Читать книгу The Communication Playbook - Teri Kwal Gamble - Страница 175

The communication of meaning is a key function of language. The factors identified in this section relate to problems we may have when attempting to share meaning.

Ethics and Communication

Looking at Language

The following is a joke that language scholars share:

 Q: What do you call a person who speaks three languages?

 A: Trilingual

 Q: What do you call a person who speaks two languages?

 A: Bilingual

 Q: What do you call a person who speaks one language?

 A: American

1 In the book Language Shock, author Michael Agar notes that a commonly held stereotype is that Americans find it particularly difficult to enter into the world that goes with another language because it requires them to adopt another point of view, another way of perceiving. To combat this stereotype and change the way Americans look at the world and at themselves, should they have to learn another language? Why or why not? And if they should, which one(s) do you suggest they learn and why?

2 According to Steven Pinker, a linguist and author of The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature, whatever language we do speak is the joint creation of millions. Pinker tells us language works because it reflects the world as we jointly experience it. Language does not just convey reality; it also has social functions. Pinker explains that because of our concern for our relationships, we frequently fail to say what we actually mean, opting to use indirect or ambiguous speech instead.

In your opinion, is it ethical to conceal words under veils of politeness and innuendo? Is it ethical to be calculatingly ambiguous? Would you, for example, use indirect speech to help another person save face? Would you use it to negotiate an agreement or treaty? Are some things better left unsaid?