Language Communication Skills 1 PDF

Language Communication Skills 1 E.KARIUKI HED1102  Language consists of words or symbols that represent things without being those things. The word automobile is a symbol for a vehicle that runs on gasoline, but the symbol is not the...

Language Communication Skills 1 E.KARIUKI HED1102  Language consists of words or symbols that represent things without being those things. The word automobile is a symbol for a vehicle that runs on gasoline, but the symbol is not the vehicle itself. Symbol and When you listen to others’ verbal communication, you meaning decode, or assign meaning to, their words in order to translate them into thoughts of your own. Because language is an imperfect means of transmission, the thoughts expressed by one person never exactly match what is decoded by another.  Language: A collection of symbols, letters, or words with arbitrary meanings that are governed by rules and used to communicate. Definition Decode: The process of assigning meaning to others’ words in order to translate them into thoughts of your own.  Language is also abstract, is intertwined with culture, and organizes and classifies reality. Language thus develops in response to the Language and needs of the culture or to the perceptions culture of the world. Culture: The socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs, attitudes, and values of a particular period, class, community, or population.  Language has multiple rules Three sets of rules are relevant to our discussion: semantic rules, syntactic rules, and pragmatic rules.  Semantics is the study of the way humans use language to evoke meaning in others. Semantics focuses on individual words and their meaning. Semanticists—people who study semantics—are interested in how Semantics language and its meaning change over time. https://youtu.be/L5XSQzZIQN0 Semantics deals strictly with words and their meanings. Semantics is a subfield of linguistics specializing in the study of meaning. Connected to Denotation and Connotation  Syntax is the way in which words are arranged to form phrases and sentences. For example, in the English language the subject is usually placed before the verb, and the object after the verb. Other languages have different rules of syntax, Syntax including reading from right to left. You encode by translating your thoughts into words. Syntax changes the meaning of the same set of words. For example, the declarative statement “I am going tomorrow” uses syntax to signal that someone is leaving the next day. If you change the word arrangement to “Am I going tomorrow?” the statement becomes a question and acquires a different meaning.  Pragmatics is the study of language as it is used in a social context, including its effect on the communicators. Messages are variable, depending on the situation. Ambiguous messages such as “How are you?” “What’s new?” and “You’re looking good” have Pragmatics different meanings, depending on the context. For example, many people use such phrases as phatic communication—communication that is used to establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or ideas. Indeed, they would be surprised if someone offered a serious or thoughtful answer to such questions or statements. Language Is Arbitrary To understand language, you need to understand how words engender meaning. Words are arbitrary: They have no inherent meanings; they have only the meanings people give them. Language is symbolic The words we choose are arbitrary and are based on an agreed-upon connection between them and the object or idea that we are referencing. Language varies based on a variety of features of the communicators, including their relational history. When two people hold different arbitrary symbols for a concept or object, they share messages but not meanings.  Each person talks, listens, and thinks in a unique language (and sometimes several) that contains slight variations of its agreed-upon meanings and that may change each minute. Your personal language varies slightly from the Language and its agreed-upon meanings. It is shaped by your culture, country, neighborhood, job, personality, meaning are education, family, friends, recreation, gender, experiences, age, and other factors. personal. The uniqueness of each individual’s language provides valuable information as people attempt to achieve common, shared meaning. But because language is so personal, it can also present some difficulties in communication.  Connotative meaning: Denotative meaning: An individualized or The agreed-upon personalized meaning meaning or dictionary of a word, which may meaning of a word. be emotionally laden.  Contexts give meaning to words The meanings of words also vary when someone uses the same words in different contexts and situations. For example, glasses might mean “drinking glasses” if you are in a housewares store but most likely would mean “eyeglasses” if you are at the optometrist’s office. Semanticists say that meaning emerges from context. But in the case of language, context is more than just the situation in which the communication occurred: Context includes the communicators’ histories, relationships, thoughts, and feelings.  Colloquialisms How Can Language Be an Enhancement or an Obstacle to Colloquialisms are words and Communication? phrases used informally. Sometimes colloquial words and phrases are unclear, particularly to someone who is a stranger to your region.  Clichés A cliché is an expression that has lost originality and force through overuse. Common clichés include “No pain, no gain,” “Beauty is only skin deep,” Clichés can be a shorthand way to express a common thought. But clichés may be unclear to individuals who are unfamiliar with the underlying idea, and they are usually ineffective in expressing ideas in fresh ways.  Euphemisms and Doublespeak A euphemism is a more polite, pleasant expression used in place of a socially unacceptable form (DeVito, 1986). Rothwell (1982) observes that euphemisms enter the language to “camouflage the naked truth” (p. 93). euphemism – A more polite, pleasant expression used instead of a socially unacceptable form. Doublespeak - Any language that is purposefully constructed to disguise its actual meaning. Like clichés, euphemisms can confuse people who are unfamiliar with their meaning  Passed away = dead Early retirement = fired/let go Economically disadvantaged = poor Examples of euphemisms Misspoke = lied In the family way = pregnant big-boned = fat  Examples of euphemisms IF YOU ARE OFFERED A CAREER CHANGE OR AN EARLY RETIREMENT OPPORTUNITY, A CAREER OR EMPLOYEE TRANSITION, OR YOU ARE BEING INVOLUNTARILY SEPARATED, OR IF PERSONNEL IS BEING REALIGNED THERE IS A SURPLUS REDUCTION IN PERSONNEL, OR THE STAFF IS BEING RE-ENGINEERED OR RIGHT SIZED, OR IF THERE IS A WORKFORCE IMBALANCE CORRECTION THEN: YOU’RE FIRED! YOU AREN’T POOR, YOU ARE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED. YOU AREN’T BROKE, YOU HAVE TEMPORARY NEGATIVE CASH FLOW. YOU DO NOT LIVE IN A SLUM BUT IN SUBSTANDARD HOUSING, OR IN AN ECONOMICALLY DEPRESSED NEIGHBORHOOD, OR CULTURALLY DEPRIVED ENVIRONMENT.  