Language and Thought

Chapter 6, Chaffee

Critical Thinking

Language A system of symbols for thinking and

communicating Sentence meaning: Word sense

– Semantic meaning

– Perceptual meaning

– Syntactic meaning

– Pragmatic meaning

Tool– To clarify thinking

– For social communication

– To influence people

– Word Sense

Evolution of language

Language live, change, and die E.g., Latin – a ‘dead’ language English

– Old English , AD 700-1050– Middle English AD 1050-1450– Early Modern English, AD 1450-1700– Modern English, 1700-Present

The Lord’s PrayerFaeder ureThu the eart on

henofonum,Si thin name gehalgod.Tobecume thin rice.Gewurthe thin willa on

eorthan swa swa on heofonum.

Urne gedaeghwamlican hlaf syle you to daeg.

And forgyf you urne gyltas,swa swa you forgyfath urum gyltendum,

And ne gelaed thu you on costnunge, ac alys you of yfele, Sothlice.

Oure fadurThat art in hauenes,Halewid be thi name;This kyngdoom come

to;Be thi wile don in erthe

as in heuene; zyue to vs this dai oure breed ouer othir substanunce;

And forzyue to vs oure dettis, as you forzyuen to oure dettouris;

And lede vs not in to temptacioun,

But delyuere vs.from yeul. Amen.

Our FatherWhich art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.Thy will be done, in earth, as it it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory for ever. Amen.

Differences in Prayer version

Sounds Words Sentences

/oure/ /our/

Gyltas – dettis – debts/

trespasses

Forgyf you urne gyltas, swa swa you forgyfath urum gyltendeum

Forzyue to vs oure dettis, as ou forzyuen to oure dettouris

Homo sapiens’ ability to symbolize Let one thing represent something else Words stand for or represent objects, ideas, and

other aspects of human experience’ System of spoken sounds and written markings

that we use to represent various aspects of our experience (p. 206)

Set of symbolic building blocks: – Sounds – letters– Words – objects, thoughts, feelings, actions, concepts– Meaning – combination of all ideas feelings associated

with word

Denotative and connotative meanings of wordsCreate 2 columns: men and women.

Write down all the words that you can think of that we use to describe men’s body weight

List all the words that you can think of to describe women’s body weight

Go back and mark whether the words are negative or positive or neutral

How many positive words are there for women? For men?

Meanings of the words?

What is the difference between denotative and connotative meanings of words?

What are the different meanings of the following words (p. 207) College education Happiness Freedom Creative Love Creativity

What are some other “loaded words” that conjure up different meanings?

Total meaning of words Semantic meaning

– Relationship between a linguistic event and a nonlinguistic event

– Denotative meaning – general properties that determine the way the word is used

Perceptual meaning – Relationship between a linguistic event and an

individual’s consciousness– Connotative meaning – literal or basic meaning

plus all it suggests

Total meaning of words

Syntactic meaning– Relationship of word to other words in a sentence

• Content: words that express the major message of the sentence

• Description: words that elaborate or modify the major message

• Connection: words that join the major message of the sentence

Pragmatic meaning The person speaking and the situation

Jabberwocky‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe he sought –

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

…….

Word meaning: semantic, perceptual, & pragmatic Abortion: pro-life, anti-abortion, pro-

choice, pro-abortion The Language of Cloning: human cloning,

nuclear transplantation, therapeutic cellular transfer (TCT), cloned embryos, activated egg, cleaving egg, ovasome

Using language effectively Understand how language functions Read widely Analyze the work of highly regarded writers who

use word meanings accurately Use action verbs, concrete nouns, vivid adjectives Vary sentence length to keep the reader’s attention

and create a variety of senetnce styles to enrich meaning

Use the full range of words to express yourself Get feedback from other people

From Blue HighwaysAction Verbs Concrete Nouns Vivid Adjectives

Pulled up Aluminum chairs wandering

Using language to clarify thinking:

Language reflects thinking and thinking is shaped by language.

Language is a tool powered by patterns of thinking.

Language has the power to represent thoughts, feelings, and experiences symbolically.

How well you perform one process (writing or speaking) is directly related to how well you perform the other (thinking).

the interactive relationship between language and thinking Sloppy use of language (vague, general,

indistinct, imprecise, foolish, inaccurate) leads to sloppy thinking.

Clear and precise language leads to clear and precise thinking.

Clear effective language vs. language that fails to help reader form a picture or understand the writer’s meaning.

Vague words: lack clear distinct meaning I had a nice time yesterday. That is an interesting book. She is an old person. Pulp Fiction is a really funny movie about some really

unusual characters in California. The movie consists of several different stories that connectc up at different points. Some of the stories are nerve-racking and others are hilarious, but all of them are not very well done. The plots are very interesting, and the main characters are excellent. I liked this movie a lot.

Clarifying vague langauge

Who? What? Where? When? How? Why? Use clear and precise language. An ecstatically entertaining piece of suave

mockery by Quentin Tarantino that revels in every manner of pulp flagrancy – murder and betrayal, drugs, sex and episodes of sardonically distanced sadomasochism – all told in three overlapping tales. It’s a very funky, American sort of pop masterpiece improbably, uproarious, with bright colors and danger and blood right on the surface.

Ambiguous language

Account of Avianca Flight 52 (p. 225) If the pilot of the airplane were alive, how

do you think he would analyze the cause of the crash?

How do the air traffic controllers and the FAA analyze the cause of the crash?

How do you analyze the cause of the crash? What reasons led you to that conclusion?

Language in social contexts

Different social contexts call for different language responses.

Familiarity – abbreviation of language style which identifies shared thinking and restricts group of people who can communicate within this context

Styles separate outsiders Use language to identify the social contextg and

to define the relationship between the people communicating

Standard American English

Rules and conventions given in handbooks and taught in school

Use of SAE represents membership in educated group

Lexical items, e.g., ‘bell curve’ ‘literary symbol’

Slang, Jargon, Dialect

Slang: a restrictive style of langauge that limits its speakers to a particular group

Jargon: words, expressions, technical terms that are intelligible to the professional circles or interest groups but not to the general public

Dialects: system of communication distinguished by sounds and markings among given groups of people

Language used to influence

Euphemistic language: substituting a more pleasant less objectionable way of saying something for a blunt or more direct way

Emotive language: language that evokes feelings in people