Power Of Language: Mitigated Speech

Language appropriate to socio-cultural sensitivities is selected and used in an appropriate manner without compromising own values or arguments

For example once I had to say this to a person that was being a bully “I got a little brother and a little sister that crayon all over my books, and I got a dog that eats them and poops on them and that's just inside my own family, and I’m not gonna have nobody else messing with my books!” Even though I am clearly mad in this case I still spoke with confidence I spoke clearly and I had evidence for the situation I was in.

Humans have several ways of communicating with one another, whether that is written, spoken, facial expressions, or through body language. We use all of these forms all the time, it would be impossible to live a day without speaking, writing or reading, making facial expressions, or using any body language to communicate with others. While all these forms of communication are commonly known, another form, not as intuitively obvious, is silence. Like all forms of communication, silence will change with reference to different cultures. Just as different cultures speak differently or have different languages, and have different body languages, cultures also have different meanings behind silence. Native American cultures have been described as reluctant to speak or lacking in personal warmth simply because their culture views silence differently than most Americans. Apaches use silence for situations of uncertainty and unpredictability, Americans prefer that silence does not happen at all but will accept it for situations of comfort or in some cases when they want to avoid small talk with strangers. These difference in the use of silences are simply due to the cultural differences between Apaches and Americans. As Apaches’ use of silence reflects their cultural values of recognition and respect, Americans use, or lack of use, of silence reflects their cultural values of directness and urgency.

Conversation is a ritual every person must encounter throughout their lives in order to function properly with one another in today’s society. However, every individual has a “different idea about what’s appropriate” when approaching someone in any sort of conversation; that is why we are referred to as individuals (Tannen 327). There are thousands of diverse languages to speak to one another with, in fact that means there are thousands of different ways to offend each other with our words. Within those languages there are several contrasting gestures that can offend any single person, such as the amount of times individuals apologize in one meeting, giving criticism too harshly, or thanking someone so often it does not seem genuine. In the article “What Do You Mean,” Deborah Tannen touches upon apologies, criticism, and thank yous in further detail to explain where individuals go wrong within conversation and how they can fix their actions. Individuals find it satisfying to please others by being polite because it is the ‘right’ thing to do, however like myself others need to stand up for themselves and get directly to the point now in order to avoid conflict later in life.

The short story “Speech Sounds” is a science fiction story written by Octavia Butler. This essay portrays a central theme that really opened my eyes as well as many others. This theme is to never take your ability to communicate for granted. Communication is a huge part of our culture and civilization. I never truly realized how important communication really was until reading this story. Without it, we cannot express our feelings in a correct manner. Not being able to connect with other individuals results in it being very hard to cooperate with others, causing chaos amongst society. In a short amount of time, the world would turn on each other causing mass amounts of violence. Likewise, this is similar to the story “Speech Sounds.” There are many takeaways one can have after reading this story.

1. What does your word choice say about you? What if you did not say anything? These are some of the questions that I can help you answer by the end of your reading. In this paper, I will cover how Americans communicate verbally, nonverbally, and whether we use direct or indirect communication in our American culture. While understanding the topics that we will go over in this paper, it is imperative that we begin with the most familiar methods that we as Americans use daily, verbal and nonverbal communications.

Speech codes are being set up in many universities across America and the globe. Most of these codes are propagated from the academic left, which tends to believe in postmodernism and Marxist philosophy. This runs counter to free speech and stands as an ideological threat to the freedoms enjoyed by western civilization. While not detailed further here, these threats stand from postmodern denial of the idea of Truth, the rejection of faith in science and reason, and the idea that human nature is only socially determined.*

Throughout the semester, we have studied numerous communication theories. Their purpose is to help understand exactly what happens when we interact with others. We might not necessarily agree with all of the theories, but the idea is to develop tools to evaluate situations we may encounter. Often, when the theories are explained in the readings or lecture, it is beneficial to apply the concepts to a "real life" situation. Using this approach, I will use a situation that many of us have faced, or will face, and analyze it according to a particular communication theory.

In the world of communication, there are many theories which describe different ways people communicate. According to Doctor Thomas Hanitzsch, an associate professor of communication at the University of Munich in Germany, “Communication Theory is an international forum publishing high quality, original research into the theoretical development of communication from across a wide array of disciplines” (“Communication Theory”). A specific communication theory that will be highlighted is the Face-Negotiation theory developed by Stella Ting-Toomey. Simply stated, Dr. Ting-Toomey suggests that conflict is a consequence of identity management on an individual and cultural level, and occurs when an individual or group’s face is threatened.

    If we are not aware of the words that come out of our mouths due to lack of thought or attention, we all suffer and we are all at fault: “When language dies, out of carelessness, disuse, indifference, and absence of esteem, or killed by fiat, . . . all users and makers are accountable for its demise” (Morrison 14-15).  The standards of society are changing and with them the

Today, most believe in equality for all people. In recent times, we have witnessed the battle for equality and civil rights, and we have celebrated their successes. However, the short people in our communities are battling an injustice that has not yet been acknowledged. Their voices are unheard, their struggles unrealised, and their pain concealed behind a pretend smile. Bruised and battered, a cruel twist of genetics has condemned the height disadvantaged to a merciless whirlwind of oppression, every single day.

What is the meaning of language? How big the role of language in your life? Have you ever realize the impact of language in your life? In my opinion, language is not as simple as people seen in general. Usually the way people see language just as a tool for communicating with others. For me, behind the general usage of language, it also has a big role in our life because a language has the power to stand and show each person’s identity. Inside the Gloria Anzaldua’s essay “How To Tame A Wild Tongue” and Amy Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue” claim that language is an identity. Because they show that language which they commonly use to communicate since the day they were born, showing who are they really are. Language as identity is very arguing phrases, it can be approach from a different perspective. This thing is exactly what are both of these essays are trying to do by approaching differently and using a different tone. Their life and experience give an impact to the way they interpret that language is an identity, and it also seen in each of their essays.

Language is often defined  as a system of communication, a way for humans to interact with one another. Language itself can hold a great amount of power. It can express one 's emotion, show love or hate, and could give meaning. For example an object has no identification unless the power of language is wielded to provide it a name based on its ability and function. Language often has a great influence on culture and religion. This is shown greatly in the cultures of the Hebrews and the Greeks which are known for their famous texts “Genesis” and “The Metamorphoses”, two pieces of literature that explains the creation of man from different ways of belief. The book of “Genesis” from the Hebrew Bible is used in the practice of  Judaism and Christianity and is the most well known text of this culture. It is also believed to be the very first book written in the Bible. “The Metamorphosis” is a story taken from what is called Greek Mythology, where multiple Gods are believed to exist and each of them holding power over different things. Both texts use the power of language in different ways to express emotion and bring things to life.

As well as this, there are many conversational techniques that can be utilized. Techniques such as pausing, pacing,

Imagine coming home after a long day at school when you can practically taste the leftovers you hid in the fridge the night before, only to find that they aren’t there. I don’t know if this has happened to you, but it happens to me all the time, and it’s probably one of the most infuriating and disappointing things ever. Infuriating because I know somebody ate it when I asked them not to, and disappointing because that food was the only thing I’d been looking forward to all day.  Now, try to imagine this happening every day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, for days, weeks, and months on end. Unfortunately, for some this is more than just a scenario we were asked to imagine, it’s a reality. This is food insecurity. Food insecurity