CMNS 110 Study Guide - Final Guide: Pole And Polar, Social Proof, Connotation

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Communication
• Course: CMNS 110
• Professor: Gary Mc Carron

Document Summary

Trying to understand where language comes from is problematic. Call of nature hypothesis = humans make sounds by nature, language is simply our way of following this instinct. Gestural theory hypothesis = spoken language evolved from physical gestures. Language = social phenomenon, how we communicate with other people creates social bond. Speech acts = performing acts with language. Ong"s concepts of oral cultures: additive rather than subordinate: you add things on rather than collect things acc. to logic. Literacy constantly moving on, values new information: close to the human lifeworld: closer to/more aware of the world they inhabit. Literacy ex. people who cling to their cellphones: agonistically toned: can be more competitive in terms of attitude. Literal cultures are polite: situational rather than abstract: default assumptions and distinctions, homeostatic: changes but not drastically, only bc change is inevitable. Tries to maintain equilibrium, hold on to what they have. Can add more info, but not too much.