Language Communication

By: Thomas Newman
Submitted: 2009-04-17 15:42:42
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One of the most important forms of communication is language.  It is one of the most significant means for transmitting information.  But unfortunately, it is not the perfect way of communication because it causes some misunderstandings and collisions at times.  I want to discuss issues of political power, gender, race, and class and how they are connected with language communication. 

I need to mention that our language communication is greatly influenced by our frame of reference, in other words, it is up to the frame of reference what we say and what we “hear” and understand.  The frame of reference is formed by our background, that is culture, race, gender, age, education, and all kinds of experiences we had throughout the life.  There is also an opinion that communication is the intersection of politics, economics, and culture.  I want to  investigate and try to understand how communication is shaped by culture, social class, races, and gender.

Previous studies indicate that there are gender and racial stereotypes related to communication style and that beliefs about gender-related differences in speech style can affect the way men and women interact.  Men and women still speak differently, but this difference is reducing.  For example, Twenge (2001), in a meta-analytic study, showed that self-reported assertiveness for women changed in tandem with changing social roles between 1931 and 1993.  Beliefs about typical or appropriate speech styles for women and men also  have changed accordingly over the past several decades.  Since men and women now do the same job and lead the same style of life, their languages are becoming more and more similar.  However, there is some difference between communication styles of males and females.  Men tent to use stronger language because they are expected to.  Very often they are excused for using very strong words or cursing, while it is unacceptable for a lady.  

There is a paucity of empirical researches on beliefs about race and speech.  Mostly they raise a question: are Black Americans in general believed to adopt different communication styles than White Americans?   If so, are these stereotypical speech styles judged as more or less socially skilled and appropriate than stereotypical White speech styles?  Only a few studies address these questions.  Historically, African and White Americans were speaking differently.  However, norms for speech style vary over time.  Since more and more people of different races work and interact with each other, their speech becomes similar over time.  Nevertheless, to some extent the difference remains.

Social class also has some influence on the way we speak.  People with more income tend to speak more properly then those with lower income.  Similarly, more educated people use more proper speech then those people with less education.  Even though social class difference is also playing a reducing impact on the way we speak, it is not eliminated completely.

Language is closely connected with politics.  Power, privilege, and influence are all conveyed and perpetuated through interpersonal communication.  Those with language have power.  For politicians it is very important to make an impression of a powerful active person.  So they use mostly strong words, active verb forms, “I” and “we”, and use many other things to convey the desired image.  Speaking in front of a particular group, politicians may use different styles of speech, depending on gender, age, race, and social class of the audience.  

Finally, some researchers on communication stereotypes have investigated the effects of occupation on speech styles.  People on higher positions use stronger more powerful language.  Most of them use it not only at work but are getting used to it so they are using elsewhere.  People who are performing less physical work use better language than those who are doing tough physical work. 

All these stereotypes are not rules and may be not true in every particular case.  It is only most general tendencies in speech communication for different groups.  In every private case, the stereotype may be true only to some extent.  And it is constantly a subject to changes together with changes in our society.

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