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Lecture8usinglanguageBasicrequirementsofusinglanguage:•accurately•clearly•vividly•appropriately•inclusivelyMeaningsofWords•Wordshavetwokindsofmeanings—denotativeandconnotative.•Denotativemeaningisprecise,literal,andobjective.•Itdescribestheobject,person,place,idea,oreventtowhichthewordrefers.•Forexample,denotatively,thenoun“school”means“aplace,institution,orbuildingwhereinstructionisgiven.”•Connotativemeaningismorevariable,figurative,andsubjective.•Theconnotativemeaningofawordiswhatthewordsuggestsorimplies.•Forinstance,theconnotativemeaningoftheword“school”includesallthefeelings,associations,andemotionsthatthewordtouchesoffindifferentpeople.•Connotativemeaninggiveswordstheirintensityandemotionalpower.Itarousesinlistenersfeelingsofanger,pity,love,fear,friendship,nostalgia,greed,guilt,andthelike.•Forexample:Terroristsneitherlistentoreasonnorengageinreasoningwithothers.Theiraimistogeneratefear—tofrightenpeopleintosubmission.Theymeasuresuccessbythemagnitudeofthefeartheygeneratethroughbrutal,savageactsofviolence.Terroristsarepreparedtokilltofurtherwhatevercausetheyclaimtobepursuing.Andtheheinousnessofthesemurdersisaccentuatedbythefactthatterroristsmurderwithoutpassion.Theymurderwithcooldeliberationanddeliberateplanning.Theyareutterlyamoral.•Here,incontrast,isanotherversionofthesamestatement—thistimeusingwordswithadifferentsetofconnotations:Terroristsdonotseektonegotiatewiththeiropponents.Theyseekvictorybyusingpoliticalandpsychologicalpressure,includingactsofviolencethatmayendangerthelivesofsomepeople.Totheterrorist,ultimateobjectivesaremoreimportantthanthemeansusedtoachievethem.UsingLanguageAccurately•Ifyoulookinathesaurus,you’llfindthefollowingwordsgivenassynonyms:victoryaccomplishmentsuccessFillinthebestwordtocompleteeachofthesentencesbelow:1.Mymostimportant_______thisyearwasgettinganAincalculus.2.Priya’sbusiness_______resultsfromacombinationofhardworkandstreetsmarts.3.Paul’s_______ontheparallelbarsgavehimconfidencetopursuethegoldmedalforbestall-aroundgymnast.UsingLanguageClearly•Aspeaker’smeaningmustbeimmediatelycomprehensible.•Youcanensurethisbyusingfamiliarwords,bychoosingconcretewordsoverabstractwords,andbyeliminatingverbalclutter.Usefamiliarwords•Oneofthebiggestbarrierstoclearspeechisusingbig,bloatedwordswhereshort,sharponeswilldothejobbetter.•Thisisespeciallytruewhenitcomestotechnicallanguagethatmaybefamiliartothespeakerbutnottotheaudience.•Lookatthethreeversionsexplainingthedevastatingeffectsofapregnantwoman’sdrinkingonherunbornchild.•Version1Alcoholconsumptionbythepregnantwomanseriouslyinfluencestheintrauterinemilieuandthereforecontributestothemorbidityandmortalityofchildrenborntothesemothers.Inregardtothepathophysiologyofthissyndrome,geneticpolymorphismofenzymesforethanolmetabolismmayalterfetalsusceptibility.TheremayalsobepoormicrosomalormitochondrialfunctionordecreasedATPactivity.•Version2:Thedeleteriouseffectsofalcoholontheunbornchildareveryserious.Whenapregnantmotherconsumesalcohol,theethanolinthebloodstreameasilycrossestheplacentafrommothertochildandinvadestheamnioticfluid.Thiscanproduceanumberofabnormalbirthsyndromes,includingcentral-nervous-systemdysfunctions,growthdeficiencies,aclusteroffacialaberrations,andvariablemajorandminormalformations.•Version3:Whentheexpectantmotherdrinks,alcoholisabsorbedintoherbloodstreamanddistributedthroughoutherentirebody.Afterafewbeersoracoupleofmartinis,shebeginstofeeltipsyanddecidestosoberup.Shegrabsacupofcoffee,twoaspirin,andtakesalittlenap.Afterawhileshe’llbefine.Butwhileshesleeps,thefetusissurroundedbythesamealcoholiccontentasitsmotherhad.Afterbeingdrownedinalcohol,thefetusbeginstofeeltheeffect.Butitcan’tsoberup.Itcan’tgrabacupofcoffee.Itcan’tgrabacoupleofaspirin.Forthefetus’sliver,thekeyorganinremovingalcoholfromtheblood,isjustnotdeveloped.Thefetusisliterallypickledinalcohol.Chooseconcretewords•Concretewordsrefertotangibleobjects—people,places,andthings.•Theydifferfromabstractwords,whichrefertogeneralconcepts,qualities,orattributes.•Distinguishthefollowingwords:Carrot,Humility,pencil,nose,science,progress,doorphilosophy•Usually,themorespecificaword,themoreconcreteitis.•Letussayyouaretalkingaboutbasketball.Hereareseveralwordsandphrasesyoumightuse:physicalactivitysportsbasketballNBAYaoMingabstract/generalconcrete/specific•Althoughabstractwordsarenecessarytoexpresscertainkindsofideas,theyaremucheasiertomisinterpretthanareconcretewords.Also,concretewordsaremuchmorelikelytoclaimyourlisteners’attention.•Aspeechdominatedbyconcretewordswillalmostalwaysbeclearer,moreinteresting,andeasiertorecallthanonedominatedbyabstractwords.Eliminateclutter•Clutteredspeechhasbecomeanationalepidemic.•Forexample:Itappearsasifwearecurrentlyexperiencingprecipitationactivity.Wearefacingadifficultcrisissituationthatwillbetroublesometosuccessfullyresolve.It’sraining.Wehaveacrisis.•Thistypeofclutterforceslistenerstohackthroughatangleofwordstodiscoverthemeaning.Tipsforeliminatingclutter•Keepyourlanguageleanandlively•Avoidusingseveralwordswhereoneortwowilldo•Avoidflabbyphrases•Letyourideasem