Download Chapter 7: Verbal Codes

Chapter 7-Verbal  The Study of Language: Thinking Dialectically  Cultural Variations in Language  Discourse: Language and Power  Moving Between Languages  Language and Identity  Language Politics and Policies  Language and Globalization

The Study of Language: Thinking Dialectically  Language Versus Discourse 1. La langue (language) - the entire language system, including various forms such as pidgin and creole. 2. La parole (discourse) - how language is actively used by particular communities of people, in particular contexts, for particular purposes.

The Study of Language: Thinking Dialectically  Components of Language  Semantics  Syntactics

 Phonology  Morphology  Pragmatics

 Phonetics  International Phonetic Alphabet

Definition of Verbal Codes  Morphology: The meaning units  Syntactics: The relationship of words to one another (arrangement)  Pragmatics: The effect of language on perceptions and behaviors

Definition of Verbal Codes  Verbal Codes: a set of rules about the use of words  Semantics: The study of the meaning of words  Phonology: The sound units of language

The Study of Language: Thinking Dialectically  Language and Meaning: What language issues are universal?  The power of language  Systems of difference influence how we classify the world.  Expressions may not communicate the same meanings in different cultures.

The Study of Language: Thinking Dialectically  Language and Meaning: What language issues are universal?  Osgood’s semantic differential: - Evaluative dimension - Potency dimension - Activity dimension

The Study of Language: Thinking Dialectically  Language and Perception:  The nominalist position: Perception is not shaped by the particular language we speak.  The relativist position (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis): The particular language we speak determines our thinking and perception of reality.  The qualified relativist position: Language is a tool rather than a mirror of perception.

Cultural Variations in Language  Communication Style (verbal and nonverbal):

 Tonal coloring or the metamessage contextualizes how listeners accept and interpret verbal messages.  Some cultural groups prefer highcontext communication over lowcontext communication styles.

Cultural Variations in Language  Other Dimensions of Communication Style:

 Direct/Indirect  Elaborate/Exact/Succinct

 People communicate differently in different speech communities and contexts.

Discourse: Language and Power  Co-cultural communication  Language in use depends on social relations as well as contexts.  Orbe: Groups with the most power consciously or unconsciously develop communication systems that support their perceptions of the world, in which groups without power must also function.

Discourse: Language and Power  Orbe’s Co-cultural communication strategies: Nonassertive separation

Nonassertive accommodation

Nonassertive assimilation

Assertive separation

Assertive accommodation

Assertive assimilation

Aggressive separation

Aggressive accommodation

Aggressive assimilation

Discourse: Language and Power  Semiotics - how different discursive units communicate meaning  Semiosis is the process of producing meaning.  Meaning is constructed through the interpretation of signs.  Signifiers are culturally constructed, arbitrary words or symbols we use to refer to something else, the signified.

Discourse: Language and Power  Discourse and Social Structure: Societies are structured so that individuals occupy specific social positions.  Power and labels: The use of labels, as signifiers, acknowledges particular aspects of our social identity.

Moving Between Languages 

Multilingualism - A bilingual person speaks two languages. - People who speak more than two languages are multilingual. - Interlanguage is a kind of communication that emerges when speakers of one language are speaking in another language.

Moving Between Languages 

Translation and Interpretation - Translation refers to the process of producing a written text (the target text) that refers to something said or written in another language (the source text). - Interpretation refers to the process of verbally expressing what is said or written in another language.

Moving Between Languages 

Translation and Interpretation (cont.) - Languages differ in their flexibility of expression for different topics, which makes accuracy in translation, or equivalency, even more difficult.

Language and Identity 

Code switching refers to the phenomenon of changing languages, dialects, or accents. - to accommodate other speakers - to avoid accommodating others

- to express another aspect of their cultural identity Code switching can take on important political meaning.

Language Politics and Policies 

Language policies are laws or customs that determine which language is spoken where and when.



They are embedded in the politics of class, culture, ethnicity, and economics--not language quality.

Language and Globalization  Rapid changes are occurring in the languages spoken and learned in the world.  The dream of a common international language or lingua franca has long marked Western ways of thinking.  Today, the dominance of English raises important issues for intercultural communication.

E. Meanings are Context- Based III. Message Characteristics A. Messages are Packaged = to create a unified meaning

Messages are RuleGoverned  C. Vary in Abstraction  D. Vary in Directness