Ch.14 Oral versus Writing

1.Concreteness

-quality of being specific and of referring to particular things -we attempt to help our audiences see specific realities or actual instances instead of abstract theories and ideas. The goal of concreteness is to help you, as a speaker, show your audience something instead of just telling them. Instead of defining what those terms mean and discussing the philosophical merits of Steiner, you could use real examples where people's freedom to think or freedom to behave has been stifled. Ultimately, the goal of concreteness is to show an audience something instead of talking about it abstractly.

Oral language (Ch.13)

1.smaller variety of words. 2.words with fewer syllables. 3.shorter sentences. 4.self-reference words (I, me, mine). 5.fewer quantifying terms or precise numerical words. 6.more pseudo quantifying terms (many, few, some). 7.more extreme and superlative words (none, all, every, always, never). 8.qualifying statements (clauses beginning with unless and except). 9. repetition of words and syllables. 10. more contractions. 11. interjections ("Wow!," "Really?," "No!," "You're kidding!").term-9 12.colloquial and nonstandard words

Use Vivid Language

After appropriateness, the second main guideline is Vivid language helps your listeners create strong, distinct, clear, and memorable mental images. Good vivid language usage helps an audience member truly understand and imagine what a speaker is saying. Two common ways to make your speaking more vivid are through the use of imagery and rhythm.

Sexual Orientation

Another area that can cause some problems is referred to as heterosexism. Heterosexism occurs when a speaker presumes that everyone in an audience is heterosexual or that opposite-sex relationships are the only norm. For example, a speaker might begin a speech by saying, "I am going to talk about the legal obligations you will have with your future husband or wife." While this speech starts with the notion that everyone plans on getting married, which isn't the case, it also assumes that everyone will label their significant others as either "husbands" or "wives." Although some members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender/transexual community will use these terms, others prefer for more gender neutral terms like "spouse" and "partner." Moreover, legal obligations for same-sex couples may be very different from those for heterosexual couples. Notice also that we have used the phrase "members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender/transexual community" instead of the more clinical-sounding term "homosexual."

Ethnic Identity

Another type of inclusive language relates to the categories used to highlight an individual's ethnic identity. Ethnic identity refers to a group an individual identifies with based on a common culture. For example, within the United States we have numerous ethnic groups, including Italian Americans, Irish Americans, Japanese Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Cuban Americans, and Mexican Americans. As with the earlier example of "male nurse," avoid statements such as "The committee is made up of four women and a Vietnamese man." Instead, say, "The committee is made up of four women and a man" or, if race and ethnicity are central to the discussion, "The committee is made up of three European American women, an Israeli American woman, a Brazilian American woman, and a Vietnamese American man." In recent years, there has been a trend toward steering inclusive language away from broad terms like "Asians" and "Hispanics" because these terms are not considered precise labels for the groups they actually represent. If you want to be safe, the best thing you can do is ask a couple of people who belong to an ethnic group how they prefer to label themselves.

Imagery

Imagery is the use of language to represent objects, actions, or ideas. The goal of imagery is to help an audience member create a mental picture of what a speaker is saying. A speaker who uses imagery successfully will tap into one or more of the audience's five basic senses (hearing, taste, touch, smell, and sight). Three common tools of imagery are concreteness, simile, and metaphor.

Use Inclusive Language

Language can either inspire your listeners or turn them off very quickly. One of the fastest ways to alienate an audience is through the use of noninclusive language. Inclusive language is language that avoids placing any one group of people above or below other groups while speaking. Let's look at some common problem areas related to language about gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disabilities.

Assonance

Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity Assonance is similar to alliteration, but instead of relying on consonants, assonance gets its rhythm from repeating the same vowel sounds with different consonants in the stressed syllables. The phrase "how now brown cow," which elocution students traditionally used to learn to pronounce rounded vowel sounds, is an example of assonance. While rhymes like "free as a breeze," "mad as a hatter," and "no pain, no gain" are examples of assonance, speakers should be wary of relying on assonance because when it is overused it can quickly turn into bad poetry.

Parallelism

Phrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other When listing items in a sequence, audiences will respond more strongly when those ideas are presented in a grammatically parallel fashion, which is referred to as parallelism. ex, "Give me liberty or I'd rather die." "Give me liberty or give me death." Technically, you're saying the same thing in both, but the second one has better rhythm, and this rhythm comes from the parallel construction of "give me." The lack of parallelism in the first example makes the sentence sound disjointed and ineffective.

