SPCH 2: Chapter 3

Jargon

specialized words used by a certain group or profession

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

Social swearing

swearing used conversationally to create social bonds for impression management (to seem cool or attractive)

Sarcasm

passive-aggressive behavior through which a person indirectly communicates negative feelings

Judgmental "you" messages

accusatory messages that are usually generalized overstatements about another person that go beyond labeling but still do not describe specific behavior in a productive way

Metaphor

an implicit comparison or two things that are not alike and/or are not typically associated

Threats

threatening someone with violence or some other negative consequence; usually signals the end of productive communication

Simile

a direct comparison of two things using the words like or as

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

Symbol

something, like a word or gesture, that stands in for or represents something else

Cultural bias

a skewed way of viewing or talking about a group that is typically negative

Dragging up the past

bringing up negative past experiences as a tactic used by people who don't want to discuss a current situation

Judgments

expressions of approval or disapproval that are subjective and not verifiable

Negative comparisons

holding a person up to the supposed standards or characteristics or another person

Commissives

language that commits the speaker to a certain course of action

Figure of speech

referring to a word or phrase that deviates from expectations in some way in meaning or usage

Polarizing language

refers to language that presents people, ideas, or situations as polar opposites; exaggerates differences and overgeneralizes; black or white, right or wrong, good or bad

Grammar

the rules that govern how words are used to make phrases or sentences

Convergence

using communication similar to that of your communication partner

Divergence

using communication to emphasize the differences between you and your conversational partner

Directives

utterances that try to get another person to do something

Inference-observation confusion

a frequent source of miscommunication that involves the imperception of an inference (conclusion based on limited information) as an observation (an observed or agreed-on fact)

6 months

babies can associate some words, like bye-bye, with 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 a question-pause-answer and various greetings. Shortly after this time, babies begin to use "melodic utterances" echoing the variety in pitch and tone in various verbal interactions such as questioning, greeting, or wanting

Code-switching

changing accents, dialects, or languages

Expressing feelings

communicating emotions

Expressing needs

communicating in an instrumental way to help us get things done; stating wants or requesting help or support

Facts

conclusions based on direct observation or direct consensus

Inferences

conclusions based on thoughts and speculation, but not direct observation

Codes

culturally agreed on and ever-changing systems of symbols that help us organize, understand, and generate meaning

Denotation

definition that is accepted by the language group as a whole, or the dictionary definition of a word

Connotation

definition that is based on emotion- or experience-based associations people have with a word

Accents

distinct styles of pronunciation

Expressing thoughts

drawing conclusions or judgements based on what we have experienced and observed

Verbal expressions

language that helps us communication our observations, thoughts, feelings, and needs

Affective language

language used to express a person's feelings and create similar feelings in another person

Expressing observations

reporting on the sensory information we are taking or have taken in or memories; facts

Supportive messages

messages communicated in an open, honest, and nonconfrontational way

Partial messages

messages that are missing a relevant type of expression and can lead to misunderstanding and conflict

Unsupportive messages

messages that can make others respond defensively, which can lead to feelings of separation and actual separation or dissolution of a relationship

Whole messages

messages that 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

Contaminated messages

messages that include mixed or misleading expressions

Slang

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

Neologisms

newly coined or used words

Adjacency pairs

related communication structures that come one after the other (adjacent to each other) in an interaction; questions are followed by answers, greetings are followed by responses, compliments are followed by a thank you, informative comments are followed by an acknowledgment, etc.

Global labels

sweeping judgements and generalizations that call a person's whole identity as a person into question, "you're a liar"

Personification

the attribution of human qualities or characteristics of other living things to nonhuman objects or abstract concepts

Esperanto

the most well-known and widely used auxiliary language that was intended to serve as a common international language

Language acquisition

the process by which we learn to understand, produce, and use words to communicate within a given language group

Displacement

the unique human ability to talk about events that are removed in space or time from a speaker and situation

Communication accommodation theory

theory that explores why and how people modify their communication to fit situational, social, cultural, and relational contexts

Dialects

versions of languages that have distinct words, grammar, and pronunciation

Evocative language

vivid language that captures people's attention and their imagination by conveying emotions and action