Language and Communication in Marketing

Abstract

The language on which the marketer is based is the main means of communication with its customers, which is why it must be carefully chosen (the slogan "Speak to the customer in his language!"Representing not only a common goal, but a truly miraculous means can be used to persuade the consumer to adopt a certain buying behavior). A potential customer can win or lose outright depending on how the bidder approaches them. Face-to-face communication with the client must use not only the official language spoken or written, but also his dialect, subdialect or speech, as well as the entire arsenal of nonverbal language or paralanguage (consisting of words, signs, tone and intensity of voice). , facial expression, smile or grimace, position and movement of the limbs, head and eyes, position of the body, expression of the mouth, laughter, pauses in speech, etc.). Unlike language, dialects and subdialects, languages or jargon, which are specific to a certain population, nonverbal language and paralanguage have (with few exceptions) universal character.

Headnote

Abstract: The language on which the marketer is based is the main means of communication with its customers, which is why it must be carefully chosen (the slogan "Speak to the customer in his language!"Representing not only a common goal, but a truly miraculous means can be used to persuade the consumer to adopt a certain buying behavior). A potential customer can win or lose outright depending on how the bidder approaches them. Face-to-face communication with the client must use not only the official language spoken or written, but also his dialect, subdialect or speech, as well as the entire arsenal of nonverbal language or paralanguage (consisting of words, signs, tone and intensity of voice). , facial expression, smile or grimace, position and movement of the limbs, head and eyes, position of the body, expression of the mouth, laughter, pauses in speech, etc.). Unlike language, dialects and subdialects, languages or jargon, which are specific to a certain population, nonverbal language and paralanguage have (with few exceptions) universal character.

Keywords: language, communication, marketing, marketer

Introduction

As linguists suggest, the concepts of language and language are not exactly equivalent.

Language, as the main means of communication, can be considered the mirror of the soul of the nation that creates it and the magic key with which you unlock a country and know a people. Whether spoken or written, it is based on words.

Language is a much more comprehensive concept, having in its composition, in addition to language (respectively words, sentences and phrases) and other elements (which give content to nonverbal language and paralanguage).

Being the most important means of communication between people of the same generation or from different generations, language (whether spoken or written) is undoubtedly the most important component of culture. Because there are cases where a language is common to several cultures, but also cases of linguistic interference or coexistence of the official language with several native languages, this basic component of culture must be addressed before others in substantiating communication marketing strategies.

1.Defining Concepts

Language is "an abstract, complex system of verbal communication between people" - "through which they express their thoughts, feelings and desires, respectively" the main means of communication between members of a community, consisting of grammatical and lexical system [1]. It is the result of an "extra-individual and sociohistorical process, in the sense that its existence does not depend on the existence of a singular individual, but on the existence of a nation or a vast social group that uses it as a means of communication and thought [2].

Apart from the oral form (spoken language, expressed with the help of the voice), any current language also has a graphic form (written language).

As words are based on language, the things designated by them can be: real objects, beings, places, qualities, actions, modes of action, ideas, states, positioning in space and time, etc. - all this can be real or imaginary. In spoken languages, words are composed of sequences of elementary sounds articulated successively, and in languages written from graphic symbols (letters, ideograms, syllabic characters etc.) representing either sounds from the respective spoken language or just meanings. Language is a concept that encompasses all the others we have referred to here, designating a "communication system made up of articulated sounds, specific to people, through which they express their thoughts, feelings and desires", respectively a "way of using a language, especially a lexicon, specific to certain professions, social groups etc." It is also the basis of people's thinking, involving two sides:

* an active one (emitting signals);

* another passive (their reception and interpretation).

Thus, in the case of oral language, the active side is speech and the passive side is listening, and in written language the active side is writing, and the passive side is reading. The main difference between language and language is that:

* at the base of the language is the word (as an elementary unit for transmitting a meaning);

* some forms of language (such as nonverbal) are outside any language - having a universal character.

2.Components

Language can contain subdivisions such as dialects, speech dialects and jargons. The dialect represents a regional variety of the language whose characteristic features (phonetic, lexical, grammatical, etc.) distinguish it from the common language of the whole people and from its other territorial ramifications [1]. Dialects are a result of the process of language diversification, being due to the territorial and temporal differentiation of society and the belonging of speakers to different social categories or historical periods. As a result, one can speak of a descriptive (synchronic) and a historical (diachronic) dialectology. The subdialect is a "branch of a language, intermediate between dialect and speech." For example, the subdialects of the Romanian language (or of the Daco-Romanian dialect) are: Muntean, Moldavian, Banat and Maramures - speaking in the provinces from which their name comes. In turn, a subdialect may subordinate linguistic varieties called dialects, which are spoken in even smaller territories than that of a subdialect. Speech "is a subdivision of a dialect of a language, usually with a small area of distribution, occurring when the unity of a language is interrupted (usually for political reasons), but not long enough to form different dialects. In other words, "speech" from different parts of the country is scientifically called "speech" and not dialect. For example, the Crisian subdialect includes the Bihorean, Moţi, Somesean and Oşean dialects. Jargon is "language specific to certain social categories, which reflects the desire of those who speak it to distinguish themselves from the large mass of speakers and which is characterized by the abundance of pretentious words and expressions, usually borrowed from other languages" [3]. It is also specific to certain professional categories. The main feature of jargon is not only that it is used by a certain (restricted) category of speakers, but also that (usually) it is not understood by those outside it.

