Language Style Matching
Language Style Matching
Charles Porter
COM 200 Interpersonal Communication
Instructor: William Cusack
June 25, 2012
The reading this week caused me to do some thinking outside of the box. It made me think more on the level of my relationship with my current girlfriend versus my conversations with other people. Since my girlfriend and I have been dating a little over a year, and we almost never argue about anything, it was hard for me to fathom that there could be a breakdown in communication between us because of our language style. Below, I will compare the article versus my findings of the language style matching test results. I found the article to be somewhat accurate, but also slightly out of the realm of reality. In the article, it is written in regard of function words that “Unconscious verbal coordination of this sort, dubbed language-style matching by the researchers, signifies not how much two people like each other but how much each is paying attention to what the other says (Bower, 2010)”. I agree with this merely because if two people are conversing and not paying attention to one another, they will not notice the proper functions words to correspond with. To me, this means that if two people are talking, and are in a relationship, they should have similar function words or pronouns. What seemed inaccurate about this accurate was the idea that such words would fuel romance. Whereas I do agree that people that talk the same would have a better chance of getting along in a relationship, it does not provide any proof that the groups that were tested in the studies, stayed together longer than three months. This does not justify romance to me. Our commonalities and comparable verbal techniques do initially bring us together; I agree with that part of the article. However, in order to continue on into a loving relationship there has to be something more, something deeper to keep that connection. Whether it is a love for the same hobbies
Charles Porter
COM 200 Interpersonal Communication
Instructor: William Cusack
June 25, 2012
The reading this week caused me to do some thinking outside of the box. It made me think more on the level of my relationship with my current girlfriend versus my conversations with other people. Since my girlfriend and I have been dating a little over a year, and we almost never argue about anything, it was hard for me to fathom that there could be a breakdown in communication between us because of our language style. Below, I will compare the article versus my findings of the language style matching test results. I found the article to be somewhat accurate, but also slightly out of the realm of reality. In the article, it is written in regard of function words that “Unconscious verbal coordination of this sort, dubbed language-style matching by the researchers, signifies not how much two people like each other but how much each is paying attention to what the other says (Bower, 2010)”. I agree with this merely because if two people are conversing and not paying attention to one another, they will not notice the proper functions words to correspond with. To me, this means that if two people are talking, and are in a relationship, they should have similar function words or pronouns. What seemed inaccurate about this accurate was the idea that such words would fuel romance. Whereas I do agree that people that talk the same would have a better chance of getting along in a relationship, it does not provide any proof that the groups that were tested in the studies, stayed together longer than three months. This does not justify romance to me. Our commonalities and comparable verbal techniques do initially bring us together; I agree with that part of the article. However, in order to continue on into a loving relationship there has to be something more, something deeper to keep that connection. Whether it is a love for the same hobbies
References: Bower, B. (2010, November 22). Shared talking styles herald new and lasting romance. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved June 24,2012, from ProQuest database. (Document ID: 2223940991). Sole, K. (2011).Making connections: Understanding interpersonal communication. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (https://content.ashford.edu)