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2.6: Using Words in an Argument

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    67154
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    There are over 6,000 languages in the world. As researcher John McWhorter writes,

    “By language, we do not mean solely words, but the grammar that we use to put them together to produce utterances that reflect our impression of our lives, experiences, and environment, as well as enable us to affect people and events around us.” 1

    Language is fundamental to critical thinking. Language can determine how productive our argumentation will be. Using the wrong word to the wrong audience is almost a sure way to have our arguments rejected by that audience.

    Meanings are assigned to words arbitrarily, and the meaning of words in our language can change as social groups within the society use them for their own purposes. This makes our language very much alive and extremely fluid. The good critical thinker uses language that meets the needs and expectations of the audience, and is appropriate to the time, place, person and occasion. If the critical thinker cannot select appropriate language to fit his or her thoughts, the meaning of the message is lost.

    Four areas of language use are important to critical thinking: word choice, definition, ambiguity, and intensity.

    Word Choice

    We use language all the time, but not always with the success we expect.

    The English language contains roughly 500,000 usable words, and the 500 most common words in the English language have a combined total of more than 14,000 different meanings. It seems so simple to merely select the symbol or symbols you know and that you hope your audience will understand. It is not easy to make sure your audience has the same idea of a word that you have. After all, the meaning of words is not unique to the actual words themselves but in the minds of the people who use and receive them.

    Understanding is heavily related to vocabulary. If you don’t have the proper word, it becomes difficult to communicate a concept. Thus, the more concepts you understand, the more powerful your thinking can be, the more combinations you can make, and the more exact you can be in relating a symbol to a thought to an audience. Good word choice involves being able to look critically at language and select the words that most accurately convey the message. It means being able to choose just the right words to make the message sound natural and precise. Word choice is what gives exactness to details and helps the communicator paint memorable pictures in the audience’s mind.

    Care in word choice helps us adapt the message to the audience and reduces the chance of miscommunication. Remember: Meaning is in the mind and not in the symbols (words). The language goal of the critical thinker is to select the appropriate words to match the time, place, occasion and person. This is no more than saying “the right thing at the right time.”

    Definition

    One way to avoid the problems caused by Word Choice is to define the terms you are using. The primary function of definition is to get sender and receiver on the same semantic wavelength in order to avoid unnecessary semantic hurdles that prevent a discussion of more important issues. In other words, to help both sides understand what the argument is all about.

    Definition is also used to indicate the sense in which you may be using a term familiar to you, but your use of the term might differ from how someone else might use that word. Words convey two different meanings to the audience: a denotative and a connotative meaning.

    The denotative meaning of a word refers to the way a word is generally used or the meaning that people most frequently attach to a word. When a word has multiple meanings, definition number one in the dictionary is usually thought of as the denotative meaning of the word.

    The Random House Dictionary of the English Language contains over 315,000 entries and includes up-to-date etymologies, the origins of the specific words. New definitions are added to existing words to reflect current usage and expression. Words, which were once considered slang, have now been moved into the main dictionary. The major influences on new words and new definitions come from generational language changes, contemporary music, the influence of media on language, and cultural expansion and diversity. Below is a list of some of the words that have been added.

    1940's
    ack-ack, apartheid, atom bomb, baby-sit, barf, bazooka, cheeseburger, crash-land, flying saucer, gobbledygook

    1950's
    aerospace, alphanumeric, brainstorming, car wash, cha-cha, digitize, do-it-yourself, ethnohistory, in-house, meter maid

    1960's
    area code, ASCII, biohazard, Brownie point, crib death, doofus, disco, glitch, microwave oven, Op-Ed, sexism

    1970's
    airhead, bean counter, biofeedback, deadbeat dad, diskette, electronic mail, junk food, surrogate mother, gentrify

    1980's
    AIDS, boom box, caller ID, channel surf, cyberpunk, dis, greenmail, sandwich generation, trophy wife, voice mail, wannabe

    1990's
    anatomically correct, bad hair day, brux, digerati, granny dumping, olestra, soccer mom, step aerobics, uptalk, World Wide Web

    2000’s
    9/11, global warming, bailout, surge, dot.com, texting

    2010’s
    bridezilla, Arab spring, live-stream, selfie stick, cyber warrior, five-second rule, brain fart, mic drop, emoji

    http://www.randomhouse.com/features/rhwebsters/

    The connotative meaning of the word refers to the way a person emotionally responds to it. The word “mother” has a common denotative meaning to most people, but each person may react differently to the word. For some, “mother” conjures up thoughts of kindness, trust, and love. For others, “mother” may evoke thoughts of depression, fear, and hate. Connotative meanings are a necessary and important part of human communication. Being creatures of emotions, it’s a fact of life that people will use some words that will evoke strong reactions. “My spouse” has the same denotative meaning as “my life partner” but you do get a different connotation from the two terms.

    Without connotative meanings, we would be unable to describe ourselves fully or have others understand us. Problems occur, however, when people claim to use a word in a denotative way, when they are really expressing their emotional feelings. You call your old car an “antique.” To you, the connotation is that it is a valuable piece of history. To your friend, the connotation is that it is a dangerous piece of junk. Whether the car is a classic or a piece of junk is a matter of opinion, not fact. This difference is easy to forget and is the cause of many destructive arguments.

    Reference

    1. McWhorter, John. The Story of Human Language. Teaching Company. Chantilly, 2004. DVD

    This page titled 2.6: Using Words in an Argument is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jim Marteney (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .