My name is Karen Webber. I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, a place I would like to proudly call the Mile High. I am proud of the Mile High because it represents so much more of myself. It captures my love for the city, the sports teams, the mountains, and even the altitude-5280 feet above sea level. The altitude? That's quite odd. Well, this high altitude helps us have strong lungs. From experience and other people's stories, people who are not originally from Denver and come here to visit or move have a hard time breathing here for the first few days due to high altitude depending on exactly where they come from. I find it pretty amazing that I do not have to worry about that as much. I am not trying to sound selfish, but I just appreciate the benefits Denver has to offer. On the other hand, this is just my perception of my culture. I used this specific language to describe what the Mile High means to me. If I were to tell someone else that I am from the Mile High, different perspectives can come into play. Funny enough, I chose the term Mile High to tell someone where I am from. The simple change of words to represent the same area can influence someone's perception of Denver. This example of the power of language belongs to the socio-cultural tradition, one of the traditions given within the field of communication theory.
Once again, I am from the Mile High. One person can vision me in the mountains; another one can see me in a Denver Broncos jersey while another might think of the marijuana legalization. No matter the perception, it was my use of language and their interpretation that creates our form of communication. I defined the socio-cultural tradition as the different perspectives one might receive from a simple word or phrase someone says. Of course, depending on the context, views might change, but something as simple as where someone is from can influence a variety of perceptions. I say I am from the Mile High, and it automatically communicates certain things about my culture that even I do not exactly intend. Although it is a form of judgment, it is not entirely bad; it's part of the everyday communication. Before I conclude my opinion on this theory and how I was able to connect it to my daily life, I leave you with this meme I found. Enjoy. :)
I have had similar experiences because I don't use the term Mile High because I feel like since the legalization of marijuana, people automatically focus on the word high. I usually just say Denver because that seems to have less negative connotations attached to it. I find that when I use the word Denver to tell someone where I'm from, the first thing I usually get asked is if I ski or snowboard a lot. I love to see the look of surprise on their face when I tell them I've never gone skiing or snowboarding in my entire life. I feel like there is a preset of ideas and opinions of most cities here in the United States because when I think of cities in California, the first thing that comes to mind is surfing. I've met people in California that have never surfed so its a lot similar to my situation when I tell people I've never skied or snowboarded. I agree with you that it all comes down to perspective and interpretation and I think that's what makes this communication tradition so interesting. (p.s. that meme is hilarious!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insight! I also enjoyed that you include a different perspective on people thinking of Colorado. Plus, I have only skid once in my life and people act shock when I tell them that, too!
DeleteI can relate, I was going to school in Minnesota when they made marijuana legal. I heard jokes all the time after that, even if I just said I was from Colorado. I didn't even have to mention Mile High.
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