Academic Vocabulary: Academic Words - Olsen Amy E. 2012

Chapter 7. Sociology

The Importance of Hello

Greetings are a socialization behavior that most peo­ple take for granted because greetings are so pervasive in society. But from a young age, people are taught the appropriate greetings for different circumstances. Studying everyday life can help us better understand why we act the ways we do. Sociologist Erving Goffman points out that greetings are part of our face- to-face contacts, phone conversations, and letters.

One area that greetings illuminate is status. For example, which person says "hello" first and how someone is greeted can be part of the stratification system in a soci­ety. In the past, a man removed his hat and bowed to greet a prince or king; this behavior showed his lower rank in the society. This greeting became truncated over time. Later, people began to greet equals by just lifting the hat and then by touching the hat. Finally, a motion toward the hat was enough of a greeting among friends.

Greetings also show cultural differences. In France, peo­ple kiss each other on the cheeks as a friendly, everyday greeting, but this type of behavior is not the norm in the United States. In fact, activities that are acceptable in one country may seem odd or even be taboo in another country. Learning what is acceptable and what is prohibited is important for travelers, especially for those conducting international business. In the United Sates, most business intro­ductions begin with a firm, short (three- to four-second) handshake. In Europe, business associates also shake hands, but the handshake is usually more formal. Business greetings in Europe rarely display the friendly backslaps that are sometimes seen in the United States. In Japan, people customarily bow as a greeting, and many business people have learned to look carefully at how the bow is done. The depth of a bow reflects the status between the two people. In Arab countries, men often greet each other with a hand on the right shoulder and a kiss on each cheek. Though a handshake is usually used when meeting people from other regions, it may be done with two hands and be more of a handhold. In Latin American coun­tries, male friends hug each other when they meet, and women kiss each other on the cheeks. In business settings, the handshake is typically the norm at first; however, after a third or fourth meeting, a hug might be given. Visitors are generally allowed some flexibility in greeting ceremonies, but because greetings are so ingrained, a native of a country may be ostracized if he or she fails to follow proper behavior.

Linguist C. A. Ferguson, as an informal experiment, decided to deviate from conventional greet­ing behavior at work. For two days in a row, he didn't respond to his secretary's "good morning." He re­ported that the atmosphere was unpleasant on the first day and tense on the second day. By the third day, to alleviate the stress and save their working relationship, he discontinued the experiment. What people say and do in what may seem like simple greetings can have more importance than people imagine.

Predicting

For each set, write the definition on the line next to the word to which it belongs. If you are unsure, return to the reading on page 44, and underline any context clues you find. After you've made your predictions, check your answers against the Word List on page 49. Place a checkmark in the box next to each word whose definition you missed. These are the words you'll want to study closely.

Set One

standing, especially social standing

a learning process

a standard

having the quality to spread throughout

the act of developing levels of class

□ 1. socialization (line 1) ...

□ 2. pervasive (line 2) ...

□ 3. status (line 9) ...

□ 4. stratification (line 11) ...

□ 5. norm (line 20) ...

Set Two

excluded

to relieve

forbidden from use

to move away from a set behavior

customary

□ 6. taboo (line 22) ...

□ 7. ostracized (line 35) ...

□ 8. deviate (line 36) ...

□ 9. conventional (line 36) ...

□ 10. alleviate (line 39) ...

Self-Tests

1 Put a T for true or F for false next to each statement.

1. A group might consider ostracizing someone with an unpleasant odor.

2. Ox-drawn carts are pervasive in American society.

3. A massage can help to alleviate stress.

4. One's status in society is often determined by one's job.

5. Spending the weekend skiing in Switzerland is the norm for most students.

6. Riding a pogo stick is a conventional method of transportation.

7. Blowing bubbles with one's gum is considered taboo in the classroom.

8. There is no type of stratification in the military.

9. A flooded road can cause people to deviate from an intended route.

10. Socialization can take place at the dinner table.

2 Finish the reading using the vocabulary words. Use each word once.

Vocabulary list

alleviate

status

norm

taboo

pervasive

conventional

deviate

ostracized

socialization

stratification

Not Just Toys

The (1)... process begins at an early age. Sometimes parents don't even realize how (2)... the process is. For instance, children are usually given (3)... toys for boys and girls. It was the (4)... for years for boys to play with cars and girls with dolls. In some families it would even have been (5)... for a boy to play with a doll. There were possible penalties for children who decided to (6)... from accepted social practices. A girl who enjoyed playing with cars or throwing a baseball may well have been (7)... by

other girls who perceived her behavior as inappropriate.

