use to refer to the thing

• The study of signs and symbols, theoretical approach to media literacy

• Ferdinand de Saussure: a Swiss linguist. His ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in both linguistics and semiology in the 20th century.

  • The dual sign comprised of the signifier (form) and signified (what form represents)

• Saussure’s theory was that meaning is created inside the language

Metaphoric Language

• Metaphor helps us understand through comparison - “You’re a Shining Star” EW&F

• Similes compare by using “like” or “as”

• Synecdoche uses a part to stand for the whole: The ABCs

• Metonyms use tangible objects to refer to intangible things: “The Crown”

• Archetype uses common experiences to help describe another object - the Hero

• Mixed metaphors compare to inconsistent things

• Dead metaphors compare to everyday phrases

Structures of Language

• Repetition - “I Have a Dream”

• Alliteration - “Peter Piper Picked a Peck...”

• Parallelism - “Like Father, Like Son”

• Antithesis - “Ask not what your country…”

• Narrative - all humans are story-telling animals, and everything we say, no matter how short or long, is a story

Linguistic Determinism

• Sapir Whorf Hypothesis: the belief that the labels we use help shape the way we think, our worldview, and our behavior.

• Linguistic Determinism: one’s language determines the way one’s mind constructs knowledge or thought. ...This influence of language on culture is called Linguistic Relativism.

• Does your language determine how you think?

Using Language Effectively:

• Be clear - assertive

• Use inclusive language

• Avoid profanity

• Avoid hate speech

• Use culturally appropriate metaphors

• Use familiar language

• Be specific and concrete

• Use distinctive, vivid language

Key Terms

1. Arbitrary - term that describes symbols themselves as having no direct connection with the things they represent

2. Semiotics - the study of the social production of meaning from sign systems like language

3. Signifier - the physical thing as we perceive it in the world around us

4. Signified - the meaning associated with the signifier; the idea or mental construct of the signifier

5. Sign - an arbitrary symbol that represents the signifier and the signified

6. Ambiguous - term that describes words as being without absolute meanings

7. Denotative meaning - the meaning prescribed to a sign without understanding its history of usage and application; its dictionary, or literal, definition

8. Connotative meaning - meaning that comes from a set of associations a word brings to mind in a person

9. Abstract - the idea that language is not tangible or concrete

10. Negative - the idea that language separates things from their natural state, thus telling us not only what something is, but what it is not

11. Similes - metaphoric language devices that compare two things through the use of “like” or “as”

12. Synecdoche - a metaphor that uses one part of something to refer to the whole thing

13. Metonym - a metaphor that is identified by its use of tangible objects to refer to intangible things

14. Archetypal - metaphors that use common human experiences to help describe another object

15. Mixed metaphors - phrases that make use of two different metaphors that do not logically fit; compare two things that have no inherent connection with each other, creating incongruous comparisons

16. Dead metaphors - metaphors that have lost the creative element from which they initially drew their power and now are just accepted as true terms, rather than the metaphors they are

17. Repetition - the practice of repeating words and phrases either immediately following the initial statement or in the same location in a message

18. Alliteration - the practice of using the same vowel or consonant sound at the beginning of consecutive words

19. Parallelism - the practice of placing related words or phrases in a pattern that highlights what they have in common

20. Antithesis - the practice of placing two contrasting ideas side by side in a parallel structure

21. Narrative - a story that’s told when trying to explain or argue something with an audience

22. Narrative coherence - feature exhibited by a story with content that hangs together and makes sense

23. Narrative fidelity - term for describing how well a story reflects the values and beliefs of its audience

24. Profanity - vulgar and irreverent language

25. Idioms - metaphoric expressions whose meanings are not predictable from their usual use, but must be inferred from cultural markers