Tamara Arrington UK & BCTC

Language separates us from animals – it makes us human

Language as communication Language as Text. The Interaction of People The Interpretation of Texts What do you communicate? Ideas? Emotions? Intentions? How do you communicate? Messages: The interpretation of messages The construction of messages

The Nature of Language Language is symbolic Language is rule-governed Even ASL uses symbols, not pantomime, and is a language. Language is rule-governed Phonological (pronunciation), syntactic (arrangement of words), semantic (meaning), and pragmatic rules (use) Language is subjective Meaning is both in and among people

The Impact of Language Names have powerful connotations Nicknames that tell a lot about who we (or others) think we are: Bubba J.R. Cookie Jaguar Tam Deeg

What about those baby names? http://www.slangcity.com/b_b_name.htm

Women’s Choice of Surname Post-Marriage Women who take their husband’s surname – placed more importance on relationships and most often cited “tradition” as the reason Women who kept their birth names put personal concerns ahead of relationships and social expectations and had more feminist values Women who hyphenated – valued self and relationship equally NO significant differences in self-esteem, relationship dependency, autonomy, or feelings about the balance of control in their marriages.

Credibility & Status Accents & Style – certain types can cause us to loose credibility and prestige, and appear less accurate How do we judge the southern accent? What about a speaker who uses ebonics? How about the New York, New Jersey, or Boston accents? What about the British accent? What about using a lot of jargon?

Affiliation, Attraction, & Interest We build our solidarity with others or set some people apart from others Friends and lovers develop special sets of terms that serve as a way of signifying their relationship Gangs, military, & other groups – specialized speech style Convergence – adapting one’s speech style to match that of others Divergence – speaking in a way that emphasizes their differences

Powerless Speech Mannerisms Hedges – “I guess I’d like to …” “I think we should” Hesitations – “Uh, um, can I have a minute of your time?” Intensifiers – “I’m not very hungry” Polite forms – “Excuse me, sir…” Tag questions – “This class is great, isn’t it?” Disclaimers – “This will probably sound stupid, but…” CULTURAL!

Sexism “A woman mothered her children” = nurturing behavior (fathering a child only refers to a biological role) “She’s a working mother” = there is no term working father – we assume that men are the breadwinners. Mailman, congressman, fireman, foreman, manpower, mankind 200 English words for a promiscuous woman – only 20 for a promiscuous man (Stanley, 1977).

Is Our Language Sexist? “I now pronounce you man and wife.” “The news features man-on-the-street interviews.” “I can’t believe Ann kept her name when she got married.” “John stayed home to baby-sit his son while his wife went out to take care of some business.” “I know a woman lawyer and a male nurse.”

Racism Positive = sparkly-white, clean, the good guys wear white hats Black associated with the villain Black market, blacklist, blackball Calling out race “My Hispanic professor”, “Jewish lawyer”

Is Our Language Racist? “We’re the good guys – we wear white hats.” “Make something happen – use a little white magic.” “My friend Hachividi is from India, but he acts like a regular guy.” “Asian people are really short. Most of the women are about five feet tall, and the men aren’t much taller.” “Blacks are really confrontational.”

Precision and Vagueness How is your grass? Don’t hit on me. That is really heavy. That’s cool. That class is dope. I love you. You clean up real nice. You look fine. The mailman has a fragile package. I’d like to get some.

What about coarse language, cursing, and swearing? What language do you use for bodily functions? http://www.bawdylanguage.com/bawdy_survey.shtml What about slang terms for body parts? http://www.dirtyslang.com/ Even scholars have studied it: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2372/is_2_38/ai_79439405

The bad joke-of-the-day A 6-year-old and a 4-year-old are upstairs in their bedroom. “ You know what?" says the 6-year-old. "I think it's about time we start cussing." The 4-year-old nods his head in approval. The 6-year-old continues. "When we go downstairs for breakfast I'm going to say hell and you say ass." "OK!" The 4 year old agrees with enthusiasm. Their mother walks into the kitchen and asks the 6-year-old what he wants for breakfast. "Aw hell, Mom, I guess I'll have some Cheerios." WHACK! He flies out of his chair, tumbles across the kitchen floor, gets up, and runs upstairs crying his eyes out, with his mother in hot pursuit, slapping his rear every step. The mom locks him in his room and shouts "You can just stay there till I let you out!" She then comes back downstairs, looks at the 4-year-old, and asks with a stern voice, "And what do YOU want for breakfast young man? "I don't know," he blubbers, "But you can bet your ass it won't be Cheerios!"

I – You – We Should the following statement be changed? This class is boring. You hurt my feelings. He makes me sick. You are so crude sometimes. You made a fool out of me. You make me happy. Stop being so critical! Use “I” language in moderation – use “we” when the issue is of concern and responsibility of both parties. (“We aren’t doing a very good job of keeping the house clean.”) SOLUTION: BEHAVIOR-FEELING-CONSEQUENCE