Today a child's (8)... in a group may still be determined by his or her toys. However, (9)... more often comes from financial resources. One way to (10)... potential conflicts over expensive electronic toys is to introduce children to a variety of ways to play from simple tag to inexpensive board games. Children can also learn that saving for expensive games can be part of the fun of getting them.

Identify the two vocabulary words represented in the drawings.

3 Circle the word that best completes each sentence.

1. Some companies are beginning to question the (conventional, pervasive) wisdom that people work better under pressure.

2. To (deviate, alleviate) the pain, Elizabeth put ice on her sore knee.

3. I kept asking about the (norm, status) of the flight, but no one at the check-in counter was sure when the plane would take off.

4. It is usually considered (taboo, norm) to ask how much money a person makes.

5. When no one got a raise, discontent was the (conventional, pervasive) mood in the office.

6. I enrolled my son in preschool to help his (socialization, stratification).

7. We had to (deviate, alleviate) from the syllabus because it was worthwhile to attend the assembly.

8. In some countries, such as India, (stratification, taboo) has been important to how people are treated.

9. It is considered the (norm, taboo) to tip waiters in the United States, but that is not the custom in all countries.

10. Sarah was (ostracized, alleviated) from the cooking club when she brought in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and called it gourmet food.

Collocations

The conventional wisdom has been that eating dessert will make a person fat, but it is more likely the portion size and type of dessert that will put on the pounds. (Chapter 7)

We had to deviate from the plan when Malina called in sick since we only had three people to give the presentation instead of four. (Chapter 7)

The socialization process starts early with children learning what actions are and are not acceptable in their family. (Chapter 7)

Connotations and Denotations

Conventional (Chapter 7): denotation—"conforming to established standards." For some people the connotation of conventional is "boring." They think that "conforming to established standards" is old fashioned, and they would rather try something new or different. When you hear the word con­ventional, how do you react?

Interesting Etymologies

Ostracize (Chapter 7) comes from the Greek ostrakon, "tile or pottery." In ancient Greece when a city wanted to see if a man should be forced to leave because he was in trouble with the state, a vote was taken on tiles. If six thousand people voted "yes," the man was banished for a minimum of five years. Today ostracize has the same effect—"to exclude, by general consent, from society or from privileges"—but without the voting tiles.

Taboo (Chapter 7) comes from the Tongan word tabu, "marked as holy." Tongan is a Polynesian lan­guage spoken in the Tonga island group, which is located in the southern Pacific Ocean. Taboos were originally restrictions against mentioning certain matters in fear that they might anger the gods. The word came to mean "forbidden from use or mention" or "a prohibition excluding something from use." What is considered taboo changes depending on the society and the time period.

Interactive Exercise

Give two examples for each of the following.

1. Where can you see socialization taldng place?

2. What are pervasive problems in today's society?

3. What jobs have a high status in American society?

4. What institutions use stratification?

5. What situations might cause someone to deviate from his or her regular behavior?

6. What norms are found in the classroom?

7. What topics are usually considered taboo at dinner parties?

8. Why might someone be ostracized from a group?

9. What are conventional Mother's or Father's Day gifts?

10. What do you do to alleviate pain when you are sick?

Word Groups

Putting words into related groups can help your mind organize new vocabulary. To create word groups, get a piece of paper, pick a category, and list as many of the vocabulary words whose definitions fit under that heading in a general way. You will, of course, need to know the shades of meaning the more frequently you use a word. The academic subjects used in this text are one way to organize some of the words. You want to come up with other categories as you study words from multiple chapters.

For example, here are four words that fit the category "the arts": vivid, Chapter 2; parallel and symmetrical, Chapter 3 (could be used to describe a painting); and taboo, Chapter 7. As you work through the book, look for four other vocabulary words that could fit this category, and return here to add to the list.

1. 3.

2. 4.

Other possible categories are "science words; "business words: and "undesirable charac­teristics: For a collaborative way to use word groups, see the directions for Category Race in Chapter 17.

Words to Watch

Which words would you like to practice with a bit more? Pick 3-5 words to study, and list them below. Write the word and its definition, and compose your own sentence using the word correctly. This extra practice could be the final touch to learning a word.