Public Speaking

162 CHAPTER 12^ Choosing Effective Language

You can access your online resources for Public Speaking: Concepts and Skills for a

Diverse Society at cengagebrain.com using the access code that came with your book

or that you purchased online.

KEy tERmS

Review your Flashcards. The terms below are defined in the margins throughout this chapter.

ageist language 158

alliteration 156

ambiguous words 151

antimetabole 155

archetypal symbol 157

code switching 152

concrete word 154

connotative meaning 151

denotative meaning 151

dialect 152

disclaimer 158

dismissive language 159

epithet 151

euphemism 151

hedges 158

inclusive language 158

jargon 151

language 150

metaphor 156

mixed metaphor 156

nonparallel language 158

oral style 152

personification 157

perspective taking 161

racist language 158

rhyme 156

sexist language 158

simile 156

Standard English 152

tag question 158

vague word 155

verbiage 153

word 150

CRitiCal    thinKinG    ExERCiSES

1. A webpage titled “Incredible Facts” claims that the English word with the most
   dictionary meanings is set. (You can access this information on your online resources.)
   First, come up with all the meanings of set that you can, and then use a dictionary to
   look it up. Do you agree with the author, or can you prove him wrong? Then thumb
   through a print edition instead of an online dictionary, and look for other ambiguous
   words with more than ten meanings.


2. Your online speech archives give you the opportunity to listen to the greatest words
   ever spoken in the English language. Link to “Top 100 Speeches” and you’ll find Lou
   Gehrig’s 1939 farewell to baseball, General Douglas McArthur’s farewell to Congress,
   Margaret Chase Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience,” and ninety-seven more. Listen to
   a speech of your choice and then write a paragraph explaining how the language
   choices contribute to the effectiveness of the speech.


3. Find a speech by a speaker who represents a culture different than your own on your
   online resources. Locate the metaphors and similes in the speech. Note the similarities
   and differences between the metaphors of that culture and your own.


4. Interview a member of an occupation that interests you, and make a list of jargon terms
   associated with the job (for example, carpenters, musicians, foresters, pharmacists,
   truckers, bankers). How many terms do you know? Which terms are unfamiliar? If you
   were listening to a speaker from that occupation, what would you want the speaker to
   do so that you would better understand the speech?


5. Watch Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech or JFK
   delivering his inaugural address, focusing especially on the vivid language choices.
   The links are available on your online resources.

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