1. Oral Language
He who hasn’t hacked (apart) language as a youth has no heart. He who does so as an adult has no brain.
-John Moore

2. Characteristics of Oral Language
Meaning: A shared knowledge and understanding of language
Vocabulary: All the word symbols that make up a particular language
Structure: The way different parts of language are arranged
Grammar: The basic understandings and rules that regulate language
Sound: The observable characteristics of oral language

3. Characteristics of Speech Sound
Diction: The degree of clarity and distinctness in a person’s speech
Pronunciation – the standard set for the overall sound of a word
Articulation – clearly and distinctly uttering the consonant sounds of a word
Omission: leaving certain sound out.
Addition: adding certain sounds to a word.
Substitution: changing one consonant sound to another.
Enunciation – clearly and distinctly uttering the vowel sounds of a word

4. Characteristics of Speech Sound
Dialect: A unique combination of speech sounds that identify speech with a particular group of people
Regional Dialect – speech sounds identified
with a particular region
Ethnic and Cultural Dialect – speech sounds identified with
an ethnicity or culture

5. Implications of Oral Language
Projecting Image: Your use of oral language can
lead others to perceptions about you.
Conveying Attitude: Your use of language tells people
What you think of yourself
and others.
Determine success: Employers value strong verbal
skills.

6. Developing Skills for Power Language
Power Language enhances communication, helps achieve positive results and promotes effective relationships.

7. Characteristics of Power Language
Clarity – Precise, clearly organized and grammatical. Develops an image of knowledge and efficiency.
Courtesy – Empathic and respectful. Promotes positive relationships. Speaker is considered a “professional”.
Ownership – Responsible for own thoughts and feelings. Speaker is viewed as someone who gets things done.
Inclusion – Personalizes speech and includes others. Establishes common ground. Speaker is seen as interested in others.
Vividness – Expresses ordinary things in unusual ways. Speaker is considered interesting and memorable.
Appropriate – Language that is appropriate for audience. Speaker is viewed as reasonable with a strong command.

8. Formal Language
Language that conforms to a highly structured set of rules.

9. Technical Language
Language associated with a particular profession, activity or field of study.

10. Standard Language
Language used by the majority of knowledgeable communicators within a certain language

11. Informal Language
Language used in casual situations and close interpersonal relationships.

12. Ungrammatical Language
Language that does not use expected standards of grammar or mechanics.

13. Powerless Language
Tags: A question added to the end of a statement. Okay?
Filler: A word or, uh, phrase used to, like, cover up hesitancy in speech.

14. Troublesome Language Sexist – don’t refer to gender unless necessary
Racist – use descriptions that do not refer to ethnicity
Profane or Obscene – use creativity and vocabulary to avoid the obscene or profane
Judgmental – focus on objectivity, not your own judgment
Accusatory – try to present things in a way that’s impartial
Assumptive – use qualifiers like “may” or “could”
Absolute – avoid “never” or “always”

15. Connotation – emotions or feelings associated with a word
Denotation – a word’s objective description or meaning
Colloquialism – term associated with a specific regional culture