Unit 6: The Culture of Communication

Unit Introduction

How do we communicate?

Communicating…

“…we speak, we listen, we read, we write. When we think further, we become increasingly aware that we also communicate in nonverbal ways, through gestures and other visual images” (Knepler et. al., 2003)

Do changes in communication bring us closer to understanding each other or do they threaten to erode our cultural differences?

Two Models of Communication(James Carey)

Transmission Model

Ritual Model

                        

 

                        

 Basic Metaphor: Transportation Ceremony

Participant Roles: Sender & Receiver Participants

Role of Meaning: Sent & Received Created & Recreated

Criterion of Success: Receiver "gets it" (accuracy of transmission)

Shared experience (sense of community)

Basic Function: Influence across space

Community across time

Communication activity…

Try to communicate the following scenarios, without speaking… I need to find a rest room… I have a headache, I need medicine… I am lost, I need to find directions… My child or sibling is lost, I need help…

How do people of different cultures communicate?

How does society influence language? Let’s talk about dialect!

Social and regional variations may exist within standard dialects as long as they conform to specified linguistic rules, largely grammatical in nature. Standard English, therefore, should not be considered "Northern English" or "White English," since it is spoken, in one form or another, in all parts of the United States and by some members of all racial and cultural groups.

Dialect…

To linguists, the word "dialect" refers to a way of speaking a language, and not to an incorrect way of speaking a language.

Sociolinguists have documented the presence of dialects in every language. These dialects, all of which are legitimate, are associated with educational, economic, social and historical conditions.

Dialect…

While all dialects of a given language are linguistically legitimate, some achieve social prestige. In literate, economically developed societies, the dialect spoken by those with the most formal education, the highest socioeconomic status and the greatest degree of political power tends to acquire the greatest social prestige. Typically, it becomes the standard for the culture, for writing and for education.

Dialect…

A dialect is distinguished by its vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.

Where a distinction can be made only in terms of pronunciation, the term accent is appropriate, not dialect.

Other speech varieties include: standard language, which are standardized for public performance (for example, a written standard); jargons, which are characterized by differences in vocabulary; and slang.

Wuz up wit slang?

Think about the slang that you use daily…Name some, discuss its origin…

Does slang differ based on geographical location?

Can anyone create slang? How does it become standardized?

Dialect vs. Language: What is the difference?

Language varieties are often called dialects rather than languages: because they have no standard form, because the speakers of the given language do

not have a state of their own, because they are rarely or never used in writing, or because they lack prestige with respect to

some other, often standardized, variety.

Idioms…

An idiom is an expression or phrase that has a figurative meaning.

Examples: “She is as quiet as a mouse” “He is as sharp as a tack”

Moreover, an idiom is an expression, word, or phrasewhose sense means something different from what the wordsliterally imply. When a speaker uses an idiom, the listener mightmistake its actual meaning, if he or she has not heard this figureof speech before. Idioms usually do not translate well; in somecases, when an idiom is translated into another language, eitherits meaning is changed or it is meaningless.