UNIT 6: THE LANGUAGE IN COMMUNICATION I

• The Linguistic Nature of Speech

• Language is specific to human beings.

• a highly sophisticated oral (verbal/spoken) form of communication

• non-verbal (non-linguistic) means

• Language comprises:

• a limited number of sounds

• a limited number of ways in which these sounds can be combined to form words

• a limited number of rules for combining words into sentences

• The English language has about 45 different sounds (or phonemes)

• even smaller number of rules for combining these sounds

• a speaker of English can produce an unlimited number of sentences understood by other speakers

• The Study of Linguistic Meaning • The study of verbal communication involves the

various linguistic levels of analysis: • Phonology, • Morphology, • Syntax, • Semantics, • Pragmatics, and• Discourse

• In other words, we can analyse or study the linguistic features of any given piece of real language in context in terms of its phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic characteristics.

• The meaning of ‘meaning’:• Here are some of the everyday meanings of the word ‘mean’ in Standard

English:• 1. That was no mean (insignificant) accomplishment.• 2. They are so mean (cruel) to me.• 3. This will mean (result in) the end of our project.• 4. This award means (is so important) so much to me.• 5. I mean (intend) to help if I can.• 6. Keep off the grass! This means (refers to) you.• 7. His losing the job means (implies) that he will have to start looking

for one again.• 8. ‘Lucky Strike means (indicates) fine tobacco.’• 9. Those clouds mean are a sign of) rain. • 10. She didn’t mean (believe) what she said.

• Some varieties of meaning:

• Linguistic meaning - language meaning and idiolect meaning; dialectal meaning: regional, social, standard etc

• Speaker’s meaning - literal vs. non-literal; irony, sarcasm, metaphor

• Interaction between Verbal and Non-Verbal Messages• Accenting• - emphasising part of the verbal message with non-verbal signals e.g. raising one's voice, or

striking the desk with the fist to emphasise a particular point• Complementing• - adding finer shades of meaning (nuances) not communicated by the verbal message e.g.

smiling when telling a story to communicate humour, or frowning or shaking the head when talking about someone else's bad behaviour (to indicate disapproval)

• Contradicting• - deliberately displaying an opposite non-verbal message from the verbal message e.g. winking

while talking to indicate that you are lying• Regulating• - controlling or regulating the verbal message through non-verbal means e.g. leaning forward,

pursing the lips, or making hand gestures to indicate one's wish to speak during a meeting, or making vocal pauses such as "er…", or "um…" to indicate you have not finished speaking yet

• Repeating• - repeating or restating the verbal message using non-verbal signals e.g. "Is that all right"

followed with raised eyebrows and a questioning look, or "Come here" with an inward wave of the hand

• Substituting• - using non-verbal messages in place of verbal messages e.g. a nod or shake of the head to

indicate "yes" or "no" (not spoken), respectively

• Meanings and Messages• 1. Meanings are in people• words do not have meaning on their own accord • people create meaning individually on the basis of their

own thoughts and feelings• meanings also depend on the interaction between

messages and the receiver's thoughts and feelings; • individuals therefore create meaning in social and

cultural (socio-cultural) contexts• non-verbal meaning is more ambiguous than verbal

meaning i.e. more easily misunderstood

• 2. Meanings are more than words and gestures

• verbal and non-verbal elements make up just a small part of the overall message which includes unspoken thoughts and feelings

• sometimes feelings are difficult to put into words; • message meaning is therefore greater than the

sum of its parts

• 3. Meanings are unique

• messages are complex in meaning and understanding them is always relative i.e different from person to person

• individual frames of reference influence meanings

• no two people derive the same meaning from a given message

• 4. Meanings are both denotative and connotative• people can interpret words literally (objective or

dictionary definitions) or figuratively (subjective or individual-based definitions)

• denotative meaning is more general and universal e.g. most people will give similar definitions/explanations for commonplace words like 'school', 'play', etc.

• connotative meanings are personal and therefore very subjective (vary greatly from individual to individual) e.g. religion, racism, wealth, happiness, freedom, etc. and non-verbal signals as raised eyebrows, arms folded across the chest, siting cross-legged, etc.