Slang Slang is a specialized language of a group of people who share a common interest or belong to a similar co-culture. Although many people understand slang, they avoid using it in formal oral and written communication. Slang is temporary in nature. Slang helps a co-culture establish its membership and its boundaries. Recall the first time one of your parents used a slang term that was popular with you and your friends when you were in high school. Most likely you were appalled and perhaps decided that you would never use the term again. By using the slang term, your parent was “invading” your co-culture and attempting to act like a member. The purpose of slang is to keep insiders in and outsiders out.  Profanity The word profane comes Profanity, like slang, may from a Latin word meaning provide a vehicle for “outside the temple.” Thus establishing group norms profanity is language that is or developing relational disrespectful of things closeness in some settings. sacred.  The technical language developed by a professional group. Jargon Make a list of the jargon used in your area of study or in a job you have or had in the past. Ask a friend to do the same. Do you know what the words on your friend’s list mean? Can he or she determine what the words on your list mean? Regionalisms Regionalisms are words and phrases specific to a particular region or part of the country.  Discriminating Language Sexist language - Language that excludes individuals on the basis of gender. Racist language - Language that insults a group because of its skin color or ethnicity. Ageist language - Language that describes and denigrates people on the basis of their age.  Avoiding intentional confusion. You can Being more descriptive. change and improve your Being more concrete. use of Differentiating between observations and language by: inferences. Demonstrating communication competence in your interactions with others.  Both verbal and nonverbal communication are essential for effective interactions with others. How are Verbal How are the two related? and Nonverbal Communication Related? Nonverbal communication works in conjunction with the words that we utter in six ways: to repeat, to emphasize, to complement, to contradict, to substitute, and to regulate.  Repeating occurs when the same message is sent verbally and nonverbally. For example, you frown at the PowerPoint presentation while you ask the speaker what he means. How are Verbal Emphasizing is the use of nonverbal cues to strengthen your and Nonverbal message. Hugging a friend and telling him that you really care about him is a stronger statement than using either words or Communication bodily movement alone. Related? Complementation: Nonverbal and verbal codes add meaning to each other and expand the meaning of either message alone. Your tone of voice, your gestures, and your bodily movement can all indicate your feeling, which goes beyond your verbal message.  How are Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Related? Contradicting occurs when your verbal and nonverbal messages conflict. Often this occurs accidentally. If you have ever been angry at a teacher or parent, you may have stated verbally that you were fine—but your bodily movements, facial expression, and use of space may have “leaked” your actual feelings. Regulating occurs when nonverbal codes are used to monitor and control interactions with others. For example, you look away when someone else is trying to talk and you are not finished with your thought. You walk away from someone who has hurt your feelings or made you angry. You shake your head and encourage another person to continue talking. To substitute for verbal messages (such as nodding instead of saying “yes”)  Codes of communication consisting of symbols that are not words, including nonword vocalizations. Non-verbal codes Bodily movement, facial expression, bodily appearance, the use of space, the use of time, touch, vocal cues, and clothing and other artifacts are all nonverbal codes.  Nonverbal codes consist of nonword symbols such as Bodily movements Clothing and and facial artifacts. expression. Non-verbal Codes Vocal cues. Bodily appearance Touching. Personal space. Time. Basic Units of a Sentence Nouns: Things and Concepts – Mother, Rita, courage, train etc. Verbs: Doing words – to go, to drink, to walk, to believe etc. Adverbs: Qualities i.e., provides more information about the way you did something/ verb – She walks fast, how did you eat all that? Adjectives: Qualify the noun, i.e., provide more information about the noun. You are a big fool. Interjections: Express emotion – Wow! Oops! Ouch! etc. Pronouns : Words which replace/come in the place of nouns – I, you, this, me, whom, yourself, anybody etc. Prepositions: Words that are pre positioned with respect to the noun. Introducing words – on, at, under, from, about etc. Conjunctions: Joining words – and, but, either etc. Punctuation Full stop (.) It is also called a ‘period’. Question mark (?) The question mark is used to mark the end of a question sentence. Exclamation mark (!) The exclamation mark is used to mark the end of an exclamation, interjection or a sharp command. Comma (,)Commas are used to break up the elements of a sentence to make it easier to read Semicolon (;) The semicolon is used in two ways: To separate items in a list when the list themselves contain commas. They are also used to separate clauses, the sense of which would be weakened if they were split off into separate sentences. Punctuation Colon (:) The colon is used to introduce an explanatory material. Expressions commonly used to introduce explanatory material are the following, as follows, this and these. Make sure the clause preceding the explanatory material can stand alone as a complete sentence. Do not place a colon after a verb or a preposition that introduces a listing. Apostrophe (’) An apostrophe is used to show possession or that letters have been omitted.  Inverted commas (“ ”) or (‘ ’) Inverted marks are also called speech marks or quotation marks Hyphen ( - ) The presence or absence of a hyphen can change the meaning of a word. A hyphen is used in the following cases: To join up individual words in a compound word. They may also be used to indicate that an unfinished word at the end of a line is being completed at the beginning of the next line.