Repetition

Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis one of the major differences between oral and written language is the use of repetition. Because speeches are communicated orally, audience members need to hear the core of the message repeated consistently. Repetition as a linguistic device is designed to help audiences become familiar with a short piece of the speech as they hear it over and over again. By repeating a phrase during a speech, you create a specific rhythm. Probably the most famous and memorable use of repetition within a speech is Martin Luther King Jr.'s use of "I have a dream"

Gender-Specific Language

The first common form of noninclusive language is language that privileges one of the sexes over the other. There are three common problem areas that speakers run into while speaking: using "he" as generic, using "man" to mean all humans, and gender typing jobs.

Generic "He"

The generic "he" happens when a speaker labels all people within a group as "he" when in reality there is a mixed sex group involved. Consider the statement, "Every morning when an officer of the law puts on his badge, he risks his life to serve and protect his fellow citizens." In this case, we have a police officer that is labeled as male four different times in one sentence. Obviously, both male and female police officers risk their lives when they put on their badges. A better way to word the sentence would be, "Every morning when officers of the law put on their badges, they risk their lives to serve and protect their fellow citizens." Notice that in the better sentence, we made the subject plural ("officers") and used neutral pronouns ("they" and "their") to avoid the generic "he."

Disability

The last category of exclusive versus inclusive language that causes problems for some speakers relates to individuals with physical or mental disabilities. Table 13.2 "Inclusive Language for Disabilities" provides some other examples of exclusive versus inclusive language. Table 13.2 Inclusive Language for Disabilities Exclusive Language/ Inclusive LanguageHandicapped People/ People with disabilitiesInsane Person/ Person with a psychiatric disability (or label the psychiatric diagnosis, e.g. "person with schizophrenia")Person in a wheelchair/ Person who uses a wheelchairCrippled/Person with a physical disabilitySpecial needs program/Accessible needs programMentally retarded/Person with an intellectual disability

Use Familiar Language

The last category related to using language appropriately simply asks you to use language that is familiar both to yourself and to your audience. If you are not comfortable with the language you are using, then you are going to be more nervous speaking, which will definitely have an impact on how your audience receives your speech. You may have a hard time speaking genuinely and sincerely if you use unfamiliar language, and this can impair your credibility. Furthermore, you want to make sure that the language you are using is familiar to your audience. If your audience cannot understand what you are saying, you will not have an effective speech.

3.Appropriate for the Context

The next question about appropriateness is whether the language you will use is suitable or fitting for the context itself. speaking context includes the occasion, the time of day, the mood of the audience, and other factors in addition to the physical location. Take the entire speaking context into consideration when you make the language choices for your speech. EX:The language you may employ if you're addressing a student assembly in a high school auditorium will differ from the language you would use at a business meeting in a hotel ballroom.

Use of "Man"

Traditionally, speakers of English have used terms like "man," "mankind," and (in casual contexts) "guys" when referring to both females and males. In the second half of the twentieth century, as society became more aware of gender bias in language, organizations like the National Council of Teachers of English developed guidelines for nonsexist language (National Council of Teachers of English, 2002). For example, instead of using the word "man," you could refer to the "human race." Instead of saying, "hey, guys," you could say, "OK, everyone." By using gender-fair language you will be able to convey your meaning just as well, and you won't risk alienating half of your audience.

Why is language important (Ch.13)

With language, humans can pass their experiences, ideas, and knowledge to others helps us in our interpersonal relationships at home and at work.

Metaphor

a figure of speech where a term or phrase is applied to something in a nonliteral way to suggest a resemblance. In the case of a metaphor, one of the comparison items is said to be the other (even though this is really not possible). the comparison word has been italicized EX: Love is a battlefield. Upon hearing the charges, the accused clammed up and refused to speak without a lawyer. Every year a new crop of activists are born

2.simile

a simile is a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared. Both aspects being compared within a simile are able to remain separate within the comparison. Speakers use similes to help an audience understand a specific characteristic being described within the speech. - italicized: "like" and "as." ex: The thunderous applause was like a party among the gods. After the revelation, she was as angry as a raccoon caught in a cage. Love is like a battlefield.

Words (Ch.13)

consist of sounds (oral) and shapes (written) that have agreed-upon meanings based in concepts, ideas, and memories

Oral language (Ch.13)

designed to be listened to and to sound conversational, which means that word choice must be simpler, more informal, and more repetitive.(used in public speaking), should sound like a conversation.

