IPC Chapter 4

Principle of Verbal Communication: Language and culture reflect each other

- Communication reflects cultural history, values, and perspectives - Distinct values are expressed in adages from other cultures - Communication changes culture (new meanings of words) - Language is a primary tool that social movements use to change cultural life and meaning

Principle of Verbal Communication: Language Use is Rule-Guided

- Communication rules: shared understandings of what communication means and what kinds of communication re appropriate in particular situations - Two kinds of rules govern communication *Regulative rules: specify when and where and with whom to talk about certain things *Constitutive rules: specify how to interpret and perform different kinds of communication (hugs/kisses/eye contact)

Speech Communities

- Exists when people share norms about how to use talk and what purposes it serves - Arise out of social locations-- that is people who share a social location tend to develop shared understandings of communication

Four Principles of Verbal Communication

- Language and culture reflect each other - The meanings of language are subjective - Language use is rule-guided - Punctuation shapes meaning

Symbolic Abilities: Language Defines Phenomena

- Linguistic Determination (Whorf and Sapir): states that language determines what we can perceive and think - According to this theory, we cannot perceive or think about things for which we don't have times - Language shapes perceptions: When we label someone, we focus attention on particular aspects of that person and her or his activities, and we neglect or overlook other aspects of the person - Language can totalize: occurs when we respond to a person as if one label totally represents who he or she is Example: looking at someone only as black not as also a premed student (totalizing is not the same as stereotyping) - Language shapes and reflects relationships: Symbols we use to define experiences in our relationships affect how we think and feel about those relationships

Symbols are Abstract

- Meaning that they are not concrete or tangible (range of meaning)

Symbols are Arbitrary

- Meaning that words are not intrinsically connected to what they represent -Example: the word 'book' has no natural or necessary connection to what you are reading now

Principle of Verbal Communication: The meanings of language are subjective

- Never self-evident or absolute - We construct meanings in the process of interacting with others and through dialogues we carry on in our own heads

Symbolic Abilities

- Our ability to use symbols allows us to live in a world of ideas and meanings - There are 5 ways that symbolic abilities affect our lives 1.) Language defines phenomena 2.) Language evaluates 3.) Language organizes perceptions 4.) Language allows hypothetical thought 5.) Language allows self-reflection

Symbolic Abilities: Language evaluates

- Particular words that we use shape our perceptions and those of others - Language reflects and shapes perception: use language to describe in a good or bad way. How you want people to see something - Language can be loaded: refers to words that strongly slant perceptions and thus meanings (older person: reflects more respectful attitudes) - Language can degrade others: one form of degrading language is hate speech: language that radically dehumanizes members of particular groups

Principle of Verbal Communication: Punctuation Shapes Meaning

- Punctuation: defines beginnings and endings of interaction episodes - the cycle is: I pursue because you withdraw--I withdraw because you pursue me--I pursue harder because you withdraw further--I am withdrawing more because you are pursuing harder

Symbolic Abilities: Language allows hypothetical thought

- Thinking about experiences and ideas that are not part of your concrete, present situation - We can think beyond immediate, concrete situations: hypothetical thought is possible because we use symbols - We live in 3 dimensions of time: hypothetical thought allows us to live in more than just the present moment - We can foster personal growth: thinking hypothetically helps us grow personally

Symbolic Abilities: Language organizes perceptions

- Use symbols to organize our perceptions - Language allows abstract thought: organizational quality of language allows us to think about abstract concepts such as justice, integrity, and healthy family life - Language can stereotype: thinking is broad generalizations about a whole class of people or experiences

Symbolic Abilities: Language allows self-reflection

- We use language to reflect on ourselves - 2 aspects of self 1.) 'I': spontaneous, creative self 2.) 'Me': monitors and moderates the I's impulses - We can monitor our communications: self-reflection empowers us to monitor ourselves - We can manage our image: we want to present a particular face in our interpersonal encounters

Symbols are Ambiguous

- What they mean isn't clear-cut (vague) - Example: 'affordable clothes' means different things to someone who makes minimum wage and someone who makes well over minimum wage - Can lead to confusion

The Symbolic Nature of Language

- Words are symbols: what are arbitrary, ambiguous, abstract representation of other phenomena