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The Language Connection, Or Talk Is Not Always Cheap *
Author(s) -
Altman Howard B.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.1978.tb00050.x
Subject(s) - disconnection , function (biology) , connection (principal bundle) , psychology , linguistics , sociology , political science , law , engineering , philosophy , structural engineering , evolutionary biology , biology
Although language is our professional ‘connection,’ it also has the capacity to function as our ‘disconnection’ in two ways: on the one hand, teachers of different languages disconnect themselves from one another, resulting in a highly fragmented profession; on the other hand, the language we use, and the ways in which we use it, in communicating with one another, with our students, and with educational decision‐makers has the effect of disconnecting us from ourselves and from those we most need to impress. In Crazy Talk, Stupid Talk, Postman illustrates how our use of language often works against us. Crazy talk is talk which has bad or unachievable purposes; stupid talk is talk which is ineffective in achieving its purposes. By examining our professional discourse, various examples of crazy talk and stupid talk in our journals and our interactions with one another are illustrated. It is hoped that an awareness of the impact of our use of language will allow it to serve as our ‘connection’ instead of our ‘disconnection.’