Describe how ethnic/racial/social in?uences affect the meaning of words by discussing how a particular
culture may use its own set of meanings to communicate within the United States.
How does this relates to
the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis? What are some different ethnic, racial and social groups within the U.S?
What will be an ideal response?
The language each culture and/or subculture within the United States speaks helps maintain their identity to some
degree. Not every one who is part of a culture chooses to participate in the language, ideas, and beliefs of the
culture but participation can help bind the group together. It could also insulate the group if they are not
participating in communication with other cultures. This is signi?cant because, according to the Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis, people both perceive and describe events differently in part because of their language. Our choice of
words and the way we interpret others is related to our cultural identity. Different ethnicities within the U.S. can be
Polish American, Italian Americans, and Chinese Americans. Different races within the U.S. can be identi?ed as
blacks (or African Americans), Hispanics or Latinos, and Native Americans. Different social cultures can be
identi?ed as fraternities, sororities, steel workers.
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A poorly organized speech forces listeners to use mental energy to reconstruct the speaker's ideas
Indicate whether the statement is true or false
Social stigma is
a. When a person avoids contact with others due to anxiety about social situations b. When a person has characteristics that are seen as socially undesirable c. When a person is particularly adept at social situations and has more friends than he/she can maintain d. All of the above e. None of the above
He became the first sitting vice president since Martin Van Buren to win the presidency in what many consider the nastiest TV ad campaign in history:
a) Richard Nixon; b) Gerald Ford; c) Jimmy Carter; d) Ronald Reagan; e) George H.W. Bush
A job interviewer seems to want to get to know you more than to give you information about the job. What's a reasonable conclusion from this tendency?
A. The interviewer is coming more from a content approach to communication than a relational. B. The interviewer is likely setting up the applicant for several personal, unethical questions. C. The interviewer has a typically masculine perspective of casual conversation. D. The interviewer is coming more from a relational approach to communication than a content.