Verbal barriers are a special case in the science of rhetoric, representing problems that distance people from mutual understanding within the framework of the communicative process. Only by being aware of the problems of verbal barriers can one be truly in control of one’s own speech (Floyd, 2020). It is necessary to analyze three examples of word barriers from literature and real life in order to understand the problem of verbal barriers and learn how to avoid misunderstandings.
Bypassing implies the continuation of the dialogue despite the fact that both interlocutors do not understand each other. This is due to the fact that people use equivocal words, that is, those that have duality and obscurity. I have personally encountered a situation where the word God in the framework of a dialogue between people of different cultural backgrounds can have different connotations and refer to two different fundamental religions. In a conversation I listened to in the restaurant, two people of different faiths perceived God differently but were forced to use the same word. One person understood God as a specific person, another more abstractly as a kind of source of energy. The dialogue turned out to be too intense and continued, reaching a natural crisis. A smoother dialogue could take place if each of the people clarified what religious ideas he adheres to, explaining his position in advance.
To describe another case of communicative misunderstanding, malapropism, one should turn to a classic example from Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s play The Rivals. In this play, the heroine Mrs. Malaprop, is brought out, whose speech is filled with malapropisms, words that are placed in an inappropriate way by mistake, thus causing the effect of meaninglessness. For example, she exclaims, “O, he will solve my mystery!”, using the word “dissolve” instead of the correct “resolve”, causing laughter and bewilderment from both her interlocutors and the audience (Sheridan, 2019). It makes sense to assume that the only way to solve the problem of malapropisms is to increase one’s own vocabulary and be more attentive to spoken words. Only in this way can ridicule or the creation of a situation of miscommunication be avoided.
Jargon as a verbal barrier involves the use of words from a professional or subcultural environment in a situation where it cannot be immediately considered. It is certainly appropriate and can be used in communication where both interlocutors are peers in some common cause, but in a different situation, it causes dissonance in communication (Floyd, 2020). A close friend of mine is a professional musician trained at a conservatory but is occupying a regular job. Once, he asked his subordinate colleague to do a report faster by using the word “allegro”, which means fast in Italian and is used to describe the performance of a musical instrument. This person pretended to understand what is being said to avoid inconvenience. He guessed that “allegro” meant “simpler” and did the same report, but it was done later than necessary and in a more redundant language. Only if the interlocutor is a member of the same cultural milieu will they be able to understand this saying; otherwise, they may become confused (Abuarquob, 2019). One should always determine what cultural environment a person is in and, before that, use the most common and clear language.
In conclusion, one should be informed about the varying word barriers and struggle to notice and overcome them. Only in this way will it be possible to avoid a situation of misunderstanding, which can be further complicated by accompanying actions and bring a plethora of problems. These misunderstandings can be problematic in some professional situations, as they can lead to incorrect execution of a task or command.
References
Abuarqoub, I. A. S. (2019). Language barriers to effective communication. Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana 24(6), 64-77. Web.
Floyd, K. (2020). Interpersonal communication (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Sheridan, R. B. (2019). The rivals: A comedy. CreateSpace.