LANGUAGE USE

The Language Problem

At the evening service tonight, the
sermon topic will be What is Hell?
Come early and listen to our choir
practice.
Thursday at 5pm there will be a meeting
of the Little Mothers Club. All wishing to
become little mothers please see the
minister in his study.

The Language Problem cont

These examples on the previous slide demonstrate why we need to
understand how to properly use language.
Unfortunately, understanding language is not always cut and dry. It is
messy and complicated in three different ways:
Lexical same word but they have a different definition
Address vs address
Contextual same word but used in different situations
Cool to the touch or being cool
Neurological same word but interpreted by different brains
Love does not mean the same thing to every single person

The Language Problem cont

For a speaker, language is complicated even more because
he/she has to attend to concomitant signals.
Concomitant signals are nonverbal messages that accompany
and operate at the same time as the words.
For example: your voice.
Other concomitant signals are related to the appearance of the
speaker: dress, movements, facial expressions, and gestures, any
other signals that affect how language is decoded.
When words and signals work together to emphasize or
strengthen meaning they are working congruently.
When words and signals conflict with each other and cause the
meaning to be misinterpreted, they are incongruent. We tend to
notice words that are incongruent more than congruent.
We want to aim for congruency in our presentations.

Language and Culture

Where

you live also impacts your

language use and understanding.
Phrases

are culturally specific

Phrases

can even be language specific

Slang,

jargon, idioms, euphemisms, and clichs all have

different meanings and different interpretations
depending on culture.

Be

careful using culture specific language unless you

know everyone in your audience will understand it.

Characteristics of Language
The most confusing part of language is the connection with the word and the thing for which
it stands.
The thing itself is called the referent
The further we are from this thing the referent the more confusion of the exact
meaning
Clear communication calls for a referent, a reference, and a symbol.
Referent = chair (item/thing)
Reference = what we see when we think of chair
Symbol = Chair (spelled out word)

Characteristics of Language

Arbitrary:
symbols stand in for things that are concrete AND abstract no direct connection
between a word and what it represents (Eskimos have anywhere from 17 to 100 words
for snow)
Ambiguous:
denotative meaning: dictionary meaning. Concrete.
connotative: social or common meaning. Infused with emotional element
Abstract:
we can hear, feel, see, or touch the meanings of the words only if what they represent
is concrete
Language is also abstract because it is based on our interpretation of the referent and
how we reference that thing. We know interpretation is highly subjective and unique to
each individual.
Due to the way individuals interpret meaning and the limitations of language systems
all language contains abstraction. In our presentations, we need to seek the least amount
of abstract language possible.
Active:
words are added to describe new things happening in the world around us

Language and Gender

Tag

questions are often attributed to a female way of

speaking. These are looking for affirmation. Theyre
questions tagged on to the end of sentences, such as
right? or you know what I mean?

Hedges

are pauses or qualifiers that make a sentence less

firm or direct, such as maybe, I think, typically, etc.

Sexist

language is language that is derogatory or

prejudice against either gender.

Written vs. Spoken Word

Static

Dynamic

Distant

Immediate

Formal

Less

Revisable
Image

formal
Irreversible
Rhythm

Visual Nature of Language

Language can create pictures in our minds through many different

rhetorical strategies:

Simile & Analogies

a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing
of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or

action to which it is not literally applicable.

as brave as a lion; crazy like a fox

I had fallen through a trapdoor of depression, said Mark, who was fond of
theatrical metaphors"

Parallelism

Parallelism is the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the

same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter.

Like father, like son. Whether in class, at work, or at home, Hellen was always
busy.

Visual Nature of Language cont

Repetition

the action of repeating something that has already been said for
greater impact

Alliteration

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent

or closely connected words.

MLKs I Have a Dream speech used this

His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the
universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the
living and the dead.

Antithesis

a figure of speech in which an opposition or contrast of ideas is

expressed by parallelism of words that are the opposites of, or strongly
contrasted with each other

hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins

How to Use Language

Use language correctly

Use language clearly
Use language vividly
Use language inclusively
Use a good vocal delivery style