Language and Perception

The human world is a world of words and meanings. We use words to express ourselves and to give meaning to our identities, relationships, and activities. Language and words are used and interpreted differently by every culture which means that each of us perceives things differently.

Language is arbitrary, which means that sometimes words are not intrinsically connected to what they represent. Because language is arbitrary, we tend to change the meanings of words over time. For example, in the 1950’s, the word gay mean “merry,” but today it is more commonly used to refer to homosexuals. Language is also ambiguous because the meanings of words are not clear cut or fixed. For example, the term affordable may mean something different to someone who makes minimum wage compared to someone who is wealthy. Ambiguous language is also a common problem between romantic partners because men and women tend to interpret things differently.

Last but not least, language is abstract, which means that it is not concrete or intangible. Words stand for people, events, objects and feelings, but they are not things they represent. It becomes natural for us to assign several meanings to a particular word. Sometimes, we may not be aware of our efforts to interpret words, but we continuously engage in the process of constructive meanings. What we may consider a comment from a friend can seem like an insult from an employer. The meanings that we apply to words can depend greatly on that person’s self esteem and past experiences.

Not only does language change its meanings, but it also shapes our perception. Sometimes, we tend to focus on the negative aspects of a person, and that becomes the way we label them. If we define someone as Asian or African American, then that may be all we notice about that person. A common way this may occur is through stereotyping, which means classifying a person based on your general perceptions of some category.

Although language helps us to communicate to the outside world, it also allows self-reflection. Self-reflection empowers us to monitor ourselves. When interacting with different cultures, we monitor our language by reminding ourselves that they may have different values and communication rules from ours. Self-reflection allows us to monitor our communication and adjust it to be affective.

I have always thought of myself as a good communicator. I feel that one of the best ways of communicating with another is active listening. I try to find an interest in what others say, and ask questions if I have any. Stereotyping is a very commonly used, but it’s one thing I have always tried to avoid. I would say it’s definitely a challenge to avoid the influences others have on you. For example, I have a good friend who loves to engage in gossip about others. When she speaks to me about something, I listen to her, but I do not put in my own judgements. I feel its best to avoid situations like that because I do not believe in hear say. The only thing I think I could really work on to be a better communicator is to avoid slang terms. I tend to use a lot of slang terms or simplified words when I communicate with others, and I usually have to repeat myself to get my meaning across.

Although all humans use language, we dont all use it in the same way. As I described above, language is arbitrary, abstract, and ambiguous. Meanings of words, and the way we communicate them change over time, and are interpreted differently by each and every one of us.


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