SOCIOL 41 Lecture Notes - Lecture 46: Arthur Schuster, Public Space, Paralanguage
Document Summary
Language performance must be appropriate to the social and cultural context. Speakers are expected to use language that is: Appropriate to the status of the individuals they are discussing and. Ex: man walking into court won"t tell the judge what"s up. Public distance (12-25 feet) is prescribed for interaction in formal encounters, lectures, trials, and other public events. Social distance (4-12 feet) is prescribed for many casual social and business transactions. Personal distance (1 feet- 4 feet) is prescribed for interaction among friends and relatives. Intimate distance (0-18 inches) is prescribed for giving comfort, making love, and aggressing physically. What a person wears that communicates information about that. Multiple cues convey added information, reduce ambiguity, and increase the accuracy of communication. Multiple cues also resolve inconsistencies so the messages can be evaluated separately and weighed (facial cues first, then paralanguage and verbal cues) Content of interaction - types of symbolic meaning.
