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)