Chapter 4 Language “We should have a great fewer disputes ae aire eae el tae (oe Da Tm Lae OM tO Meco only, and not for things themselves.” Ar the end of this chapter, you should be able to meet the following objectives: Ts 2. 3. Define language in your own words and describe four key components of language Discuss five kev principles related to verbal ‘communication and share the implications of these principles, “ist and explain the five keey principles elated t0 nonverbal communication. ‘dentify and provide an ‘example of each ofthe seven types of nonvechal chronemics, proxemics, ccalesics,kinescs, haptics, ‘Yoraies, and personal style. Employ key guidelines related to effective verbal and nonverbal ‘communication. lusteate the impact of gender and culture on your Verbal and nonverbal ‘communication.Language Is Important ‘Hector Verdugo was a man oa the verge of life in prison. Born to parents who ‘were both drug addicts, he too became involved in drug dealing at an early age. By the age of eighteen, he was arrested and sent to prison for two years. ‘Yowing to change his life, he accepted low-skilled jobs but also enrolled in a local community college in his East Los Angeles neighborhood. ‘Freddy Jacinto was just ten years old and living with his single mothes, ‘who did her best to steer him toward healthy decisions. However, Freddy ended up getting into “ragging”—a form of graffi using spray paint—and became involved in gang life. In the gang, Freddy found the “family” that he felt was missing in his life. After Freddy was arrested for tagging one night, the police warned his mom that her son was headed for a life in erime. ‘As reported by Los Angeles Times correspondent Erika Hayasaki (2007), both Hector and Freddy met novelist Leslie Schwartz, As part of Homeboy Industries, an antigang program, Schwartz sought to help those in the pto- ‘gram to understand the power of words to hurt and to heal. Schwartz sated, “There are people all over the world in prison because of the things they've said and the things they've written. Poetry has put people in prison. Why is that? Because words are way more powerful than a gun or a bomb or a knife ‘will ever be (p. 1). Indeed, American poet Ezra Pound was imprisoned for antiwar poetry during World War II. Death threats to writer Salman [Rushdie and the murder of songwsiter Victor Jara in Chile are two more ex- amples that demonstrate the power of words. ‘Both Hectorand Freddy entered the antigang peogram with skepticism. Lit- tle by litle, both began to open up. They used language to share their experi- ences, emotions, and perceptions with Schwartz. Seeing Schwartz's passion for language, Hector came to see the power in words and that he had a story to share. He is currently fiction editor for Homeboy Press. While Freddy contin- ued to struggle in and our of school, he did eventually leave his gang members ‘bchind, To Schwactz’s dismay he also disappeared from the antigang program. ‘Language is powerful indeed. Imprisonment, threats of death, and the ac- ‘ual murder of poets, writers, and songwriters resulted from individuals’ use ‘of language. In contrast, language can also change a person's life from one of desperation to one of hope, as was true for Hctar Verdugo. With these ex- amples asa backdrop, you might begin thinking about the importance of lan- guage in your own life. ‘What would your life be like without language or nonverbal actions to communicate? As you can imagine, it would be most difficult to get any- thing accomplished. You would not be able to communicate thoughts, ideas, hopes, feelings, and reactions. It would be difficult to attain the shared understanding that was described as the goal of communication in Chapter 1 Fortunately, an inability to communicate is a challenge that only a few people experience. However, many individuals face limitations that make commonication difficulr. Consider those with hearing, speaking, o¢ sight80 chapers Lamae Language Has Bon Used to Help Gang Members slsabilitiessa child with autism or a senior citizen with Alzheimer's. Although the inability to communicate veebally or nonverbally isa serious problem, a ‘more common concern rests with how much of the language you use lacks clarity and purposefulness. History provides two significant examples. With respect co clarity, ex: amine how the multiple meanings of words can lead to misunderstanding, and, in this example, the loss of chousands of lives. Close to the end of World ‘War, allied forces sent a message to the Japanese: Surrender or be crushed. For their part, the Japanese issued a response with the word “mokusatsu,” which means both “ignore” and “withhold comment.” According co the Japanese, they were