As the old proverb goes, “a good dress is a card of invitation”, however there is still another one “conversation makes one what he is” meaning that the way we speak tells others much about us. Rather than clothes, attributes, or belonging to a social class, a language determines our status in the eyes of the people we meet.
The first words we pronounce, and most importantly how we do that, immediately design a picture of us. The use of lower standards of language, including slang, jargon, let alone dirty words instantly place us on a lower scale of social evolution. More than that, in higher circles, such terms are unacceptable at all. In other words, a code of language use determines the social environment an individual belongs to. While these are typical day patterns of our everyday communication, we will not artificially mask hide them in the presence of companions that are more intellectual.
On the other hand, using the words that seem too smart, or professionalisms restrictively used in professional circles, will not serve us a good deal while we communicate in general environments. The listeners will not understand us and will keep away from our company. This way, professionalisms often create an impression that their users are in-field gurus who care only about their topics. Thus, we should take into account a situation and a circle of listeners who are affected by conveying the information. Once the individual chats with friends, it is more likely to use some of the straightforward expressions with the use of slang because the overuse of professionalisms might be interpreted as the way to boast of.
Another medium that may generate false impressions about us is public presentations. Here we always want to look our best and use the best vocabulary. This attempt may create a positive impression by using the words and phrases we never use in daily conversations will deteriorate our speech and make it sound unnatural. People who know us closely will get the sense of fake demonstration of your personality. Wearing a mask in public is certainly not a preferable thing to show in public as the mass perception of a character is the way to promote yourself in your career. So, one has to stay watchful at the use of language as it is a paramount element to impress the public.
It is rather important to choose easier words rather than the complex ones to sound clear and put our message across in a comprehensive way. Such strategy works in various cases. Both, in everyday use of language and the academic environment an individual, should remain clear in his or her statements. The language serves an excellent evidence to prove such abilities. This regards the way we communicate with children during every word we say to their overall impression about us. Children form an opposite category of communication groups. They require more attention towards them, and the way they discover the world should correlate with their age abilities.
What I mean is that when they learn the language techniques, it will be most likely that they will use to pronounce simple sounds first that will further transform into more complicated words. As adults, we are to accompany them in that way of learning the basics of the world. The language is the tool for getting a proper comprehension of it. So, the complexity of the language use often depends on the particular language groups and particular situation. So, one has to pay attention to whom the information is delivered and in which way.
The language contains the symbols that reflect its relations with the society. Some of the languages are constructed as gender neutral, in others one can note a social oppression on the primary level. Also, language strongly corresponds to political changes of the region it spoke. Most of the European countries serve a bright example of evidence the statement. Notably, an interesting example is noted in former East and West Germany. In the East part of today’s Germany that previously was under control of USSR, gender policies were perceived differently that in the West Germany that followed a democratic approach since its foundation. After the unification of the country in 1989, a government pointed out to the need to respect both genders in the language as it reflects social and professional relations. For instance, all of the names of German professions contain the words for a man and a woman (der Kollege, die Kollegin – a colleague). So generally speaking, societies that are more democratically advanced tend to promote their regards in language, too. As the language is perceived as a set of symbols, it can tell a lot of the societal values in a certain environment (Boroditsky).
To sum up, language gives way to either positive or negative impressions about people. Those who care about their image in public would have to watch what they are saying on various occasions, taking into account to whom a speech is directed. Societies mirror the language stereotypes and social relation. So the perception of the base and values determines the principles spread in the language. To conclude, I’d like to restate that we usually make stereotypes about others depending on what they say and how they do it. So, the language is a weapon in many cases, either in fighting the stereotypes or creating them.
