This preview from your weekly readings is designed to give you an overview of the material we will cover this week. Please be sure to completely read each assigned chapter since the material will be needed to answer the quizzes and to complete other graded work such as discussions and assignments.
For this week, please read:
Explain how the triangle of meaning describes the symbolic nature of language.
Distinguish between denotation and connotation.
Discuss the function of the rules of language.
Describe the process of language acquisition.
The relationship between language and meaning is not a straightforward one. One reason for this complicated relationship is the limitlessness of modern language systems like English (Crystal, 2005). Language is productive in the sense that there are an infinite number of utterances we can make by connecting existing words in new ways. In addition, there is no limit to a language’s vocabulary, as new words are coined daily. Of course, words aren’t the only things we need to communicate, and although verbal and nonverbal communication are closely related in terms of how we make meaning, nonverbal communication is not productive and limitless. Although we can only make a few hundred physical signs, we have about a million words in the English language. So with all this possibility, how does communication generate meaning?
Define nonverbal communication.
Compare and contrast verbal communication and nonverbal communication.
Discuss the principles of nonverbal communication.
Provide examples of the functions of nonverbal communication.
As you’ll recall from our introductory chapter, a channel is the sensory route on which a message travels. Oral communication only relies on one channel, because spoken language is transmitted through sound and picked up by our ears. Nonverbal communication, on the other hand, can be taken in by all five of our senses. Since most of our communication relies on visual and auditory channels, those will be the focus of this chapter. But we can also receive messages and generate meaning through touch, taste, and smell. Touch is an especially powerful form of nonverbal communication that we will discuss in this chapter, but we will not get into taste and smell, which have not received as much scholarly attention in relation to nonverbal communication as the other senses.
Define kinesics.
Define haptics.
Define vocalics.
Define proxemics.
Define chronemics.
Provide examples of types of nonverbal communication that fall under these categories.
Discuss the ways in which personal presentation and environment provide nonverbal cues.
Just as verbal language is broken up into various categories, there are also different types of nonverbal communication. As we learn about each type of nonverbal signal, keep in mind that nonverbals often work in concert with each other, combining to repeat, modify, or contradict the verbal message being sent.
