Verbal Communication

SESSION 2

PREPARED BY
DR. YOVI BATHESTA
The Structure of Language

 Humans are the only species on earth that uses language.

 As philosopher Susanne Langer explains, “Animal ‘speech’ never has structure. It is merely an emotional
response.

 In other words, apes, like many animals, can signal physical needs and states (dogs wag their tails
and bark when excited; some bees emit odors to regulate the population in their hives, and some
fly in specific patterns to indicate direction; dolphins whistle and squeak to identify themselves to
other dolphins), but only humans have language.

 Language is a communication system made up of formal units

combined in systematic ways to cooperatively make meaning.
Those formal units are words and sounds, that is, symbols we use to
represent objects, ideas, and emotions.
 Your puppy’s tail may signal that she’s happy you’re home, but
only humans can say they’re happy, overjoyed, delighted, ecstatic,
elated, and jubilant that the plans and preparations for next week’s
surprise graduation party, extravaganza, and soirée appear to be
progressing smoothly, without a hitch, and quite seamlessly, thank you
very much!

That systematic combining is syntax, the occurrence and ordering of

words and sounds to convey an intended meaning.
Grammar Rules describing the proper construction of phrases and
sentences.

Speech community is people who speak the same language and agree
on the proper and improper use of language.

People also belong to speech networks.

Speech networks. People who regularly interact and
speak with one another.
Like members of a speech community, they know the language, the
rules for its use, and how to interpret what they hear. But because
members of a speech network communicate frequently (cooperatively
make meaning), they build and share a specific common language, and
because of that, they build and share a greater understanding of one
another.

How does the language we hear come to represent objects, ideas, and
emotions? That is, how are language and thought related? How do
words and sounds become “pictures in our heads”?
Language and Thought

How does the language we hear come to represent objects, ideas, and
emotions? That is, how are language and thought related? How do
words and sounds become “pictures in our heads”?

 Denotative meaning is a word’s explicit meaning, the one that

directly comes to mind when used by a specific speech community.
For example, the denotative meaning of these three words is the same:
• domicile
• house
• home.
 Connotative meaning is a word’s more implicit, usually emotionally
or culturally enriched meaning.
Their connotative meaning, however, could not be clearer—You don’t
go to your domicile for the holidays; you don’t even go to your house; you
go home! Each of these words—domicile, house, home—produces not only
a different thought, but also different types of thought.
The Functions of Language
 Language is an essential part of being human; it is integral to how we
behave. It is our primary means of interaction with one another. Like all
communication, language is dynamic and transactional. Through talking
with others we learn who they are; from how they respond to us we
learn about ourselves; and from how we talk and react to one another
we create, re-create, and define our relationships with them.

The functions of language:

 The functions of language:
 instrumental function
 regulatory function
 Informative function
 persuasive function
 lying
 ritualistic function
 imaginative function
 expressive function
 instrumental function
Using language to get what is wanted or needed.
For example, when you want a slice of pepperoni pizza and a root beer
for lunch, you tell the server that’s what you want.

 regulatory function
Using language to control the behavior of others.
For example, when you want your roommates to turn off the television
so you can study, you ask them to do so.
 informative function
Using language to provide and get information.
For example, “On my summer vacation I worked at the beach and. . . .”
And we ask questions, for example, “What did you do on your summer
vacation?” The detail and richness of our stories—their
informativeness—come in the form of language. So do the answers to
our questions.
 persuasive function
Using language to change the attitudes or thinking of those around us.
Fro example, we debate, we challenge, we cajole—and we lie.

 Lying
Delivering information believed to be untrue with the intention to
deceive.

It has three components:

(1) the speaker offers information;
(2) the speaker believes the information is not true;
(3) the speaker intends to deceive or mislead. Imagine that your friends
want to go to the movies but you want to go bowling.
 relational function
Using language to establish, define, and maintain relationships.
We use small talk, scripted and superficial conversations based on
social convention, when first establishing relationships. Of course, small
talk is really big talk, because it tells both you and your listener if you
want to keep the relationship going after that early encounter.

 ritualistic function
Using language to meet an important social convention or expectation.
For example, we pray or chant aloud in church, mosque, or synagogue.
 imaginative function
Using language to bring pleasure.
For example, we sing songs to ourselves and for our
loved ones. We whisper sweet verse to our sweethearts.

