Language and
Symbolic Communication
Shaun Best, Jenny Sanders, and
Boglarka Simo
Language is one of the most
fundamental human instincts. It is an extraordinarily intricate
system that all of us master as young children without special
teaching, and that gives us the ability to communicate, tell stories,
and express our deepest feelings. The following page offers you a
comprehensive overview on language, linguistics, and symbolic
communication.
- LANGUAGE - The
Psychology of Language
- The Physical Foundation of Language
- Origin of Language
- Meaning
- Philology
- Diverse Communication
- Contextual Constraints
- Physical Nature
- Spatial Semantics
- Learning
"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously."
- LINGUISTICS
- As a universal characteristics of the
species, language has always held a special fascination for
human beings. Linguistics is a study of language - not so much
a specific language but of the system of language and thus of
the way in which humans communicate. Linguistics concerns
itself with all aspects of how people use language and what
they must know in order to do so.
- A glance at the history of
Linguistics
- ancient languages - India and Greece had
remarkable grammatical tradition
- 1786 - correspondence among many of the
languages spoken in Europe, India, and Persia
- 20th century - not only language, but
language structure changes as well
- Ferdinand de Saussure - sophisticated
method of grammatical analysis
- Noam
Chomsky - central properties of
language are innate
- meaning - mental representation or function
of usage
- sociolinguistics
- Integral topics in Linguistics
- These branches of Linguistics are concerned
with how language is structured, how language is used, and how
language changes over time.
- physiology of language
- physical properties
- neurolinguistics
- sociolinguistics - roles to determine
cultural and social categories
- grammar
- syntax
- morphology
- phonology
- semantics
- pragmatics
- applied linguistics
- multilingualism
- AI - application of computers to
language
- Language variation and change
- Speech and writing
"If
language is not correct, then what is said is not what is
meant;
if what
is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains
undone;
if this
remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate;
if
justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless
confusion.
Hence
there must be no arbitrariness in what is said.
This
matters above everything."
- Symbolic communication
- signals are specialized, contextual,
discrete, and capable of displacement
- Nonverbal communication
- 55% of communication comes through
nonverbal forms
- communication breakdown
- 7% verbal (words)
- 38% vocal (volume, pitch, rhythm,
etc.)
- 55% body movements (mostly facial
expressions)
- definition
- gesture, posture, facial expression,
etc.
- behavior other than spoken or written
communication that creates or represents meaning
- intentional use of signals with feedback
loop
- viewed as more factual or accurate than
verbal because it is harder to fake nonverbal cues
- strongly related to verbal
communication
- nonverbal cues substitute for,
contradict, emphasize, or regulate verbal messages
- impossible to avoid communication due to
nonverbal communication
- problems with studying nonverbal
communication--What
is Nonverbal Communication?
- cues can be ambiguous
- cues are continuous
- cues are multi channel
- cues are culture-bound
- The interpretation of nonverbal cues
- immediacy--communicate liking and
pleasure
- eye contact, mutual eye contact,
touching, leaning forward
- arousal--animation
- eye contact, varied vocal cues,
animated facial expressions, leaning forward, movement in
general
- not necessarily sexual arousal,
though this may be included
- dominance--indicate balance of power in
the relationship--perceived status, position, and
importance
- furniture, clothing, location,
etc.
- improving nonverbal communication
- evaluate the context
- look for clusters of cues to determine
intent
- consider past experience (ie., changes
in behavior)
- ask yourself questions
- Speech Communication
- oldest academic discipline--taught as early
as 450 B.C. in the schools of the ancient Greeks
- four major areas
- interpersonal communication--study of
symbolic behavior in two person relationships
- group communication--small group of
three to seven people
- organizational communication--impact of
an organization on communication
- rhetoric and public address--study of
discourse
- Expressive
Communication
- purpose at an early age
- register protest or
rejection--"Quit!"
- request continuation--"I want
more!"
- make a choice--"I want x instead of
y!"
- purpose at an older age
- greet someone
- make an offer--"Would you like
some?"
- provide comments--"This is good!"
- reply to a previous
statement--"okay"
- get more information or ask a
question--"Where are we?"
