© 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Human Communication Judy C. Pearson Paul E. Nelson Scott Titsworth Lynn Harter Slide 1

© 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. PART ONE Fundamentals of Communication Studies Slide 2

© 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3 Chapter Summary Verbal Communication What is Language? How Can Language Be an Enhancement or an Obstacle to Communication?How Can Language Be an Enhancement or an Obstacle to Communication? How Can Language Skills be Improved? Slide 3 3 CHAPTER

© 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 4 What is Language? Language: A collection of symbols, letters, or words with arbitrary meanings that are governed by rules and used to communicate. Slide 4

© 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 5 What is Language? Language Has Rules Language and Culture are Intertwined Language Organizes and Classifies Reality Language is Arbitrary Language is Abstract Slide 5

© 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 6 How Can Language Be an Enhancement or an Obstacle to Communication? Grammatical Errors Colloquialisms Metatalk Clichés Euphemisms Slang Slide 6 Continued...

© 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 7 How Can Language Be an Enhancement or an Obstacle to Communication? Profanity Figures of Speech --metaphors --irony Jargon Regionalisms Slide 7 Continued...

© 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 8 How Can Language Be an Enhancement or an Obstacle to Communication? Street Language Sexist, Racist, and Heterosexist Language Slide 8

© 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9 How Can Language Skills be Improved? Avoid Intentional Confusion Use Descriptiveness --Check your perceptions --Paraphrase --Use operational definitions --Define your terms Slide 9 Continued...

© 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 10 How Can Language Skills be Improved? Be Concrete --Dating --Indexing Differentiate Between Observations and Inferences Demonstrate Cultural Competence Slide 10