TaK - Language

“In the beginning was the Word...”

TaK - Language

“If you can’t say it, you don’t know it”Hans Reichenbach

“How often misused wordsgenerate misleading thoughts”

Herbert Spencer

TaK - Language

What could you know about the world if you had no language or means of communicating with

other people?

TaK - Language

Language is a subset of Communication- but not all communication is language.

What else is there?

Communication

Spoken/WrittenLanguageBody

Language

Symbols

Arts

?

MathsModels

TaK - Language

Pablo Picasso Francis Bacon

Communication - Arts

A picture is worth a thousand words…?

TaK - Language

Communication - Body Language

TaK - Language

Communication - Body Language

Body Language - examples

• Hands on knees: indicates readiness.• Hands on hips: indicates impatience or possibly the person is

angry• Lock your hands behind your back: indicates self-control.• Locked hands behind head: states confidence.• Sitting with a leg over the arm of the chair: suggests

indifference.• Legs and feet pointed in a particular direction: the direction

where more interest is felt• Crossed arms: indicates submissiveness.

Body language is a form of non-verbal communication involving the use of stylized gestures, postures, and physiologic signs

which act as cues to other people. Humans, sometimes unconsciously, send and receive non-verbal signals all the time.

Perhaps 70% of communication is non-verbal

TaK - Language

TaK - Language

1) What can body language communicate more effectively than spoken language?

2) What can spoken language communicate more effectively than body language?

TaK - Language

Communication -The Language of Clothes

TaK - Language

Communication -The Language of Clothes

TaK - Language

Communication - Symbols

TaK - Language

Communication - Symbols

TaK - Language

Communication - Symbols

TaK - Language

Words are symbols …

this word represents that thing

Tree =

TaK - Language

What do we mean by ‘Language’?

• Language is rule-governed.

• Language is intended.

• Language is creative and open-ended.

TaK - Language

Rule-governed:

• Grammar

• Rules

• Accepted vocabulary

• Needs social agreement

TaK - Language

therewere

sixpeople

injured

lying

at

the

side

of

the

road

Make a coherent sentence using all 12 words:

The Montillation of Traxoline by Judy Lanier

“It is very important that you learn about traxoline. Traxoline is a

new form of zionter. It is montilled in Ceristanna. The Ceristannians

gristeriate large amounts of fevon and then bracter it into quasel

traxoline. Traxoline may well be one of our most lukized snezlaus in

the future because of zionter lescelidge”

1) What is traxoline?

2) Where is traxoline montilled?

3) How is traxoline quaselled?

4) Why is it important to know about traxoline?

TaK - Language

TaK - Language

Write a sentence describing what is happening in these two pictures:

TaK - Language

Intended:

• Language is a form of communication, but not all communication is language

o You are bored in class, you catch someone’s eye and make a yawning gesture

o You are trying to look interested in what someone is saying but find yourself starting to yawn.

TaK - Language

Creative and open-ended:

You can write or speak a sentence that has never before appeared in the

English language ...

TaK - Language

Language enables us to communicate new information, to learn about people and places and ideas we have never encountered before…

... but to what extent should we trust it?

TaK - Language

In groups, define –

• A triangle

• A table

• Love

TaK - Language

Pass along a message......

TaK - Language

There is an element of translation in every communication.

• A sends a message to B.• B receives the message and interprets it.• Misunderstanding takes place.

TaK - Language

Why is it so difficult to communicate effectively?

TaK - Language

Some of the reasons...

• Most of the message we communicate is non-verbal.

• The words we use are vague, imprecise, and can be interpreted in different ways.

• We may have a “hidden agenda” that is not mutually understood.

• In this community, we all have different language histories and experiences – verbal and non-verbal! This contributes to the “problem” of communication.