Language
The Nature of Language
Language Is Symbolic
Meanings Are in People, Not Words
Language Is Rule Governed
Phonological rules
Syntactic rules
Semantic rules
Pragmatic rules
The Power of Language
Language Shapes Values, Attitudes, and Beliefs
Status
Worldview
Credibility
Sexism and Racism
Naming
Language Reflects Values, Attitudes, and Beliefs
Affiliation
Attraction and Interest
Responsibility
Power
Troublesome Language
The Language of Misunderstandings
Equivocal Language
Relative Words
Slang and Jargon
Overly Abstract Language
- Who is involved?
- In what circumstances does the behavior occur?
- What behaviors are involved?
Disruptive Language
Confusing Facts and Opinions
Confusing Facts and Inferences
Emotive Language
Evasive Language
Euphemisms
Equivocation
a euphemism is a mild or indirect term
a deliberately vague
statement that can be interpreted in more than one way
Gender and Language
- Metaphorically speaking, men are from Mars, and women
are from Venus. False.
- Women talk more than men. False.
- Men and women talk about different things. True . . .
sometimes.
- Where romance is concerned, it’s complicated. Undeniable.
- Men and women communicate for different reasons. Often true.
- Women are emotionally expressive. Often true.
- Men don’t show their feelings. Partly true, partly false.
- Women’s speech is typically powerless, and men’s is more powerful.
False.
- Men and women are hardwired to communicate differently. Partly
true, but less than many people assume.
- Men and women are socialized to communicate differently. True.
For me, I'm trying to avoid misunderstandings among daily communications. And I am trying to avoid those sensitive subjects that might hurt or make people uncomfortable.
What bothered me was the concepts of gender and language. It's hard to tell if the differences between different gender's communication are beneficial.