The Symbolic Nature of Language

The Symbolic Nature of Language

Language is a system of communication that makes use of symbols such as body language, images, sounds, and words to convey deep meaning (Wood, 2019).  Language is symbolic in the sense that it consists of arbitrary, ambiguous, and abstract.

Arbitrary symbolism in language involves the absence of a necessary connection between the meaning of the word and its form or how it looks (Wood, 2019). Therefore, all language is arbitrary. A good example is the word “cat.” By the fact that the word “cat” is used to refer to an animal, it does not signify or instead looks like the animal itself.

The ambiguous symbol in the language is a word or a sentence that can be understood in two or more possible ways. Ambiguous words lead to vagueness and shape the foundation of unintentional humor (Wood, 2019).  A good example is “neighbors are hunting dogs.” In this sentence, it is not clear whether the neighbors are being spoken of as dogs or whether the dogs were being hunted.

Principles of Verbal Communication

Language has ruled one of the principles of verbal communication. There are three types of rules that govern the use of words. Syntactic rules control the order of words in sentences (Wood, 2019). It is correct to say, “Please come to the conference at noon in the conference room.”  But it is very incorrect to say, “please to the conference room at noon in the conference.”

Contextual rules govern word choices and meanings depending on the social custom and context. Words try to epitomize the ideas we yearn to communicate but sometimes limited by issues that behold our control (Wood, 2019). If Bob states, “Carlos is efficient at work,” but imagine another coworker asks Bob, “How do you like working with Carlos?” and Bob responds, “He is always efficient at work.” Maybe there are factors in the social custom or context that prompted Bob to answer.

Semantic rules ensure that the meaning of words is well interpreted and understood. This rule aims to consider what the terms are intended to mean, or mean as opposed to their grammatical function, spelling, and sound.

Symbolic abilities

Symbolic ability is the elementary capacity that is very integral I human nature. It mostly appears from one age of a child where a child ingeniously treats an object as something rather than what it is. It can be using a plate as a hat.

Speech Community

A speech community is a group of people that share the same dialect. An excellent example of a speech community is the group that is composed of English speakers across the world. This speech community shares speech styles, how to speak in a specific way, norms, and also speech types.

Static Evaluation

It’s an orientation that fails to recognize that the world is continuously changing, whereby people and events are seen as fixed rather than as ever-varying (Wood, 2019).  A good example is when an employee presents an incomplete report, and the boss sees her/him as unreliable.

Indexing

Indexing is a technique that allows one to retrieve records from a database file quickly. A good example is when you want to get employees’ data and feed part of the employee information to get all the data (Wood, 2019).

I Statement

It is a style of communication which emphasizes the feelings and beliefs of the speaker instead of features and thoughts that the speaker attributes to the listener (Wood, 2019). A good example is “when you finish eating, I will allow you to play outside.”

Similarities and Differences Between Non-verbal and Verbal Communication

Verbal communication is the use of auditory language, while nonverbal communication involves the use of visual cues to pass a message. Delivery of verbal communication is through the years, while for the no-verbal is through eyes. Further, verbal communication is linear, while non-verbal is continuous (Wood, 2019).

Principles of Nonverbal Communication

Culture, gender, age, and geographic location are very critical since they mean differently depending on a different region. Another belief is that nonverbal communication is fast and contextual. It communicates feelings and attitudes, can be intentional or unintentional. Finally, it is universal.

Types of Nonverbal Communication

Facial expression is one type of nonverbal communication that represents a large portion of it. It is because they do vary according to norms and culture. Happiness and sadness are examples of facial expressions. Paralinguistic is also another type which is vocal communication but separate from actual language (Wood, 2019).  Examples are pitch and inflection. Other types are body language, proxemics, and eye gaze.

Secrets of Body language and History Channel Video

In case one needs to be more innovative, they should try to lie down.  The secret of Lying down on the back leads to a creative breakthrough. Flexing muscles is believed to help one stay focused without entertaining negative energy while crossing your arms will make you more determined and persistent (Wood, 2019).

Listening Process

Listening process making sense, assessing, and then responding to what we hear. For the listening process to be complete, it must include five stages which are: receiving, understanding, evaluating, remembering, and finally responding stage. The receiving step involves hearing and attending where sound waves are registered, and then they are interpreted (Wood, 2019). Understanding is when the listener determines the context and meanings and words that are heard while in the evaluation stage, the listener critically assesses the information received from the speaker. Remembering the scene involves retaining the data collected for future reference while in the responding stage requires both verbal and nonverbal cues depending on how the listener understands what the speaker is saying (Wood, 2019).

Obstacles to Listening

            There are many obstacles involved in the listening process; excessive talking, misunderstanding prejudice faking attention, negative perceptions about the speaker, and our abilities to think faster than someone can speak. Additionally, interruptions and personal bias are also significant barriers to listening (Wood, 2019).

Types of Nonlistening

            Pseudo listening is a type of non-listening where one pretends to listen, appear to be attentive, but the mind is somewhere else. Selective listening will involve focusing on listening to the conversations that interest a person while monopolizing is when one takes over a conversation without letting the rest contribute (Wood, 2019). Finally, defensive listening is also another type of non-listening when one feels that he is being threatened or criticized when, indeed, no one is intentionally trying to hurt them during a conversation.

Suggestions for Emphatic Listening

To ensure emphatic listening, the parties should ensure they ask questions in cases where they could not understand the concept. Further, you should support a person even in cases where you are not in agreement with their context (Wood, 2019). Avoid ambushing people when listening, and most all one should avoid judgments

Conclusion

The moment we understand how and why we communicate, then communication will be very easy for everybody. Mastering the nonverbal cues and knowing when and how to use them will make the communication process smooth and avoid miscommunication.