 expressive function
Using language to state personal feelings, thoughts, and attitudes.
For example, when your roommates refuse to turn off the television, you tell
them how selfish you think they are.
When your friends accept your plea to go bowling rather than to the
movies, you serenade them with a few lines from the song “You Make
Me So Very Happy.”
Language and Meaning Making

 Ultimately, the function of language is to make meaning. In this section we will detail how
meaning making is influenced by situational, social, and cultural factors; syntactic ambiguity; and
euphemistic language.
 situational meaning
Meaning made through specific forms of language that occur or are
excluded in various contexts.
A joke in the classroom means something different than the same joke
told at a funeral.
The more formal the situation, the more clearly we pronounce our words, the more likely we are to
avoid slang, and the more likely we are to construct more elaborate sentences and phrases.
 social meaning
Meaning made by our choice of word and sound alternatives when
speaking with a specific group of people.
For example, listeners will react quite differently to a high-level bank
executive’s use of sloppy grammar than they will to the same
Grammatical deficiency in the clerk at the dry cleaners.
 cultural meaning
Meaning based in shared experience.
For example, what would listeners’ likely reaction be to a man who referred
to his spouse as the wife (“I left the wife at home”) or the little lady (“I’d like
to introduce you to the little lady”)? Although the, wife, little, and lady are
common and seemingly innocuous words, most listeners would reject these
word choices and combinations as culturally antiquated and insulting. Over
the last few decades, the culture has transformed the meaning of the words this man has chosen to
refer to his spouse.
 cultural presupposition
The assumption that those who share a culture share knowledge of a
word’s meaning (they presuppose familiarity), and as a result make judgments of those others based
on their appropriate and
inappropriate use of those words.
Language and Protecting Self-Identity: Politeness
Theory

But why do we use euphemisms? Why don’t we just speak directly, in a matter of
fact way? Because we want to appear competent; we want to be liked.
According to linguist Robin Lakoff, there are two language rules of pragmatic
competence: first, be clear; and second, be polite. Ideally we try to meet
both rules, but when they are in conflict, politeness prevails because it is
“more important in a conversation to avoid offense than to achieve clarity . . . since in
most informal conversations, actual communication of important
ideas is secondary to reaffirming and strengthening relationships” (1973, pp.
297–298).
 Politeness Theory
People use polite language to protect face, the public image they try to
claim.
Everyone has face wants. People may respond to face-threatening acts
either directly (with little concern for listeners’ face) or indirectly (off-
record). We protect ourselves and others from loss of face through
communication strategies called facework.

face
The public image people try to claim.
face-wants
The need to feel appreciated and be protected.
face-threatening acts
Interactions or requests that might threaten listeners’ face-wants.

facework Communication
Strategies designed to protect our and others’ face.
Review of Learning Objectives
3.1 Explain the structure of language and the
functions of its different components.

Language is composed of the systematic combin-

ing of words and sounds (syntax). The rules that

describe the proper construction of phrases and

sentences are grammar.
3.2 Describe the role of speech communities and speech networks in
creating meaning.

Speech communities interact by means of speech and agree on the

proper and improper use of language. Speech networks are composed
of people who regularly interact and speak with one another,
and as such share a specific common language.
3.3 Identify the relationship between language and thought.

Language’s connotative meanings lead to different thoughts than do its

denotative meanings. The Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis explains that
people who speak different languages think about the world in different
ways. Metaphor shapes thinking by highlighting unstated comparison
between objects and concepts while masking differences. The
ladder of abstraction graphically demonstrates how language can move
from concrete to abstract depending on the speaker’s intention.
3.4 Identify the functions of language.

Among language’s several uses are its instrumental function (it helps us get what or what
we need need); its regulatory function (using language to control the behavior of others);
its informative function (we use talk to provide information for ourselves and others); its
persuasive function (we use it to change the attitudes of those around us); its relational
function (language connects us to others); its ritualistic function (we use it to meet
important social convention or expectations); its imaginative function (language brings
Pleasure and delight); and its expressive function (we use it to state personal feelings,
thoughts, and attitudes).
3.5 Explain how we use language to make meaning.

Language has situational, social, and cultural meaning. Meaning

making, however, can be hindered or advanced by syntactic ambiguity and euphemisms.
3.6 Effectively use language to protect self-identity.

Speakers want to appear competent and likable, so they use language to protect face, theirs and
listeners’. Positive face-wants are reflected in
the desire to be approved of and appreciated. Negative face-wants are
reflected in the desire to be free from intrusion. When identity is
potentially challenged by face-threatening acts, speakers employ
various forms of facework for protection.
THANK YOU