Speech Chapter 10

Rudolph Flesch and Robert Gunning noticed that most newspaper articles were written at the 12th grade reading level, while the average American adult reads at the _________________ grade level.

8th or 9th

Flesch, who was a supporter of the Plain English Movement, developed the Reading Ease formula.* Scores between ________________ should be comprehendible to the average 5th grader, while scores from _______________ indicate college-level reading. By the measure of Flesch's formula, the best texts use shorter sentences and words.

90 and 100; 0 to 30

Simile

A direct comparison of dissimilar things using like or as

"She sells seashells by the seashore"

Alliteration

Analogy

An extended metaphor

Metaphor

An implied comparison between two unlike things without using like or as

"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

Antithesis

"How now brown cow"

Assonance

Personification

Attributing human qualities to a concept or an inanimate object

Antithesis

Combining contrasting ideas in the same sentence

As long as you don't intend to be offensive, the audience will not be offended by jokes you include in the speech.

F

Effective style is not something that can be developed—either you have it or you don't.

F

In some situations, it is not appropriate to speak with a personal tone.

F

One major theory used to explain similarities and differences in cultures is:

Individualism versus collectivism

"buzz," "hiss," "crack," "pop"

Onomatopoeia

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are near one another

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds in a phrase or phrases

Repetition

Restating words, phrases, or sentences for emphasis

Four primary characteristics distinguish an effective oral style:

Short sentences and familiar language, plural personal pronouns, descriptive words and phrases, and clear macrostructural elements

Speech communities

Smaller groups that speak a common dialect

Language is symbolic because it is used to represent things, ideas, and events.

T

The use of transitions and signposts is important to an effective oral style.

T

Onomatopoeia

Words that sound like the things they stand for

Dialect

a unique form of a more general language spoken by a specific cultural or co-cultural group.

Language that involves words and phrases that are unique and technical and not generally understood by those outside a particular group is called:

a. jargon

An effective oral style:

a. tends toward short sentences and familiar language

Sensory language

appeals to the senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling.

Language in a formal speech must be:

appropriate, accurate, clear, and vivid

The definition of a word given in the dictionary is the word's:

b. denotation

Specific language

clarifies meaning by using precise words that narrow what is understood from a general category to a particular item or group within that category.

Intelligible

clearly understood

Rhetorical structures of speech

combine ideas in a particular way

Which of the following is an example of a vocalized pause?

d. "uh"

Three concepts that affect how words are interpreted

denotation, connotation, and dialect

Nonparallelism

denotes when terms are changed because of the sex, race, or other group characteristic of the individual, such as marking and irrelevant association.

erythrocyte sedimentation rate test

determines the rate at which red blood cells settle to the bottom of a test tube; used to diagnose lupus nephritis--if it falls at a faster than normal rate

Denotation

direct, explicit dictionary definition

During a speech, Louis uses the word "policeman" to refer to all law enforcement officers. This is an example of:

e. generic language

Still, even in a formal public speaking situation, you must _____________________ with your listeners.

establish a relationship

Vivid language

full of life--vigorous, bright, and intense

Although your oral style is slightly more formal than in everyday conversation, it should still reflect a personal tone that encourages listeners to perceive you to be _____________________________________________.

having a conversation with them

Individualistic cultures

includes North America and much of Western Europe, and tends to use low-context communication, in which information is embedded mainly in the messages transmitted and presented directly

Collectivistic cultures

includes much of the Middle East and Asia, and tends to use high-context communication in which people expect others to know how they're thinking and feeling and presents some messages indirectly to avoid embarrassing the other person.

Accurate language is not always easy because:

language is arbitrary, abstract, and changes over time.

Rhetorical Figures of Speech

make striking comparisons between things that are not obviously alike to help listeners visualize or internalize what you are saying.

Accurate language

means using words that convey your meaning precisely.

Gunning's Fog Index calculates reading grade level by

multiplying the sum of a sample passage's average sentence length and percentage of "hard" words by 0.4.

For a word to have meaning, it must be recognized by both or all parties as standing for a particular

object, idea, or feeling

Speeches that offer antithesis in the concluding remarks are

often very memorable.

The best way to avoid generic language is to use

plurals

Casual swearing

profanity injected into regular conversation

Oral style

refers to how we convey messages through the spoken word

Slang

refers to informal, nonstandard vocabulary and nonstandard definitions assigned to words by a social group or subculture.

You can make your ideas come to life by using:

sensory language and by using rhetorical figures and structures of speech.

Currently, there are two major formulas used to determine readability:

the Flesch Reading Ease Score, which grades content between 1-100, and the Gunning-Fog Index, operating on a scale of 1−14+.

Marking

the addition of sex, race, age, or other group designations to a description.

Standard English

the form of English taught in American Schools and detailed in grammar handbooks.

Macrostructure

the overall framework for organizing your speech content

Context

the position of a word in a sentence and its relationship to the words around it

Connotation

the positive, neutral, or negative feelings or evaluations we associate with it.

Your goal is to adapt your language to:

the purpose, the audience, and the occasion.

the degree of formality required to be an effective public speaker is based on

the rhetorical situation

Analogies are particularly useful to highlight:

the similarities between a complex or unfamiliar concept with one that is familiar.

Mircrostructure

the specific language and style choices used to verbalize your ideas to a particular audience

Referent

the thing or object we refer to with a word.

Jargon

the unique technical terminology of a trade or profession that is not generally understood by outsiders.

Symbol

the word in which the referent is associated with.

Linguistic Sensitivity

to choose words that are respectful of others and avoid potentially offensive language; avoid generic language, non parallelism, potentially offensive humor, profanity and vulgarity

Verbal immediacy

to describe language used to reduce the psychological distance between you and your audience.

Vocalized pauses

unnecessary words interjected into sentences to fill moments of silence; "like," "you know," "really," "basically," "um," "uh."; sometimes referred to as "verbal garbage"

Four strategies for improving clarity:

use specific language, choose familiar terms, provide details and examples, and limit vocalized pauses.

Generic Language

uses words that apply only to one sex, race, or other group as though they represent everyone

Speaking appropriately

using language that adapts to the needs, interests, knowledge, and attitudes of your listeners and avoiding language that might alienate anyone.

"Thought of referent"

when an audience attaches meaning to a symbol

Irrelevant association

when we emphasize one person's relationship to another when that relationship is irrelevant to our point

Remember your goal is to create a perception of conversing ________ your audience rather than presenting to or in front of them.

with

Avoid jargon, slang, abbreviations, and acronyms unless:

you define them clearly and using them is central to your speech goal.