Examples & Applications
by David Turner
Gerry Philipsen described many different Speech Codes. The book, "A First Look at Communication Theory," describes five of them. While reading the different Prepositions, I looked at the experiences in my life. I will give examples of two of the prepositions in the next section.
Preposition one states, "Wherever there is a distinctive culture, there is to be found a distinctive speech code." Anywhere that you look, a speech code can be found. Take Ohio University's campus. My freshman year, I was accustomed to being around people in Dayton. My accent and slang made it hard for people to understand what I meant at times. They said some of the words that I used, they did not understand. My friend's sister still has trouble this very day. The first time we met, I had to keep repeating myself to help her understand what I was talking about. Since then, we have had numerous encounters, and she understands some now, but I still repeat myself all the time to help her interpret what I say.
Preposition three states, "The significance of speaking depends on the speech codes used by speakers and listeners to create and interpret their communication." I understand this to mean speech is only important depending on your own individual culture. The example mentioned in the book describes students not respecting their teacher, because he spoke instead of using strength and silence. My household was similar to this. I respet both my mother and father. My mother was usually the voie of reason in the house. She would try to talk to us, to tell us what was wrong. My father on the other hand, was the exact opposite. It wasn't fear of getting beaten, it was just a different kind of respect. If my father gave me a look of anger after doing something wrong, I would apologize without hesitation. I did not want to see my father angrier than what he was. His silence was powerful. If I did something wrong in class, and my teacher corrected me with words, I would apologize insincerely, knowing that I would do it again. I saw my teacher as a weaker individual. They did not scare me, but I would act right so my parents would not find out.
These are only a few examples of many applications of life. Below are interesting links to visit for more references.
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To see another application page created by Jennifer Hall that deals with Face Negotiation, a theory that compares to speech codes, click here.
This page was updated on Febuary 3, 2000.