Transcript Lesson Objectives

Focus Questions
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What is the relationship between language
and thought?
How do labels affect meaning?
What are the implications of recognizing
that language is a process?
How do rules guide communication?
How does punctuation influence the
meaning of communication?
Verbal Communication
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Language and Meaning
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Language (words) in the human world
Features of Language
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Arbitrary
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Ambiguous
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No intrinsic connection; no natural relationship
Commonly shared & used in a society; meaning changing over
time
No precise, clear-cut meanings; within a range of meaning but
with degrees of uncertainty
Specific to contexts, individual experience
Abstract
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Not concrete or tangible
Various abstractness (degrees away from external, objective
phenomenon)
Verbal Communication
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Symbols and Meaning
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Ladder of Abstraction (Korzybski & Hayakawa)
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Steps away from observed phenomenon
See Figure 4.1 (page 103)
Overgeneralization
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General language to describe groups of people
Perceptions (recall) consistent with labels used
Labels predispose selective perception
Verbal Communication
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抽象化階梯
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Wealth: characteristics of
“Bessie” are left out.
Asset: all valuable things
Farm assets: in common with other
salable items on the farm
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Livestock: referring to characteristics
in common with chicken, goats..
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Cow: common characteristics;
not peculiar to specific ones
“Bessie”: the name we give to the object (cow)
Cow: not the word, but the object experience
Cow: consists of atoms, electronics…etc;
scientific reference
Verbal Communication
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Principles of Communication
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Interpretation creates meaning
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Active process of making sense of experience
Process of constructing meaning
Brute facts vs. Institutional facts
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Brute fact: objective, concrete phenomena (e.g., huddling
in football)
Institutional fact: interpreted meaning of brute fact
(players planning the next step)
Communication is guided by rules
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Rule learning through socialization
Regulative rules: specify when, how, where…
Constitutive rules: define meaning
Verbal Communication
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Principles of Communication
(continued)
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Punctuation affects meaning
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Mark a flow into meaning units
Determine initiation, interaction, invitation,
participation…
Demand-withdraw pattern (Figure 4.2, p. 108)
Verbal Communication
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Symbolic Abilities
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Language defines phenomena
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Language evaluates phenomena
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Totalizing: one label represents a person totally;
ignoring other aspects
Totalizing: spotlighting an aspect; stereotyping:
describing with group characteristics
Symbols are loaded with ‘value’
Loaded language
Language organizes experiences
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Categories that we place people
Verbal Communication
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Symbolic Abilities (2)
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Language allows hypothetical thinking
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Visions of the future
Language allows self-reflection
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I : spontaneous, creative self
Me: socially conscious self
佛洛依德︰
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id本我 – unconscious & instinctive
ego自我 – between id and superego
superego超我 – of moral and social rules
Verbal Communication
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Symbolic Abilities (3)
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Language defines relationships &
interaction
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Three dimensions of relationship-level
meaning
Responsiveness: question & statements (responses,
feedback)
 Liking: When we say “I care about you.”
 Power: Establishing control
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Verbal Communication
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Guidelines for Verbal Comm.
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Engage in person-centered communication
Be conscious of levels of abstraction
Qualify language
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Avoid overgeneralization
Avoid static evaluation: She ‘is’ selfish
Indexing technique: evaluation only applies to
specific times, circumstances
Own your feelings and thoughts: Claim feelings
but not blame others for that
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You vs. I language (p. 120) (Note: Chinese cultural &
syntax differences)
Verbal Communication
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