CHAPTER 4

THE WORLD OF WORDS

Then and Now

This assignment gives students insight into meanings and how they change over time. One week prior to the class period you will discuss the principle that meanings change, and give students the list of words below. Assign them the task of interviewing two individuals - one between forty and fifty and one over sixty years old - to find out what the words meant to them when they were twenty.

During lecture-discussion of language, ask students to share what they discovered about the meanings of these words years ago. Be sensitive to variations in meaning that arise from interviewees' race, sex, or sexual preference and point these out to students to remind them that meanings are subjective.

Is Our Language Sexist and Racist?

This exercise increases students' awareness of ways in which language reflects cultural assumptions by prompting them to notice common phrases that imply males are standard and Caucasians are standard and better than people of color.

Give students a copy of the handout on page 37.

Warning: Some of the statements are deliberately provocative; you will need to decide whether the students in your class can address the statements constructively or whether you should modify the organization for your particular students. Organize students into groups of six to eight members. Instruct the groups that they will have fifteen minutes to decide whether the statements on their handouts are sexist and racist. For each statement or phrase the students consider racist or sexist, they should suggest an alternative phrasing that is less race and sex biased.

After fifteen minutes, stop the discussions. Write the numbers 1 to 10 on the chalkboard. Beside each number write "yes" (is racist or sexist) and "no" (is not racist or sexist). Then ask how many thought the first statement contained sexist or racist language. Tally the groups' "yes" and "no" responses for item #1. Discuss why the groups thought the statement was sex or race biased and how the meaning might be conveyed without those biases. Continue this procedure for the remaining nine items.

Here are some of the biases in the statements that you might wish to point out to your students:

1. Man and wife are not parallel terms. The woman's identity is defined only in relation to her husband.

2. and 4. Many English terms associate whiteness with goodness and blackness or darkness with badness.

3. Are any women in the street giving interviews?

5. Did Ann's husband also keep HIS name? We notice when a woman doesn't assume the man's name but consider it normal for the man's identity to be unchanged by marriage.

6. Have you ever heard it described as babysitting when a mother takes care of her child? Referring to father's taking care of children as babysitting implies that being with a child is primarily a mother's responsibility.

7. Is a "regular guy" a Western Caucasian?

8. Do we ever hear the phrases "male lawyer" or "female nurse"? Referring to a female lawyer and male nurse spotlights the professionals' sex and implies it is unusual in that profession.

9. Whose standards are being tacitly used to determine shortness? A Western Caucasian standard is implied.

10. Whose standards define confrontational? A middle-class Caucasian standard is implied. Among other cultures, African-American for example, a direct and assertive speaking style may not be considered particularly confrontational.

Conclude the class session by discussing the importance of language in shaping how we think about ourselves and others. Talk with students about how self-concept is affected when a person is defined as nonstandard.

Is Our Language Sexist and Racist?

Following are ten statements. Read each one and discuss with other members of your group whether it contains language that is racist (suggests one race is BEST or the standard) or sexist (suggests one sex is better or the standard). Propose alternative language for any sentences you consider sexist or racist in their current form.

1. "I now pronounce you man and wife."
2. "We're the good guys-we wear white hats."
3. "The news program features man-in-the-street interviews."
4. "Let's see if we can't make something good happen by using a little white magic."
5. "I can't believe Ann kept her name when she married."
6. "John stayed home to babysit his son while his wife went out to take care of some business."
7. "My friend Hachividi is from India, but he acts like a regular guy."
8. "I know a woman lawyer and a male nurse."
9. "Asian people are really short. Most of the women are about five feet tall, and the men aren't much taller."
10. "Blacks are really confrontational."

This activity is a quick way to heighten students' awareness of the importance we attach to connotative meanings of language.

Create groups of five to seven students. On the chalkboard, write the following words:

Ask the groups to identify other words we use to avoid saying these "taboo" words. Ask the group for other examples of euphemisms. Discuss with students why we use euphemisms - what value do they serve?

Breaking the Rules

This activity heightens students' awareness of gendered prescriptions for verbal communication. It also illustrates the principle that communication is rule guided.

After students have read Chapter 4, instruct them to select one gender prescription for verbal behavior and to violate it intentionally. Women might interrupt, give minimal responses, not express empathy, reroute conversations, or be instrumental when others talk to them about personal problems. Men might be emotionally expressive, use tag questions, respond expressively to others' feelings, or express empathy. Lead a discussion in which you guide students to realize that others have gender-based expectations. Ask students what others did when they violated the rules for their gender. Also, ask students how they felt when deviating from expectations for their gender.

Image Making

This activity heightens students' awareness of the ways in which the language used by media shapes our perceptions of people and social groups.

