effective use of language

EFFECTIVE USE OF LANGUAGE

Written vs. Spoken Language

Written vs. Spoken Language Language varies according to the

situation you are in Who is speaking Whom they are speaking to What they are speaking about

When do you adjust your comments according to your audience?

What are some situations where verbal interplay is different than a written account?

Five Basic Differences 1. Spoken language is generally

less formal than written language.

a. Uses dialectb. Writing is more

cold/impersonal

Five Basic Differences 2. Spoken language tends to be less

precise than written language.a. Continually changingb. Includes contractions and slangc. Ignores some language conventions,

such as starting sentences with “but” or “because.”

d. Speakers make grammatical mistakes that they would never write

Five Basic Differences 3. Sentences are long, complicated,

and complete in written language; they are short, simple, and often fragments in spoken language.

a. Less organized than writingb. More often a circular than a

linear pattern

Five Basic Differences 4. Written language is often more

articulate and sophisticated than spoken language.

a. Uses higher level ideas and vocabulary (more time to think)

b. Viewed as more prestigious than speech

Five Basic Differences 5. Spoken language can be more

communicative than written language due to extra cues such as body language and tone.

a. Dynamic and immediateb. Allows for clarification and

additional information

Double audience Double audience – speaking to

two different but very specific groups simultaneously

Suppose you were speaking before both an audience of your classmates and a panel of judges in a speech contest. How would this “double audience” affect your choice of language?

Clear Language

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Clear language Why is accuracy important in language? Clarity is important in great speeches

Winston Churchill John Fitzgerald Kennedy Martin Luther King, Jr.

Simplicity of language

Clear language characteristics Short/simple Concrete

Words and examples are not abstract ideas, but relatable to audience

Specificity Specific examples/terms given, rather than broad,

general ones Restatement

Tell your audience what you’re going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them

Economy of language Removing unnecessary words

Identify the following words as concrete or abstract:

Pines Justice Honor Automobile Person Poodle Gracious Wild

Decision Circus House Home Picture Art

Identify the following words as general or specific:

Stars War Builders Precipitation Human race Dancing Theatre Animals

Are these phrases economical or wordy?

“Regarding the situation in the flooded area, we must try to make a concerted effort to aid the local residents.”

“We must try to aid the residents in the flooded area.”

“A period of sunny weather set in and remained for a whole week.”

“We had sunshine for a whole week.”

Checklist for clear language1. Am I planning to use a number of short and

simple sentences?2. Have I chosen words that my audience will

understand?3. Have I tried to express my ideas in concrete

language?4. Am I planning to use specific terms in my speech?5. Have I considered restating my main ideas so my

audience won’t miss them?6. Have I removed any unnecessary words from my

speech?

Emphasis

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Emphasis What needs to be emphasized in a

speech? Why is it important to create levels of

emphasis?

Levels of Emphasis Variety – the form of language that you

use Includes languages, dialects, accents, and

registers/styles (language used in a particular social setting)

Levels of Emphasis Contrast – expressing distinctions between

words

Enhances meaning of words

Contrast words: However In comparison In contrast to But

Levels of Emphasis Rhetorical questions

A question is posed without expectation of an answer Examples:

Who knows? Who cares? "Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do 'practice'?"

(George Carlin) "Hath not a Jew eyes?

Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?If you prick us, do we not bleed, if you tickle us, do we not laugh?If you poison us, do we not die?(Shylock in William Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice)

Levels of Emphasis Parallelism

Creating a pattern by repeating sentence structure "The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal

sharing of blessing; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." (Churchill)

"The more we do, the more we can do."(William Hazlitt)

"They are laughing at me, not with me."(Bart Simpson, The Simpsons)

"Buy a bucket of chicken and have a barrel of fun."(slogan of Kentucky Fried Chicken)

Levels of emphasis Repetition - the simple repeating of a

word or phrase for emphasis

“Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I’m free at last.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Levels of Emphasis Climax ordering – stating items in a

series moving from less significant to most significant ends with the most important item Builds anticipation This is why creating an outline is important!

"There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, 'When will you be satisfied?' We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating 'For Whites Only.' We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.“(Martin Luther King, Jr., "I Have a Dream." August 28, 1963)

Levels of Emphasis Look for all 6 levels of emphasis in Lou

Gehrig’s speech

Figures of Speech

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Figures of Speech Where do you see rich, imaginative

language? How does this type of language help

communication?

Simile & Metaphor Simile

Comparing two unlike things using “like” or “as” Examples:

My love is like a red, red rose Her eyes shine like the sun His muscle was as large as a molehill

Metaphor Comparing two unlike things WITHOUT using “like”

or “as” Examples:

If you’re a bird, I’m a bird The sun was a molten bowl of hot & sour soup

Analogy Compares two things to explain or clarify

some unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some familiar one

“. . . For answers successfully arrived at are solutions to difficulties previously discussed, and one cannot untie a knot if he is ignorant of it.”

--Aristotle

Personification Personification - giving human qualities

to an inanimate object The sun winked at me The flag waved The couch swallowed him

Hyperbole & Understatement Hyperbole – an obvious, intentional

exaggeration I’m starving to death That class lasted all day I had to write a trillion page paper last night

Understatement - a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is

"It's just a flesh wound."(Black Knight, after having both arms cut off, inMonty Python and the Holy Grail)

Irony Irony – words are used to convey the

opposite of their literal meaning or the meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is

the War Room."(Peter Sellers as President Merkin Muffley in Dr. Strangelove, 1964)

COMMON PROBLEMS IN CHOOSING LANGUAGE FOR SPEECHES

Problems in language Language devices are good, but what if

they are overused? Read “If Slang is Not a Sin”

Why is this essay not relevant today? What is ironic about this essay?

Common problems1. Connotations2. Euphemisms3. Cliches4. Stereotyping5. Slang

Connotations Associations with a certain word or

emotional suggestions related to that word Can be positive or negative Ex: Connotations with the word snake could

be evil or danger Home, house, residence, dwelling

How can connotations be useful? What happens if you create an unintentional

connotation that is negative?

Euphemisms The substitution of an inoffensive term (such as

"passed away") for one considered offensively explicit ("died")

Examples: "The 'reconstruction' of New Orleans has become a

euphemism for the destruction of the city's cultural and historic heritage."(Ghali Hassan, 2006)

Pre-owned for used or second-hand enhanced interrogation for torture industrial action for strike misspoke for lie tactical withdrawal for retreat Passed wind for belch or fart

Cliches A figure of speech whose effectiveness has been

worn out through overuse and excessive familiarity

Examples: Live and learn. Stay the course. What goes around comes around. Bite the hand that feeds you Give it to me straight Fits like a glove

Stereotyping oversimplified image of a person, place, or thing Examples:

All Italians are in the Mob. All southerners are rednecks and dim-witted. All Chinese people are good at math. All Jocks are stupid. All Blondes are Stupid. All Lawyers are crooks.

The Scribner Handbook for Writers (2003) asserts that "clichés are too predictable and too familiar to be interesting," while the editors of Writing: A College Handbook (W. W. Norton, 2000) insist darkly that "using worn-out phrases tells the reader that you have no imagination of your own."

Slang use of informal words and expressions

that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language

http://www.slangsite.com/