seeking more time to consider the ultimatum and, there- fore, were seeking to “withhold comment” for right now. The Allied forces, however, interpreted the response as “ignore.” As you probably know, several days later, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and ‘Nagasaki resulting in the loss of thousands of lives. With respect to purposefulness, people often act in ways that demon strate carelessness in theie language choice; a person can use different words 1 describe che same event but with different effects. During World War Il, an ‘order from the president, Executive Order 9066, led to the forced relocation ‘of 120,000 people of Japanese American ancestry. Some called the locations whore these American citizens of Japanese heritage were sent “country clubs.” To others, they were popularly known as “internment camps.” To many of the Japanese who resided there under harsh concltions, these “camps” could have heen better described as “prisons.” In reality, these words were used to describe the same place but were used for much different reasons. The words minimized the event in the “county club” case and highlighted the traumaticexperience in the “prison” case. Being purposeful in your language choice requires you to think deeply about the kind of impact you want to make with your language—and then to be purposeful in its use. ‘With respect to nonverbal communication, you also need to be clear and purposeful in your use of gestures, posture, vocal inflections, and eye contact. Regarding clarity, some gestures, for example, have different meanings especially as you move across cul> ‘ural lines. The “A-OK” gesture—thumb and index: finger form a circle while che other fingers are held straight—is not “A-OK” in many Latin American counties. With respect to purposefulness, even mi- nor variations in your vocal inflection can actually change the meaning of your message. Note how ‘meaning changes based! on word emphasis in the following statements: “Of course, J want you to do this jok “Of course, Lwant you to do this jk “Of course, Hasan you to do this job." “Of course, I want you to do this job.” “Of course, I want you to do this job.” “Of course, want you to do this job.” As one final example of the importance of language, let's examine the political discussion around “official” languages. Some would like to make English the offical language of the United States, For others, doing so wold violate the human and democratic rights of U.S. society. Realize that lan- {guage is connected to culture and a person's very identity. Knowing this might hlp you to understand why this topic isso emotionally charged. Whatever side you are on in this political debate, you have probably seen how heated the discussion can quickly become. In summary, language is important, Cental to its importance is a strong need to assure that your language and nonverbal communication are both clear and purposeful ‘The focus of this chapter will examine the principles of language and auidelines for effective verbal communication. The chapter will then tuen attention to nonverbal communication. It will include principles of nonver- bal communication, types of nonverbal communication, and guidelines for effective nonverbal communication. You will note that there will be many cross-cultural examples to extend what you have leamed from reading Chapter 3. As well as being interesting, these cross-cultural examples will provide a more vivid demonstration of the importance of language and nonverbal communication. Adolescent Youth Are Pictured at Heart “Mountain Internment Camp, Wyoming, Where ‘More Than 10,000 Japanese Americans Lived from August 12, 1942, to November 10, 1943fone — Th sonds orange Language Defined Si —The garmatca sucureat Releng.e0e You, might be thinking: What is language? One starcs—Tho moans cre definition of language is thats “the use of vo- Pagnics—Traxpropinarmactyerkrgace calzd sounds, oc writen symbols tepreseating fare pucesndpiepewstunomyouhiess these sounds oc ideas, in patterns organized by FQURE 41 = Components of Language ‘grammatical rules in order to express thoughts and feelings” (Rogers & Steinfatt, 1999, p. 126). “More specifically, it is helpful to understand some of the various compo- nents of language: phonemes, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics (Figure 4.1). Phonemes represent the sound system of 2 language and often che smallest level at which language is understood. Linguists have identified 200 vowel sounds and 600 consonant sounds used around the world. However, most languages make use of between only fifteen and eighty-five different sounds, In English, for example, people use about forty-five sounds, depending upon the