LANGUAGE COMPONENTS - Kirkwood Community College

LANGUAGE COMPONENTS
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Language is
arbitrary
Language
represents life
Language is
ambiguous
LANGUAGE
CHARACTERISTICS

Structure
– phonemes:sound
– morpheme:rules


Displacement
Productivity
– lexicon:vocabulary
of a language

Self reflexiveness
LANGUAGE
MEANING

Denotation
– shared meaning

Connotation
– private meanings
LANGUAGE USAGE

Use accurately
– understand its
meaning

Use clearly
– use as few words as
possible

Use familiar words
– relate words to
audience
LANGUAGE USAGE (cont.)

Use concrete words
– be specific

Eliminate clutter
– verbal/written
BRINGING WORDS TO
“LIFE” [IMAGERY]
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Simile [“like/as”]
Metaphor [compare
dissimilar items]
Rhythm
Parallelism
(structure)
Repetition
(phrases)
BRINGING WORDS TO
“LIFE” (cont.)

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Alliteration
(repeating
letter/word)
Antithesis (contrast
ideas)
USING LANGUAGE
APPROPRIATELY

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Occasion-context
Audience-who you
are talking to
Topic
Speaker
– “know what you
can and can’t do”
NON-SEXIST LANGUAGE
(stereotyping)

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Avoid “He”
Avoid “Man/guys”
Jobs/Roles
Personal traits/
labels
Grouping cultures
together
VOCAL
CHARACTERISTICS

Volume
– Notice audience-adjust

Pitch
– Inflection-changes in
voice
– Enunciate key words

Rate
– Speed
– What does speech call
for?
VOCAL CHARACTERISTICS
(cont.)

Pauses
– Periods/commas
– Dramatic moments

Pronunciation
– Practice and learn

Articulation
– Sounds
– Combining words
together
The Physique

Appearance
– First impressions
– Clothing

Movement
– Before=confidence
– During=eye contact
– After=confidence

Gestures
– Appear natural

Eye Contact
– Rule of 1/3
– Scan vs. stare

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