Chapter 3 – Verbal Communication

Language & Meaning

  • Language is a symbolic code; symbols have arbitrary links to referents.
  • Triangle of Meaning: Thought ↔️ Symbol ↔️ Referent (symbol–referent link is indirect ⇒ potential misunderstanding).
  • Denotation = dictionary / group-agreed meaning; Connotation = emotion/experience-based meaning; many words are polysemic.
  • Grammar = rule set that makes language learnable & usable; collective agreement, yet allows creativity.
  • Displacement: humans communicate about things removed in space/time.
  • Language acquisition (typical):
    • 2–4 mo2\text{–}4\text{ mo} distinguish tones
    • 6 mo6\text{ mo} begin babbling / word–behavior links
    • 8–10 mo8\text{–}10\text{ mo} point & follow conversation
    • ≈1 yr\approx1\text{ yr} first words, interaction rituals
    • By early teens: everyday linguistic competence

Functions of Language

  • 4 basic verbal expressions: Observation, Thought, Feeling, Need.
  • Language is Expressive: meets instrumental & relational needs.
  • Language is Powerful:
    • expresses identity (self/other labels)
    • affects credibility (clarity, support, appropriateness)
    • controls (directives, promises, climates)
    • performative (e.g., “I do”, legal sentences)
  • Language is Fun: word play, humor, palindromes, contranyms.
  • Language is Dynamic:
    • Neologisms (borrowing, compounding, affixing, blending, shifts)
    • Slang (group-/time-specific, creative, often short-lived)
  • Language is Relational:
    • Brings together via “we-language”, frequency & supportive messages
    • Separates via unsupportive tactics (global labels, sarcasm, past-dragging, negative comparisons, judgmental “you”, threats)

Using Words Well

  • Clarity:
    • Ladder of Abstraction: Concrete → Abstract; stay low when precision matters.
    • Create Whole messages (include all 4 expression types) vs. partial or contaminated.
  • Figurative / Evocative Language:
    • Simile (like/as), Metaphor (implicit comparison), Personification.
    • Vivid words evoke sensory & emotional imagery; euphemisms soften taboos.
  • Ethics:
    • Civility vs. incivility (insults, gossip, deception, etc.).
    • Avoid polarizing language (all/nothing thinking).
    • Swearing: social vs. annoyance; context-dependent.
    • Accountability: distinguish facts, inferences, judgments; avoid inference-observation confusion.

Language, Society & Culture

  • Conversational norms: turn-taking signals, adjacency pairs (Q–A, greet–return, etc.), scripted openings/closings & topic shifts.
  • Cultural context influences vocabulary, politeness, and reality perception (Sapir–Whorf).
  • Accents vs. Dialects: pronunciation vs. vocabulary/grammar sets; affect impressions.
  • Communication Accommodation Theory:
    • Convergence = adjust to be similar (ease, approval).
    • Divergence = emphasize difference (identity, distance).
    • Code-switching = shift language/dialect/accent across contexts (e.g., call-center “accent-neutralization”).
  • Cultural Bias in Language:
    • Race: avoid euphemistic or comparative terms ("nonwhite", “urban”).
    • Gender: avoid generic he, gendered job titles; use neutral or alternating pronouns.
    • Age: avoid infantilizing or stereotypical terms (“elderly”, “boys/girls” for adults).
    • Sexual orientation: prefer gay/lesbian/bisexual, “partner”; avoid implying abnormality.
    • Ability: emphasize person-first ("person with paraplegia"), not victimizing.
  • Hate Speech: extreme negative language toward a group; totalizes out-group, can incite violence; legal protection vs. social/ethical harm debated.