e x a m on communication class
Interpersonal Communication for Contemporary Living
José I. Rodríguez
Communicating Verbally
Words in Context
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Learning Objectives
Understand the arbitrary nature of words.
Explain the power of words.
Describe why words are inherently unclear and why shared meaning is so difficult to achieve through verbal communication.
Demonstrate how we use words to communicate identity.
Discuss how context affects the meanings of words, including time, culture, and gender.
Components of the Triangle of Meaning
- Symbol - a word, or visual device that represents a thing, idea or experience.
- Referent - the thing that a symbol represents.
- Thought - the mental process of imagining the thing, idea or experience triggered by the symbol
The mental image of the rabbit that comes to mind when you hear her name (“Nibbles”) is the thought.
“Nibbles”
(Symbol)
Referent
Thought
The Power of Words
- Sapir Whorf hypothesis – states that words have the power to actually create our reality by serving as the tools we use to name and label what we experience.
- Linguistic relativity - emphasizes that because our language inevitably determines our thoughts and perceptions, with each different language comes different experience.
- enough: mitu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILy1ZUUy9iQ
Words and Their Meaning
Denotative meaning- a level of meaning; the content is the word’s literal meaning that would be found if you looked it up in the dictionary.
Connotative meaning – a level of meaning; the relationship dimension conveys feelings and includes the personal or subjective meaning of the verbal and nonverbal message.
The Meaning of MiTu
Urban Dictionary: A Definition
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mitu
Definition: Theater Mitu
http://www.theatermitu.org/info/definition-of-mitu/
Digital Media: We are mitu
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaemYNcQbzuQKJu6BnxgmxA
Verbal Communication Rules
- Conversational management - the process of initiating, maintaining, and closing a conversation with another person.
- Stage-hogging – not adopting the listening role in a conversation and instead insisting on playing the speaker throughout the conversation.
Verbal Communication Rules
Principle of Cooperation - suggests that each person in a conversation is striving toward understanding and will cooperate with the other to achieve shared meaning.
Quantity (Information Load) – enough, but not too much data
Quality – honesty or truthfulness
Relevance – on topic or on point
Clarity – use familiar terms
Finland Fighting Fake News (Full Frontal)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwAzU5ji-CM
Verbal Communication Rules
Principle of Dialogue - States that in an effective, satisfying conversation both people actively participate even if that just means paying attention and caring about what the other is saying. Emphasizes the presence of each participant.
Principle of Turn Taking - explains that in a proper conversation each person should play both the listener and speaker roles, and spend about an equal amount of time doing each.
mitu: CholasTalk Relationships
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVCV7xoDYus
Clear vs. Unclear Language
- Abstract words– words we cannot experience with our senses, or words that lack descriptive detail, such as phantom or heaven.
- Concrete words – words that we can experience with one of our senses, such as cold, or blue.
Language Mistakes
Malapropism - the confusion of one word for another word that has a different meaning but sounds similar.
Bypassing - when the same word means something different to each person in the conversation.
Using Language Cautiously
- Euphemism - a term that acts as a substitute for a word that may not be socially acceptable in a given context. For example, using “kicking the bucket” to refer to “death.”
Communicating Identity Through Words
- Jargon - sometimes referred to as a “restricted code” is vocabulary that is shared by members of a particular group, but that others outside that group may not understand, usually professional.
- Slang - another type of unique vocabulary used by people who share some kind of group membership, typically generational.
Fuck Boy The wave, Thicc
Dead Ass Lit, Tight, Dope
Gendered Speech
- Masculine speech - focuses on achievement and assertiveness, and often competition in conversation. Uses communication as information exchange. Report talk.
- Feminine speech –focused on relationships, caring for others, and overall quality of life; usually supportive rather than competitive conversation. It usually has the purpose of relating to others.
Culture and Language
Low-context cultures - derive most information from the explicitly stated and literal meaning of language, and they tend to pay less attention to subtle information from nonverbal and environmental cues.
High-context cultures - derive most communicative information from nonverbal cues, such as space, eye contact, and body movement.
Learning Objectives
Understand the arbitrary nature of words.
Explain the power of words.
Describe why words are inherently unclear and why shared meaning is so difficult to achieve through verbal communication.
Demonstrate how we use words to communicate identity.
Discuss how context affects the meanings of words, including time, culture, and gender.