- Artificial Language
- deliberately planned language by a few
individuals rather than a language that came about
naturally
- can be written, spoken, or both
- most famous--1887 by a Polish physician
named Dr. Ludwik L. Zamenhof
- combination of Latin and elements from
Romance and Germanic Indo-European groups
- easy to learn but not recognized as an
international language
URL'S
LANGUAGE
- The
Psychology of Language--index, interm., long, links
- MIT
Press--index,
adv., short, links, graphics
- Home page of the MIT Press, includes links
to: · New releases · Books · Electronic
Publications · Journals ·· About The MIT Press
· How to Contact Us · Ordering Information · The
MIT Press Bookstore · Conference & Exhibits ·
About this site ·Last month's homepage. http://mitpress.mit.edu/
- Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Definition
- Language
Topics--index, basic, medium, links
- Symbolic
Comunication Experiment
- The
Way
- Language
Technology and Deviant Language Behavior
- FAQ's
of Linguistics
LINGUISTICS
- Linguistic
Resources on the Internet--index, basic, long, links,
search
- Blackwell
Linguistics Resources Center--index, basic, long,
links
- Page offers a huge index list on
linguistics; topics include theoretical linguistics,
computational linguistics, foreign language learning and
resources, dictionaries and references, university departments,
journals in linguistics, linguistic organizations http://194.129.197.242/www2/resource/lingres2.htm
- Language
and Linguistics--index, basic, short, links
- The
Linguist List--index, basic, long, links, search
- Phonetics--index, tutorial, basic,
medium, links, graphics
- On
Chomsky--index, basic, medium, links
- Noam
Chomsky--tutorial, basic, short
- And
one more Chomsky--article, intermediate, long, links
- This article covers a "Study in Total
Depravity"; Chomsky's contribution to linguistics; reviews in
The Economist and New York
Times; his scientific achievements;
links to other articles, papers, and a short writing on how to
understand Noam Chomsky's work http://www.physics.wisc.edu/~shalizi/chomsky.html
- de
Saussure--article, advanced, long
- Saussure (or not so sure...)--text,
basic, short
- Totally
Twisted Grammar--index, basic, short, links
- "Yes, it's true. Grammar can be fun...if
you look at it in the right way, that is. This page is a
collection of, shall we say,unusual looks at language and
grammar that I've discovered here and there. Some of them are
web links, others are assorted files and pages of text, but all
of them qualify as slightly "twisted." http://www.english.uiuc.edu/english302/twisted.htm
SYMBOLIC COMMUNICATION
- Symbolic
Comunication Experiment
- Language
in Apes--tutorial, basic, long, links, graphics
- Covers many of the aspects of research on
ape language, topics include: how apes communicate in the wild,
history of the apes and language question, Washoe, Sarah, Lana,
Nim, dichotomy in the scientific community, and more.
- http://math.uwaterloo.ca/~dmswitze/apelang.html
- Elephant
Communication--text, intermediate, long, graphics, links
- Levels
of Social Interaction--tutorial, basic, short
- First
Words--text,
intermediate, medium
- A study of the evolution of language,
speech, and communication, topics include: physiology, history
of language, and archaelogy.
- http://www.fonz.org/first.htm
- What
is Nonverbal Communication?--text, interactive,
intermediate, long, links
- An excellent study of nonverbal
communication including a definition, purpose for study,
problems of study, interpretation of nonverbal cues, ways to
improve nonverbal communication, and a brief test of one's
nonverbal communication skills.
- http://www2.pstcc.cc.tn.us/~dking/nvcom.htm
- Nonverbal
Communication--text, short, basic
- Speech
communication--text, short, basic
- Expressive
communication--tutorial, long, intermediate, links, table
- Artificial
Language--text, short, basic, links
- Definition
of Artificial Language--text, short, basic, links
- Communication
and Students with Severe Disabilities--short, links,
graphics
- The homepage for the University of Texas at
Austin called the "Network in Mulitcultural Sciences and
Disorders." Has links to different pages on various types of
communication disorders, including students with severe
disabilities.
- http://www.learncom.org/mcsd
- Gang
Signs--tutorial, short, intermediate, graphics,
links
- Quiz
on Nonverbal commmunication--long, interactive, links,
graphics
- Test
Your Nonverbal Communication Skills--tutorial, interactive,
links
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