dialect. Note that most languages of the world are “tonal,” which means that changes in pitch change the meaning of a word. Although English is not a tonal language, you can get some sense of this concept by considering the ‘change in meaning via pronunciation for these two words: How does he do that? ‘Those does (several female deer) near the building sure are Iriendly, She tied the documents together in a bow. ‘The Japanese often bow as their form of greeting. Inaddition, foreach language, certain letters or sounds ar just not used to- gether For example, in English, you would not know how to pronounce a word thar starts with “ag” or “ts." However, chose same letters can be used together if they appear at the end of a Word such asin “moving” or “cats.” In Spanish, words do nor begin with “sp,” but words often begin with “es.” Consequently, ‘you will often hear a Spanish-speaker pronounce “speech” as “espeech.” ‘A.second component of language is syntax. Syntax focuses on the pattern fr structure of a language and the rules for that structure. The definition of language you read earlier emphasizes syntax. Speakers of English usually put the subject first, the verb second, and the object third. "Marcela hic the ball” isan example ofthis structure. Flowever, the most common pattern for an auages across the world is subject-object-verb: "Marcela the ball hit.” As one other example, the rules of syntax in English dictate that you place descrip tive words close to the words that chey modify. Not doing so results in “dan sling modifiers,” and, in some eases, embarrassment, Here are two examples: For those of you who have childien and don't know ity there's a nussery ‘downstairs. (Implies you don't know that you have children.) New choir robes are needed due to the addition of new members to the ‘choir and the deterioration of the old ones. (plies that some members ‘of the choir, not theie cabes, have deteriorated.)A third element of language is semanties. Semantics focuses on the mean ing of words. The meanings of words are shaped by what the words stand fog, your experiences, and your purpose for communication. Essentially, four classes of meaning have been identified: ® Denotative, People might focus on the object(e) to which the word refers. ‘The word chair tefers to the wood, plastic, or metal structure you sit on but also to a leadership role a person plays within a business or school such asa chair of a committee or department. Keep in mind that the most common 500 words have 10,000 different definitions, an average of 20 meanings each for the $00 most common words, = Connotative, Sometimes people focus on the emotional meanings of words. ‘Being bom, shinny, or thin may be used to describe the same person's body shape but will garner different emotional responses—especially from the person being described = Contextual Meaning. Word meanings are shaped by the places where they are spoken and by the people speaking chem. You can imagine thac the ‘meaning ofthe statement, “Please take aff your clothes” changes ifspoken in a doctor's office versus in a hotel zoom. Do the words change when spo- ken by a doctor versus by your spouse? You should assume that they do. '© Figurative Language. The beauty ofthe spoken word lies inthe use of fg urative language. You might give he shite off your back to a person you care about, fall head over heels in love, and then feel like you're walking on cloud nine, Sometimes, however, itcould be raining eats and dogs, and you're tired of your boss pulling your leg when it comes to a favored ‘work assignment, so you just want to leave work like « bat out of bell, Imagine how those who speak English asa foreign language and interpret these phrases literally might misunderstand what you mean, ‘The last component of language is pragmatics. Pragmatics focuses on identify ing the appeopeiate use of langitage for the setting and the eelationship herween chapters Lmsoe “Chais* Can Have Different Meanings 8the wo speakers. Shisley Brice Heath (1983) argued chat knowing how and when Cena Sve conmrtee stteeIN6 GRovP to use language a important as know- fone Factrtaton or eniviry & ing the language isl. Pragmatics often Conaury of uanconee USAEE Ne tides what can be talked abou, when it USER/ PROVIDER COMMUNICATION INTERFACE. ‘can be discussed, and by whom it can be Plain English” Group, Sonne wwen.CaroonSiock, ‘communicated. Assome examples, consider that inthe United States, people often think it inappropriate to ask about a person's age, lncome level, or sexual ovientation unless the relationship isa close one. As another example, people inthe United States have an unspoken rule about taking turns when itcomes to talking. That is, most communi-