Language and Meaning
Storyboard Text
- Slide: 1
- Human Communication is an important part of our lives. I'll be talking about one aspect of it: Language!
- Slide: 2
- Language tends to be made up of symbols we have assigned meaning to, and is mostly the focus of verbal communication
- When we think about sending messages, this is the first thing that comes to mind.
- Slide: 3
- Often, when sending a message, the sender encodes meaning into it.
- The receiver is responsible for decoding the message. Depending on context, the message the receiver decodes may be entirely different than what was sent in the first place!
- Slide: 4
- For instance...
- Although the sender believes their encoded message will be easily decoded, the receiver may potentially decode it as:"Are you capable of washing dishes?"
- The sender might say"Do you think you could wash the dishes today?What the sender encodes the message to mean is:"Could you wash the dishes today instead of me?"
- Slide: 5
- In some cases, the meaning may change based on how the message is sent.How we word our message is called syntax.
- So on Thursday, my friends and I are going to the park.
- So, my friends and I are going to the park on Thursday.
- Slide: 6
- What words we use also has an effect on the message we send
- For the most part, we first focus on the word's meaning, decided based on how people have used it. This is the denotation.
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- However, there may be words that share the same meaning, but "feel" different from one another.
- Connotation refers to how the word 'feels' to someone, which can depend on the person. Two words with the same denotation may have different connotations
- For instance, when someone says 'I'm doing okay', I may interpret it differently compared to someone else.
- Slide: 8
- Understanding how we use language to communicate is vital to preventing misunderstanding
- It is also important to know when to speak in a certain manner. The kinds of words you use when talking to a friend may not be the same kind of words you use to write an essay
- Slide: 9
- In general, it is important to be as clear as possible when communicating with others.
- To avoid misunderstandings, we must do the following
- Slide: 10
- When communicating in a general setting, avoid words or phrases, such as slang, jargon, regionalisms, or euphemisms when communicating verbally, as their meaning may not be understood outside groups who use them regularly.
- ...during the game last night, the other team fumbled it, which was a pretty bold move
- I think I know what fumble means but I'm not sure what he's talking about
- Slide: 11
- As an extension of clear verbal communication, we have to avoid using vague language when getting a message across, as vague messages may not allow our audience to understand what we are trying to communicate
- To do this, we must use concrete language, which may involve asking "what do we want the other person to know?" and "why do I want to communicate this?"Using these questions may help us construct a message with concrete language
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