Chapter 3 (communication 101)
Esperanto
"Hopeful" is the most well-known and widely using auxiliary language that was intended to serve as a common international language.
6 common types of unsupportive messages
Global labels, sarcasm, dragging up the past, negative comparisons, judgmental "you" messages, and threat
Control
Has negative connotations, but our use of it here can be positive, neutral, or negative
Verbal expression
Help us communicate our observations, thoughts, feelings, and needs
Negative comparisons
Holding up a person to the supposed standards or characteristics of another person can lead to feelings of inferiority and resentment. Parents and teachers may unfairly compare children to their siblings.
Metaphor
Implicit comparison of two things that are not alike and/or are not typically associated
Norms are
Implicit stated conventions
Contaminated messages
Include mixes or misleading expressions
Individual differences
Some people differ in their interpretations of civility in various settings, and some people have personality traits that may lead to actions deemed uncivil on a more regular basis
Triangle of meaning
A model of communication that indicates the relationship among a thought, symbol, and referent, and highlights the indirect relationship between the symbol and referent.
Convergence
A person makes his or her communication more like another person's
Divergence
A person uses communication to emphasize the differences between his or her conversational partner and his or herself
Cultural bias
A skewed way of viewing or talking about a group that is typically negative
Commissives
A speaker is committed to a certain course of action.
Figurative speech
A word or phrase that deviates from expectations in some way in meaning or usage
Judgmental "you" messages
Accusatory messages are usually generalized overstatements about another person that go beyond labeling but still do not describe specific behavior in a productive way
Language acquisition
The process by which we learn to understand, produce, and use words to communicate within a given language group
Grammar
The rules that govern how words are used to make phrases and sentences
Dialects
Versions of languages that have distinct words, grammar, and pronunciation.
Expressing feelings
We communicate our emotions. Has social norms about how, why, when, where, whom we express our emotions.
Expressing thoughts
We take various observations and evaluate and interpret them to assign them meaning (a conclusion). Conclusion about or judgement of experiences and observations.
Language is relational
We use verbal communication to initiate, maintain, and terminate our interpersonal relationships.
Contranyms
Words that have multiple meanings, two of which are opposites.
Palindromes
Words that read the same from lest to right and from right to left
Monosemic
Only one use in a language, making their denotation more straightforward
The three things that represent triangle of meaning
Referent, thought, and symbol
Slang
Refers to a new or adapted words that are specific to a group, context, and/or time period; regarded as less formal; and representative of people's creative play with language.
Displacement
Refers to our ability to talk about events that are removed in space or time from a speaker and situation.
Lapse of control
Self-control is not an unlimited resource. Even when people know how to behave and the skills to respond to situation appropriately, they may not do so. Even people who are careful to monitor their behavior have occasional slip ups.
Two types of swearing
Social swearing and annoyance swearing
Dragging up the past
Bringing up negative pay experiences is a tactic used by people when they don't want to discuss a current situation. Sometimes people have built up negative feelings that are suddenly let out by a seemingly small thing in the moment.
Personification
Attribution of human qualities or characteristics of other living things to nonhuman objects or abstract concepts
6 months
Babies can associate some words, like bye-bye, either a corresponding behavior, and they begin "babbling" which is actually practice for more intelligible speech to come
2-4 months
Babies can respond to different tones of voice (angry, soothing, or playful)
8-10 months
Babies learn that pointing can attract or direct attention, and they begin to follow adult conversations, shifting eye contact from one speaker to the next
1 year
Babies recognize some individual words (people's names, no) and basic rituals of verbal interaction such as question-pause-answer and various greetings. Shortly before or after this time, babies begin to use "melodic utterances" echoing the variety in pitch and tone in various verbal interactions such as questioning, greetings, or wanting.
Expressing observation
Based on sensory information (what we saw, what we read, what we heard). Report of sensory experiences of memories.
Vivid language
Captures people's attention and their imagination by conveying emotions and action
Facts
Conclusions based on direct observation or group consensus
Inferences
Conclusions based on thoughts or speculation, but not direct observation.
Thoughts
Connected to our beliefs (what we think is true/false, attitudes (what we like and dislike), and values (what we think is right/wrong or good/bad)
Social swearing
Create social bonds or for impression management. Seen more male dominated, but researched as seen there isn't a vast difference between men and women
Codes
Culturally agreed on and ever-changing systems of symbols that help us organize, understand, and generate meaning.
Denotation
Definitions that are accepted by the language group as a whole, or dictionary definition of a word
Connotation
Definitions that are based on emotion- or experience-based associations people have with a word
Words have ____ and _____ meanings
Denotative and connotative
Simile
Direct comparison of two things using the words like or as
Accents
Dusting styles of pronunciation
Ignorance
Especially in novel situations involving uncertainty, people may not know what social norms and expectations are
Sarcasm
Even though sarcasm is often disguised as humor, it usually represents passive-aggressive behavior through which a person indirectly communicates negative feelings
Lack of skill
Even when we know how to behave, we may not be able to do it. Such frustrations may lead a person to revert to undesirable behavior such as engaging in personal attacks during a conflict because they don't now what else to do.
Rules are
Explicitly stated conventions
The power of languge
Express our identities varies depending on the origin of the label and the context
language
Express our identities, affects our credibility, means of control, is performative, fun, dynamic, relational, can bring us together, and can separate us.
Judgements
Expressions of approval or disapproval that are subjective and not verifiable
Five functions of language
Expressive, powerful, fun, dynamic, and relational
Polarizing language
Language that presents people, ideas, or situations as polar opposites. It exaggerated differences and overgeneralized
Affective language
Language used to express a person's feelings and create similar feelings in another person
Cultural biased language
Make reference to one or more cultural identities, including race, gender, age, sexual orientation, and ability.
Supportive messages
Messages communicated in an open, honest, and nonconfrontational way, people are sure to come together
Unsupportive messages
Messages that can make others respond defensively, which can lead to feelings of separation and actual separation or dissolution of a relationship.
Partial messages
Missing a relevant type of expression and can lead to misunderstanding and conflict
Neologisms
Newly coined or used words. Newly coined words are those that were just brought into linguistic existence.
Four types of linguistic expression
Observations, thoughts, feelings, and needs
negatives intent
Some people, in an attempt to break with conformity or challenge societal norms, or for self-benefit (publicly embarrassing someone in order to look cool or edgy), are openly uncivil. Such behavior can also result from mental or psychological stresses or illnesses.
Symbol
Something that stands in for it represents something else
Jargon
Specialized words used by certain group or profession
Expressing needs
Stating wants or requesting help or support. Communicating in an instrumental way to help us get things done
Annoyance swearing
Swearing that provides a sense of relief as people use it to manage stress and tension, which can be a preferred alternative to physical aggression.
Global labels
Sweeping judgements and generalizations are sure to only escalate a negative situation. Example: "you're a liar"
Communication Accommodation Theory
Theory that explores why and how people modify their communication to fit situational, social, cultural, and relational contexts.
Threats
Threading someone with violence or some other negative consequence usually signals the end of productive communication. Aside from the potential legal consequences, threats usually overcompensate for a person's insecurity.
Code-switching
To changes in accent, dialect, or language
Directives
Utterances that try to get another person to do something.
Whole messages
include all the relevant types of expressions needed to most effectively communicate in a given situation, including what you see, what you think, what you feel, and what you need
Inference-observation confusion
jumping to conclusions (the misperception of an inference(conclusion based on limited information) as an observation(an observed or agreed on fact)