• 5. Meanings are context-based• messages always exist in some context which in turn

determines meaning to a large extent• context influences meaning of both verbal messages and

non-verbal messages e.g saying "hello" to someone in the street vs. at the hospital is aimed at conveying rather different messages, and is bound to evoke different responses from the recipient

• impossible to interpret meaning of a message taken out of context because contextual meaning is part and parcel of the overall meaning of the message in question

• General features of verbal messages:• Messages are controlled by cultural rules• Because verbal and non-verbal aspects of

communication interact in real-life language use, all verbal messages are governed by cultural rules:

• Maxim of Peaceful Relations• Maxim of Politeness• Maxim of Self-Denigration• Maxim of Face-Saving

• Messages vary in directness• The 'directness' of messages may be further divided into direct messages, and indirect messages:

• Indirect Message :• E.g. Susan: I'm so bored: I have nothing to do

tonight.• Roziah: I'd like to go to the movies. Like to come?• Direct Message • E.g. Maria: Do you feel like having pizza?• Tom: Yes, I'd certainly like some. How about

you?

• Advantages of Indirect Messages• Speakers can express their desire without offending or

insulting anyone. E.g. It's getting late. I've got to wake up early tomorrow. (verbal message); Speaker looks at his/her watch and pretends to be surprised by the time (non-verbal message); or both verbal and non-verbal messages together for maximum effect

• Speakers can solicit or ask for a compliment in a socially acceptable manner E.g. "I was thinking of getting a new car". Expected complimentary response: "A new car? You? Your present car is perfect."

• Disadvantages of Indirect Messages• The use of indirect messages can sometimes

create problems in communication as a result of:• misinterpretation of the speaker's intentions• cross-cultural problems• differences in the way members of the opposite

sex perceive indirect messages (gender differences).

• Gender and Cultural Differences in Directness• Stereotypes in gender-based speech communication: • men are more direct in their messages (to

communicate power and authority)• women tend to be more indirect to communicate

subservience /powerlessness and/or discomfort with authority

• Cultural differences vis-à-vis directness in speech communication:

• Asian and Latin American cultures tend to be indirect as a 'face-saving' gesture.

• Tannen (1994):

• women tend to be indirect because they choose to be indirect

• having choice means power

• men too tend to be indirect when they are communicating weaknesses, emotions and anything that is not compatible with the macho stereotypes.

• Messages vary in believability

• when verbal and non-verbal messages conflict, people tend to believe the non-verbal signals (Dale Leather, 1986)

• non-verbal signals which account for some 70% of the overall meaning in most communicative settings

• Possible reasons for not believing verbal components:

• Non-verbal messages function at the subconscious level of the speaker's mind and are therefore more difficult to control/fake

• listener or receiver processes non-verbal messages using subconscious means or by ‘feel’

• Women generally better than men at calling someone's bluff (i.e. detecting a lie)?

• Parkes & McCormack (1990): "liar's language":• tend to hesitate more;• make more errors in their speech;• tend to smile less;• give shorter answers to direct questions, often "yes" or "no";• use more 'allness' terms like "always", "never", "all", etc.;• employ fewer specific words but use fuzzy expressions as "had fun", "everyone",

"stuff like that", and "you know";• tend to blink more;• use more adapters (general nervousness, self-touching movements);• have dilated pupils (however this may be detected in face-to-face situations!);• constantly shift their posture;• use longer pauses before they respond;• use excessive gestures (something to hide?!);• use averted gazes; and• are generally less friendly or attentive.

• Messages may metacommunicate• 'Metacommunication' is communication about

communication, and includes both verbal and non-verbal forms.

• E.g. Verbal: • "This statement is false"• "Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" • E.g. Non-verbal: • winking when telling a lie• scratching the back of the head to indicate lack

knowledge

• Some positive functions of metacommunication will include the following:

• To check that your message has been understood clearly

• To give clear feedforward input• To supply specific examples• To confront contradictory or inconsistent

messages• To explain the feelings that go with the thoughts• To paraphrase your own complex messages• To ask questions

• Important to take into account the context(s) of the communication as a whole, particularly in cross-cultural situations. E.g., the Japanese are known to use few "allness" terms, and few gestures compared to Arabs and Latin Americans.