Denotative (Ch.13)

dictionary definition, is the specific meaning associated with a word. EX: is an equal mixture of both red and green light

Language (Ch.13)

is any formal system of gestures, signs, sounds, and symbols used or conceived as a means of communicating thought Language is important in every aspect of our lives because it allows people to communicate in a manner that enables the sharing of common ideas.

Connotative (Ch.13)

is the idea suggested by or associated with a word involve individual perceptions of words EX: State of depression (feeling blue) Indication of winning (a blue ribbon) Side during the Civil War (blues vs. grays) Sudden event (out of the blue)

4.Appropriate for the Topic

language is appropriate for your specific topic. Ex: If you are speaking about the early years of The Walt Disney Company, would you want to refer to Walt Disney as a "thaumaturgic" individual (i.e., one who works wonders or miracles)? While the word "thaumaturgic" may be accurate, is it the most appropriate for the topic at hand? -As another example, if your speech topic is the dual residence model of string theory, it makes sense to expect that you will use more sophisticated language than if your topic was a basic introduction to the physics of, say, sound or light waves.

Rhythm (ch.13)

language is inherently musical; at least it can be. Rhythm refers to the patterned, recurring variance of elements of sound or speech. rhythm is an important aspect of human communication. speaking pattern, certain cadence to the speech. While much of this cadence is a result of the nonverbal components of speaking, some of the cadence comes from the language that is chosen as well. Let's examine four types of rhythmic language: parallelism, repetition, alliteration, and assonance.

Written language (Ch.13)

larger vocabulary and is more formal (used for texts) does not function the same way.

2.Appropriate for the Audience ( Ch.13 Using Language)

the language you are choosing is appropriate for your specific audience. audience analysis is a key factor in choosing the language to use in a speech. EX: you're giving a presentation in an engineering class, you can use language that other engineering students will know. On the other hand, if you use that engineering vocabulary in a public speaking class, many audience members will not understand you.

1.Appropriate for the Speaker (Ch.13 Using Language)

the language you plan on using in a speech fits with your own speaking pattern. Not all language choices are appropriate for all speakers. EX: first-year college student, no need to sound like an astrophysicist, giving a speech on new planets. mistakes novice speakers do is use million-dollar words because it makes them sound smarter. it doesn't function well in oral communication might make it uncomfortable as a speaker. It may be difficult for you or the audience to understand the nuances of meaning when you use such words, so using them can increase the risk of denotative or connotative misunderstandings.

Alliteration

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. or reapeating two or more words in a series that begin with the same consonant. In the Harry Potter novel series, the author uses alliteration to name the four wizards who founded Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. There are two basic types of alliteration: immediate juxtaposition and nonimmediate juxtaposition. Immediate juxtaposition occurs when the consonants clearly follow one after the other—as we see in the Harry Potter example. Nonimmediate juxtaposition occurs when the consonants are repeated in nonadjacent words (e.g., "It is the poison that we must purge from our politics, the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late") (Obama, 2008). Sometimes you can actually use examples of both immediate and nonimmediate juxtaposition within a single speech. The following example is from Bill Clinton's acceptance speech at the 1992 Democratic National Convention: "Somewhere at this very moment, a child is being born in America. Let it be our cause to give that child a happy home, a healthy family, and a hopeful future" (Clinton, 2005).

Use Appropriate Language (Ch.13 Using Language)

there are positive and negative ways of using language. first concepts a speaker looking at language use is appropriateness. Appropriate language is suitable or fitting for ourselves, as the speaker; our audience; the speaking context; and the speech itself.

Gender-Typed Jobs

viewed to require distinctly feminine or masculine characteristics The last common area where speakers get into trouble with gender and language has to do with job titles. It is not unusual for people to assume, for example, that doctors are male and nurses are female. As a result, they may say "she is a woman doctor" or "he is a male nurse" when mentioning someone's occupation, perhaps not realizing that the statements "she is a doctor" and "he is a nurse" already inform the listener as to the sex of the person holding that job. Speakers sometimes also use a gender-specific pronoun to refer to an occupation that has both males and females. Table 13.1 "Gender Type Jobs" lists some common gender-specific jobs titles along with more inclusive versions of those job titles. Table 13.1 Gender Type Jobs Exclusive Language/ Inclusive LanguagePoliceman/ Police officerBusinessman/ BusinesspersonFireman/ FirefighterStewardess /Flight attendantWaiters/ Wait staff / serversMailman/Letter carrier / postal workerBarmaid/ Bartender

miscommunications (Ch.13)

when the source of a message intends one denotative or connotative meaning and the receiver of the message applies a different denotative or connotative meaning to the same word or words