How Language Is Used to Promote Certain Purposes, Presentation Skills - Research Paper Example

HOW LANGUAGE IS USED TO PROMOTE CERTAIN PURPOSES Language is a system of words or symbols used by people to express thoughts and feelings among themselves. There are different types of languages worldwide. Language as a method of human communication is complex and an open system. There are three main features that distinguish language from non- human communication, they include; recursion, displacement and productivity. Recursion is the ability to lay out phrases within a hierarchical form. Displacement is the capacity to converse about things that are not current either short-term or physically. Productivity is the capacity to produce novel utterances using the existing grammatical framework mostly in word formation. Through language different signs have different meaning. These signs include; spoken language or signed language. The different components of language include; syntax which is the order and hierarchy of utterances that are meaningful; morphology, which are the smallest possible semantic units that are composed of phonemes; semantics which is the meaning related to a word, phonetic and phonology which are sound and gestures that are constructions of a language. Language helps to promote literacy level, mostly when raising children. A child’s journey towards literacy involves the following; learning how speak, read, write, draw, understand, listen and watch. This helps to develop a child’s skills (Chomsky, 2006, p. 152). There are three strategies used in literacy development. The first being child-oriented strategies, which encourage children to initiate and engage in everyday interactions so that educators can respond to their ways and encourage them to engage in the interactions. The second is the interaction-promoting strategies that encourage comprehensive individual and group conversations between adults and children. The third is language-modeling strategies that expand the child’s oral language skills and facilities development of abstract language. Language promotes communication. Communication skills are very important to children without language, it is difficult to know what they want and need and what is important to them. Languages helps in expressing their ideas, hypotheses, emotions, desires, and all things that need expressions (Chomsky, 2006, p. 141). Communication activities provide opportunities for learners to use language with one another and with people in the community. Language promotes cultural identity. The language brought about by the wants of people who are at a particular location over a specified period of time. Language helps people to share their way of life and linking individuals to their culture. Sharing of language promotes connections and acquired from the ancestors and cultural histories. Language also builds relationships between different groups of people. This helps to promote unity and togetherness. Awareness of Different Writing Styles and Their Effectiveness as a Means of Communications A writing style is the writer’s personality with unique style, approach to his audience or readers and his voice. There are four types of writing styles; narrative, descriptive, expository and persuasive. Narrative is a type of writing where the writer places himself as a narrator and narrates the story. Descriptive is a type of writing that is often poetic in nature and it describes people, actions, situations or locations in a highly detailed manner. The writer visualizes what he feels, sees, hears, tastes or smells. Expository is a type that explains something in the process. This style is usually a logical order and sequence equipped with facts and figures. Persuasiveness is a writing that is equipped with reasons, justifications and reasons. The author in this type of writing takes a position and questions the reader to believe his point of view asks for an accomplishment from the reader Knowing ones audience either readers or listeners may help one to determine what information to include in the presentation. The audience should be considered when choosing tone language or even the content. The audience has an impact on the style due to a number of elements which includes message, content, word choice, sentence type and length and the tone used. It is important to put into consideration the different diverse society that exists by the presentation being socially acceptable and professional manner. This can be achieved by use of a presentation that is not ethnocentric, use of gestures as you speak, adopting a bias free language and distinguishing between people and their ability. The different writing styles have been effective being used as a means of communication. They have the several features to enhance communication. Word choice is used in writing styles for enhanced communication. This is concise and precise leaving out unnecessary words and instead using the exact to convey meaning. Sentence fluency is also used as an additive to enhance effective communication. This is the rhythm and flow of words and sentences. It is achieved by using sentences of varying length and rhythm to bring about different effects. Voice is not a constant feature it can either be authoritative, objective passionate or funny hence making it a crucial element of style. Presentation Skills Presentation is a means of communication that can be modified into different speaking situations, for example addressing a conference. Proper preparation should be done and the method and means of presenting the information should be well thought-out. Information should be clearly and effectively presented so the message can be clearly understood. For effective presentation the following is used; talking naturally to your audience, hence one should avoid reading from the script for most of the presentations, the presenter should read short passages. Another skill is that one should stand instead of sitting while doing the presentation. One should move around a little and avoid forward and backwards (Bradbury, 2006, p. 139). Making eye contact with the audience is another skill where the presenter should not stare at a specific place. Maintaining a good eye contact helps win the confidence of the presenter and the listening skills of the audience. A variation of the tone, pitch and volume of the presenter’s voice helps to maintain an emphasis the audience’s concentration. One should speak loudly and clearly while maintaining the eye contact with the audience. The presenter should also rehearse the talk and check on the timings, he should allow time for questions from the audience within the time provided (Bradbury, 2006, p 33). Another skill is to organize and structure the presentation vigilantly by giving an introduction to the subject, explaining the subject and also explaining on the points that one needs to communicate, finally one should give a conclusion. The presenter also needs to stay focused all the way through the presentation and avoid giving inappropriate information. He should also use visual aids where appropriate, for example, use of graphs, charts, videos and diagrams. They help to illustrate and strengthen points. Learning to channel any nervous energy is another skill that helps the presenter to be relaxed and alert throughout the presentation. The presenter should be aware that it is normal to feel nervous before making a presentation. Answering of questions asked by the audience honestly and briefly and where the presenter is not sure of the answer, he should say so and give a later date on when to provide the answers. The presenter should organize on when to ask the questions since some prefer to ask during the presentation and some prefer to tackle the questions at the end of the presentation. Reference List Bradbury, A. (2006). Successful presentation skills. London, Kogan Page. Acoustic Chomsky, N. (2006). Language and mind. Cambridge. TRUAX, B. (2000). Read More