Language and Culture

One of the concepts this week was in chapter 10, Language and Culture. This is how language differs from place to place and among different social groups in society. Some cultures use slang to express themselves. Slang exists with in culture where the same language is spoken but many words and sayings are given different meanings then the standard dictionary meaning. Another way that culture affects language is Jargon. This is usually used among professionals and can be quite technical. The normal person who is not familiar with the subject might find the Jargon hard to understand. There are many other ways that culture affects how people speak and for this reason it is important for people to be conscious of their audience so that they understand what is being presented to them. If a scientist is presenting a resent finding to a group of people who are not scientists and uses the technical Jargon then their audience is not learning, or understanding the speech. I find that if I struggle to understand someone, or there are a lot of words that I have never heard I am more likely to check out and stop listening. Also some forms of slang can be derogatory and make people feel uncomfortable, so it's important to know your audience and what they will be open to. A speaker will not be affective if they are insulting their audience. Also if people do not understand the double meaning of certain words then the audience could leave confused and mis-informed. For example to say that something is "bad" could mean the literal meaning of not good, or it can mean cool if being used in slang. It is important to try and speak to your audience in a way that is understandable and relate able to a group of people equally.