This week, we were asked to write a blog
post on three things that were the most interesting, controversial, or
meaningful to us from what we’ve read and watched in the resources given. I
chose to talk about code-switching, active/passive voice, and gender language.
One of the things that I learned about
this week was something called ‘code-switching’. (WTHOTV, 2012) I feel like
this doesn’t have to be about slang with racial undertones, like the first four
minutes of the video suggests. This can simply be the fluidity of speech as it
goes between slang and formal talking with anyone. A few examples are siblings,
who can communicate with each other with ‘secret’ or invented words, and
teenagers, who tend to emphasis different words as euphemisms.
Something else that I learned was the
active/passive voice. This concept has always given me trouble, and I never
understood why. However, it’s very meaningful to my profession, as speaking
professionally, and directly, are very important for client and patient care.
Knowing how and when to use passive and active voice, whether in speaking or
writing, is very important to making sure there are no breakdowns in the
communication process.
Something that can be rather controversial
these days is the use of proper gender nouns and labels. (Engleberg and Wynn,
2013) Being mindful of gender neutral pronouns can be useful when communicating
on a broader scale. This discourages unfair sexism in speech, and encourages
equality throughout. It is also important to remember labels as being gender
neutral. With our society accepting more transgender and genderfluid
lifestyles, our speech and writing must reflect respect to these people as much
as refusing archaic titles, such as stewardess instead of flight attendant, to
keep the equality of roles present.
Engleberg, I., Wynn, D. (2013) ‘Think Communication’
pp. 90 Pearson Education, New
Jersey.
WTHOTV. (Oct.15, 2012) Code Switching
[video file] retrieved from
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