What Do You Mean By Deborah Tannen - 1450 Words

Conversation is a ritual every person must encounter throughout their lives in order to function properly with one another in today’s society. However, every individual has a â€Å"different idea about what’s appropriate† when approaching someone in any sort of conversation; that is why we are referred to as individuals (Tannen 327). There are thousands of diverse languages to speak to one another with, in fact that means there are thousands of different ways to offend each other with our words. Within those languages there are several contrasting gestures that can offend any single person, such as the amount of times individuals apologize in one meeting, giving criticism too harshly, or thanking someone so often it does not seem genuine. In the article â€Å"What Do You Mean,† Deborah Tannen touches upon apologies, criticism, and thank yous in further detail to explain where individuals go wrong within conversation and how they can fix their actions. Indi viduals find it satisfying to please others by being polite because it is the ‘right’ thing to do, however like myself others need to stand up for themselves and get directly to the point now in order to avoid conflict later in life. Individuals use unnecessary apologies to please one another in order to avoid feeling like undesirable situations are their fault, but must learn to stop taking the blame and stand up for themselves. In fact, many people conceive an apology as â€Å"self-depreciating† or an â€Å"automatic way of keeping bothShow MoreRelated`` But What Do You Mean? By Deborah Tannen1158 Words   |  5 PagesWithin the essay, â€Å"But What Do You Mean?†, author Deborah Tannen explains several main areas of miscommunication between men and women. Within her article, she goes section-by-section comparing men and women’s preferred style of communication. She concludes that while men and women may communicate differently, neither are wrong. To address this concern, she suggests using language both parties can understand. On the other hand, in William Lutz article, â€Å"The World of Doublespeak,† he takes a differentRead MoreDeborah Tannen s But What Do You Mean?864 Words à ‚  |  4 PagesIn her essay, But What Do You Mean? Deborah Tannen discusses how men and women s conversation styles differ in how they communicate with one another. The problem is that men and women have different perspectives. Tannen explains that the conversation rituals among women are designed to be polite and sensitive to others, while the conversation rituals among men are designed to maintain superiority (328). Tannen explores seven ways in which men and women miscommunicate : apologies, criticismRead MoreDeborah Tannen s Article, But What Do You Mean?955 Words   |  4 PagesWhat I Meant was†¦ In Deborah Tannen’s article, â€Å"But What Do You Mean?† she enumerates seven different ways that women and men tend to have a kind of struggle. Tannen discusses how the men and women have different ways of speaking. The seven main differences are classified and divided into: apologies, criticism, thank-yous, fighting, praise, complaints, and jokes. First, men don’t correctly interpret apologies; they often implicate blame with apology, synonymous with putting oneself down. On theRead MoreEssay on The Qualms of Communication991 Words   |  4 Pagesvarious authors over the years. Deborah Tannen is one such author. Tannen, who has a doctorate in linguistics, is a professor at Georgetown University. She has been studying the way people communicate and the problems they have communicating with each other for many years. Her studies inspired her to write several books on the subject. The excerpt â€Å"Put Down That Paper and Talk To Me,† which appears in the textbook Writing the World, was taken from her best-seller You Just Don’t Understand: Women andRead MoreEssay Men and Women: As Interpreted by Deborah Tannen786 Words   |  4 Pages Did you know, â€Å"men and women talk differently because they are raised in something like two different cultures: a male culture from which young men learn to speak like men and a female culture in which young women learn to speak like women?†(Cooper and MacDonald 9). Well, not actually from two separate cultures, but the idea of men and women being opposites as pointed out in the opening. Deborah Tannen has made her theory that a male culture and female culture each exist, very popular with theRead MoreCommunication Gap Between Men And Women1386 Words   |  6 Pagesin the way that we communicate. What we say, how we say it, and how the opposite sex interprets what we are saying are all affected by gender. With so much focus on building a more compassionate and understanding world, how do we make that step that will bring us closer to closing the communication gap? We learn at a young age starting out that communication between girls and boys is completely different. Girls say boys are mean, and boys don’t know what girls mean, these different attitudes comeRead MoreThe Argument Culture Summary and Response Essay945 Words   |  4 PagesAudience Analysis The audience I will try to reach are young people who have grown up in the information age. They will be approximately 18-35 years old. It doesn’t matter what their educational or ethnic background is. The audience are the ones who grew up in with the internet and media constantly in their face. I believe the targeted audience already knows a lot about confrontation because it’s everywhere on the internet and in the news. I don’t believe they know a lot about the other sideRead MoreSex, Love and Conversation1102 Words   |  4 Pages Deborah Tannen’s: Sex Lies and Conversation When in a relationship things can be very difficult, like in any other situation there are ups and downs. Deborah Tannen has set out to explain and try to justify the increasing divorce rates in America. Through many social realizations and scientific studies, Tannen is able to make a case on why the divorce rate has increased throughout out the years; Wives believe that their Husbands are no longer listening to them. Women have divorced their husbandsRead MoreBut What Do You Mean?1772 Words   |  8 Pages1. What is Tannen’s purpose in writing this essay? What does she hope it will accomplish? From what I gathered Tannen’s purpose was for us to comprehend the importance of communication in the work field. How the simplest verbal functions can be interpreted in many different ways. â€Å"Conversation is a ritual† I find so much meaning behind these four simple words, the article in its entirety are summed up by these word. Tannen wants to enlighten us to remember that our words are powerful. I believe sheRead MoreBut What Do You Mean?751 Words   |  4 PagesIn the essay, â€Å"But What Do You Mean?† author and linguistic expert Deborah Tannen argues her feelings on how men and women vary in their use of conversational â€Å"rituals.† She states that males have a tendency to use wording to sustain dominance in conversation; however, women seem to take in to account the feelings of others. Tannen identifies seven categories in which men and women differ in communication. First, women use apologies to assure other people. Men can misapprehend t hese apologies