Chapter 3

LANGUAGE AND MEANING

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I

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this topic, you will be able to:

i. Define language and understand how it
works
ii. Understand the characteristics of language
iii. Use language effectively
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What is LANGUAGE?
 a collection of symbols, letters or words with arbitrary
meaning that are governed by rules and used to
communicate.

 When we listen to others’ verbal communication, we

“decode”, or assign meaning to, their words in order
to translate them into
thought of our own.
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What are the CHARACTERISTICS?

2) LANGUAGE AND 3) LANGUAGE

1) LANGUAGE HAS
CULTURE ARE ORGANIZES AND
RULES
INTERTWINED CLASSIFY REALITY

4) LANGUAGE IS 5) LANGUAGE IS
ARBITRARY ABSTRACT
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1) LANGUAGE HAS RULES

(1) (2) Syntax (3)

Semantic Rules Pragmatic
Rules (Syntactic) Rules
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1) LANGUAGE HAS RULES cont…

1) SEMANTICS
- the study of the way human use of language to evoke
meaning in others.
- Semantics focuses on words and their meaning.
2) SYNTAX
- the way in which words are arranged to form phrases and
sentences.
3) PRAGMATICS
- the study of language as it is used in a social context,
including its effect on the communicators.
 PHATIC COMMUNICATION: communication that is used to
establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate
information or ideas.
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2) LANGUAGE & CULTURE ARE INTERTWINED

 Culture - the socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs,

attitudes and values of a particular period, class community
or population.
 Culture and language are related as the transmission of
culture occurs.
 Culture creates a lens through which we perceive the world
and create shared meaning.
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2) LANGUAGE & CULTURE ARE INTERTWINED

 People who speak different language also have different
terms to identify things around them.
 E.g.: Shades ranges from cyan to sky to navy to midnight blue are
called Blue (English), Biru (Malay), Ao (Japanese).

Saphir-Whorf hypothesis:

❖ Hopi language
❖ Popular culture and social media
❖ Different languages have different color terms
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3) LANGUAGE ORGANIZES & CLASSIFIES REALITY

 Language is used to classify what we see and experience.
E.g.: all four-legged pieces of furniture with seats and backs are called
“Chairs”

 Language is used to classify by height, hair color and

adornment.
 Your identity is symbolically created through language.
 E.g.: My name is Abu Bin Ali. I am 24 years old. I live in Kedah.
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4) LANGUAGE IS ARBITRARY

 DENOTATIVE MEANING: the agreed-upon meaning or

dictionary meaning of a word.
 E.g.: “automobile” refers to the vehicle that runs on gasoline.

 CONNOTATIVE MEANING: an individualized or

personalized meaning of word, which may be emotionally
laden.
 E.g.: “love” holds vastly different meanings for people because of
their unique experiences; some might say that “love is hurt” while
other might said that “love is passion”.
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5) LANGUAGE IS ABSRACT
 Words are abstractions or simplifications of what they stand
for.
 Words stand for ideas and things, but they are not the same
as those ideas and things.
 “The word is not the thing.”
 E.g.: MALE
HUMAN
FEMALE
MICHAEL
CAT
ANIMAL
DOG
Language To Avoid When Speaking
 OSM 404 – COMMUNICATION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONAL I

HOW CAN LANGUANGE BE AN ENHANCEMENT OR AN OBSTACLE TO

COMMUNICATION?

1) GRAMMATICAL
2) SLANG 3) CLICHÉS
ERRORS

4) EUPHEMISMS 5) PROFANITY 6) JARGON

8) GENDER BIAS,
RACIST,
7) REGIONALISMS
HETEROSEXIST AND
AGEIST LANGUAGE
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1) GRAMMATICAL ERRORS
 It is all right in oral communication but not in written communication.
 Example:
“Can I go with you”……..
“May I go with you”
 Example:
“We’re not sure which restaurant we’re going to”
“We’re not sure to which restaurant we’re going”…
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2) SLANG
 Slang – informal, casual street language used among equals
with words unsuitable for more formal contexts.
 A specialized language of a group of people who share a
common interest or belong to a similar co-culture.
• Examples:
⮚ “Phewitttt, you’re so hot” (American)
(Phewittt, you are attractive)
⮚ “My co-worker is cray”
(My co-worker is crazy)
“milo beng se”
(Milo ais satu)
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3) CLICHÉS
 An expression that has lost originality and force through
overuse.
 E.g.: “No pain, no gain”, “One for all and all for one”.
 Clichés may be unclear to individuals who unfamiliar with the
underlying ideas and they are usually ineffective in
expressing ideas in fresh ways.
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4) EUPHEMISMS
 Euphemism is a more polite, pleasant expression used in
place of a socially unacceptable form.
Examples:
⮚ Powder my nose.
⮚ See a man about a dog.
⮚ The little girls’ room.
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5) PROFANITY
 A type of swearing that uses indecent words and phrases
 Certainly, some people participate in groups in which
profanity is normative, but when they speak to the people
outside of the group, the use of profanity is unwise.
 Same as slang by establishing group norms or relationally
closeness in some setting.
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6) JARGON
⮚Language particular to a specific profession, work group,
or culture and not meant to be understood by outsiders
Examples:
⮚ Doctors used CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation), BP (blood
preasure)
⮚ Computer Operators use volatile, hard copy and soft copy
⮚ Economists use demand, supply, macro, micro
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7) REGIONALISMS
 Words and phrases specific to a particular region or part of
the country.
 When people from different parts of the country try to talk
with each other, clarity can break down.
Examples:
⮚ The word coke (in Texas), soda (in New York) and pop (in Indiana)
⮚ Buah mangga, mempelam, pauh
⮚ Selimut, gebor
⮚ Menguap, sanggap
⮚ Almari, gobok
⮚ Jangok, berhias
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7) GENDER-BIASED, RACIST, HETEROSEXIST, & AGEIST LANGUAGE

 GENDER-BIASED LANGUAGE or gender-specific language is

language that privileges a certain gender over another.
Examples:
⮚ Chairperson NOT chairman
⮚ Police officer NOT policeman
⮚ Fire fighter NOT fireman
⮚ Angler NOT fisherman

 RACIST: language that insults a group because of its skin color

or ethnicity.
Example: Never call Nigger or negro instead we call them
BLACKS
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7) GENDER-BIASED, RACIST, HETEROSEXIST, & AGEIST LANGUAGE

 HETEROSEXIST: language that implies that everyone is

heterosexual.
⮚ Example: Gay and lesbians. To them avoid using
husband/wives/girlfriends or spouse instead use partner or companion
or friend.

 AGEIST: language that describes & denigrates people on

the basis of their age.
 Example: “Grandma” or “Gramps” (for older people).
 Kid, girl, boy
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HOW LANGUAGE SKILL CAN BE IMPROVED?

1) USE
2) USE CONCRETE
DESCRIPTIVENES
LANGUAGE
S

3) DIFFERENTIATE
BETWEEN
OBSERVATION &
INFERENCES
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1) USE DESCRIPTIVENESS
 DESCRIPTIVENESS: the practice of describing observed
behavior of phenomena instead of offering personal
reactions or judgments.
 CHECK YOUR PERCEPTIONS:
 To communicate effectively with another person, we must have
mutual understanding of an event that has occurred or common
definition of a phenomenon.

 PARAPHRASE:
 Restarting another person’s message by rephrasing the
content for intent of the message.
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1) USE DESCRIPTIVENESS
 Use Operational Definitions:
 A definition that identifies something by revealing
how it works, how it made, or what is consists of.
 Define Your Term
 To avoid others misunderstand our terminology, we
must define the term used so that it can help them to
clarifies those terms.
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2) USE CONCRETE LANGUAGE

 CONCRETE LANGUAGE: words & statements that are
specific rather than abstract or vague.
 Dating:
 Dating: Specifying when you made an observation,
since everything changes overtime.
 Frozen evaluation: an assessment of a concept that
not change over time.

 Indexing:
 Identifying the uniqueness of objects, events and
people.
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3) DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN OBSERVATIONS &

INFERENCES
 Observations:
 Descriptions of what is sensed.

 Inferences:
 Are the conclusions drawn from observations.
Improving ESL Speakers’ Language Skills

1. Keep language functional

2. Be aware of language nuances

3. Recognize that language learning is long-term

4. Develop language processes interdependently

5. Use your own language to help

END OF TOPIC 3