February Blog Post

       Language is such an important concept to understand. Everybody on Earth who speaks a certain language all have a generalized notion of what language is. These generalized notions are shaped by people’s cultures, believes, and a number of other factors. It is language that allows people to love one another. However, language is only the device we use to write and understand words. Speech is the tool by which we us to verbally communicate with each other.

       The sentence that stood out to me this month, was from chapter seven of the book. It states, “Rather than understanding language as a collection of neutral structures or forms, constitutive approaches focus on people’s actual speech” (Warren & Fassett 2015). This sentence means to me that we should study the way somebody says something. For example, what tone is somebody speaking to you with? This could be a question you ask when thinking about somebody’s speech. There are many more ways you can analyze somebody’s speech. If you want to find out more, visit this website: http://www.playingwithwords365.com/what-is-the-difference-between-speech-and-language/. This website explains the differences between language and speech. It also talks about how speech and language are so closely related, and how they come together to form communication. Finally, the site informs the reader about what communication is, and how it can effect somebody’s life. With communication playing such an important role in our lives, it is only obvious how this article pertains to this assignment/blog post.

       Thoughts surrounding what we are supposed to pay attention to is important because this affects communication on many different levels. For example, if someone was to choose to understand language as a collection of, “…neutral structures or forms” (Warren & Fassett 2015), then that someone would miss the other form of communication. He/she would miss the nonverbal communication, and also might misinterpret the understanding of the message. This all plays a role in how we interact with each other every day.

       What summarizes this post the best is the part in the book that states, “This move away from structure is important because structural approaches tend to focus on building generalizations, rules, and norms that cut across contexts. Constitutive understanding of language, because they take seriously the ways language creates or builds identities, relationships, organizations, and cultures, focus on that context, on what is happening in this particular moment with these particular communicators” (Warren & Fassett 2015). This way of looking at communication is paramount to the functioning of societies.

Warren, John T., and Deanna L. Fassett. Communication: a critical/Cultural introduction. 2nd ed., Sage, 2015.