Prior to the day you plan to conduct this exercise, either tell students to bring a newspaper to class on the day of the exercise or save enough newspapers yourself to give at least one and preferably several to each group.

Assign students to groups of five to seven members. Give each group one or more newspapers if students were not required to bring their own newspapers. Tell groups they will have twenty minutes to read and discuss the language used by newspapers to represent women, men, and racial groups. At the end of that time, each group should have a representative who will explain its findings to the class. To guide students' analyses of newspapers' language, pose questions such as these: Are men and women news figures described in parallel ways? How often is marital status and appearance mentioned in stories about members of each sex? When is race noted in newspaper articles? Is race identified only when the person in the story is not Caucasian? Does this imply Caucasian is the assumed standard? Are womenÕs and men's athletic contests given equal coverage? Are women and men athletes described in parallel ways? How much of each story on women and on men is devoted to athletic accomplishments, appearance, and personal details?

After twenty minutes, ask group representatives to report their findings to the class. As each group reports, highlight evidence of language that reflects and reproduces the idea that men and whiteness are standard and best.

Irregular Adjectives

As the text points out on page 95, there are many ways to say the same thing, but not all of them have the same effect on listeners. Here are some examples provided by Bertrand Russell and readers of the New Statesman.

I am firm.
You are obstinate.
He is pig-headed.

I am sparkling. You are unusually attractive. He is drunk.
I am righteously indignant. You are annoyed. He is making a fuss about nothing.
I am fastidious. You are fussy. He is an old woman.
I am a creative writer. You have a journalistic flair. He is a hack.
I am beautiful. You have quite good features. She is not bad looking, if you like that type.
I daydream. You are an escapist. He ought to see a psychiatrist.

In small groups have students complete the following statements or make up some of their own.

I am stocky.
I am slender.
I love music.
I need plenty of sleep.
I like to exercise.
I am a casual housekeeper.
I work hard.
I like to have fun.

Lead a discussion about what this reveals about the way you talk about yourself compared to how you talk about others. You think your own behaviors and characteristics are positive, while similar ones in others are not so positive. How does use of the verb "to be" limit your views of others and allow you to think that you have adequately described them with just one adjective?

(Adapted from Myers, G. & Myers, M. 1980. The Dynamics of Human Communication. New York. McGraw-Hill.)

I Meant What I Said

Divide the class into groups of 6-8 students. One person in the group makes a controversial statement about some current event or issue. The rest of the group asks the speaker to define any term the group members are not sure they understand, would not use the same way the speaker did, or think the speaker has defined too narrowly.

The speaker must use new words to define the old ones, and these new ones are in turn available for questioning by group members. At some point the speaker or the other group members will either run out of words or become too frustrated to continue. At this point change speakers and try again.

Lead a discussion with the class about what happened to the speakers and how they felt. Did they think that group members should "just know" what they meant? Did the group members become hostile to the speaker? How can we know that we mean the same thing by particular words as others do? Does not stopping to ask lead to miscommunication?

Questions for Class Discussion

1. Do you think very much about the language you use? Do you speak differently to different audiences? Why?

2. Can you think of specific ways in which the language you use reflects your view of the world?

3. Many words in English have multiple meanings. Why is this significant for communication. what does this say about the importance of context for successful communication.

4. Is bias inevitable in language, or can we get rid of it somehow?

5. How would your life be different if you did not have the ability to use symbols? Try to imagine life without memories or hopes or plans. Try to think only in terms of literal reality, not what might be.

6. Do you belong to or know of any subcultures that use special language. What are some of the words used? Why do groups use special language? Do these words ever leak out into common usage? Why does this happen?

1. Analyze what happened and how you felt when you violated the verbal communication rules for your gender.

2. Attend a religious service in a church, synagogue, or temple that is attended primarily by individuals whose race differs from yours. Do not take notes or otherwise appear disrespectful while in the service, but do observe the communication of both leaders and the congregation. Afterward, analyze how communication differs in your normal church and the one you attended.

3. Describe verbal communication between you and a close friend or romantic partner of the other sex. Analyze the extent to which you and the other person follow patterns typical of women and men in general.

Invite one or more relationship counselors to talk with your class. Ask the guest(s) to describe common problems in couples' verbal communication and to explain counseling methods they use to improve verbal communication between partners in romantic relationships.

Film Ideas

Films such as Ordinary People and Mr. and Mrs. Bridge provide extended illustrations of gendered communication styles. You might show all or parts of either or both films and ask students to take notes on the specific ways in which women and men embody cultural expectations for gender in their communication.

Tootsie is an excellent film to supplement teaching about both verbal and nonverbal communication. Dustin Hoffman does a superb job of embodying masculine verbal and nonverbal style when he is Michael and feminine verbal and nonverbal style when he is Dorothy.

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