* volume_up

* content_copy

* share

* star_border

Far from being just a sum of linguistic words and expressions, the language of a people is a way of understanding the culture of the people who speak it, expressing basic thinking, so its essence. Thus, language helps marketers:

* communicate (directly or indirectly) with their actual or potential customers;

* to notice the way they think and act;

* to find out what are the possible psychological linguistic barriers that they must either avoid or overcome;

* to better value its offer;

* to capitalize on his qualities as a negotiator etc.

It is essential for them (but also of course) that all the documents that accompany the offers (contracts, financial-accounting documents, instructions for use, guarantee certificates etc.), as well as advertising messages, technical and financial correspondence etc. be written in the language of the clients. The marketer must "speak your customer's language." If he is Hungarian, he must be approached in Hungarian, if he is Bucovina (in addition to the Romanian language and the Moldovan subdialect) it is good to be spoken in his Bucovina language (but also in Transylvanian - very popular in Bucovina), and if he is a computer scientist, even in its jargon. He must also know, for example, that three forms of addressing are used in Japanese: (one for superiors, another for relations with colleagues of the same rank, and another for subordinates) that English is used, just as politely, the same form of expression in the second person, both singular and plural, in Spanish you address someone politely not in the second person, but in the third, and in Hungarian (which has no gender) address both men and women alike. There is also genderdifferentiated alternatives. Then, even the meaning given to the same word in different languages can lead to confusion or blunders of understanding or expression in business. For example, when a Japanese consumer states that a certain commodity "likes", it means that he admits that the commodity "likes" or even "very much". On the other hand, if the Dutchman says that he "likes" it means that he admits that the goods in question are "quite good" - and no more. However, this does not necessarily mean that the goods in question enjoy a better appreciation in Japan than in the Netherlands [4, 117-118].

3.Functions

In general, the language fulfils several functions, such as [5]:

1) the communication function, which is, arguably, the most important (including for marketers), consisting in the transmission and reception of information between people - which implies the existence of transmitters, communication channels (in both directions) and receivers;

2) the cognitive function, through language people become informed about what their transmitters have proposed, being able at the same time to store (memorize) the previously acquired information and to access them for various purposes;

3) the emotional-expressive function, on account of the language being realized not only the expression, but also the identification of certain emotional states (possible by the quality of the verbal expressions used, but also of some specific nonverbal and paraverbal means;

4) the playful function, the language giving the possibility to construct some verbal constructions of great effect (such as those: rhymes, rhymes or consonants), which respond to people's need to say (or be told) things in a pleasant manner;

5) the imperative-persuasive function, which is related to the ability of language to exert some influences on other people, to induce others an idea or an emotional state of its own. Knowledge of such functions is very useful for marketers interested in studying or influencing the buying behavior of consumers.

4.Forms

Given the use of language, we distinguish three forms of language that marketers can use in customer relations: verbal, nonverbal and paraverbal.

A)Verbal language

This is based on the use of words, being addressive and involving the presence of at least two people: one who speaks and one who listens. As for the communication channel, it is auditory, and the actual communication can be done face to face or through audio-video means. In relation to the degree of accessibility for those around, it can be: internal (accessible only to oneself) and external (accessible to others).

Oral language is the primary and fundamental form of language, being used by people most frequently (and long before the written one). It is based, as already mentioned, on speech (on sound verbal signals) - being achieved by the production (emission) by a person of sound verbal signals in perceptible forms and in their reception (by hearing) by others. He has a very wide range of means of expression (which are mainly related to his emotional function - expressive and playful). It has a situational character (always taking place in a given context of personal interactions), being dependent and supported by it, as well as by the reactions of the interlocutors.

Depending on the number of interlocutors, oral language can take the form of monologue, dialogue and colloquium.

The monologue (speech) presupposes the existence of an external audience to receive the message without replying - with the aim of informing-instructing, clarifying or convincing it in a given matter or its relaxation (the case of poetry recitals, for example). Therefore, his message must be adapted (by style, pauses, intonations, accents) to the psychological peculiarities of the audience. Compared to other forms of language, the monologue has the highest degree of difficulty, its efficiency being dependent not only on what the person says, but especially on the adaptation of the content and complexity of the expression to the characteristics of the listener. In order for him to reach his goal, a good knowledge of the audience is needed, which is not always easy to achieve. Therefore, the speaker must pay attention to his nonverbal reactions during the monologue (which may impose changes in what he wants to convey - text, intonation, rhythm, etc.). Most of the time, the speaker is forced to extract information about the impact of his words on the audience from his nonverbal reactions.

Dialogue is the form of oral communication that involves the existence of two interlocutors (sender and receiver) who alternate successively. It has proven to be the easiest form of communication, as it can change its content and meaning during the situational context. The colloquium, unlike dialogue, involves a larger number of participants in discussions (debates), each of them addressing each in turn. In other words, it is a form of extended dialogue, a kind of "round table" [6].

B) The written language is inseparably related to the written-read binomial, assuming a prior education of the interlocutors (especially through the educational process) and based on a series of graphic signs accessible to both categories of interlocutors. It derives from oral language, appearing later than this. Compared to oral language, written language has some peculiarities [6]:

* uses a richer vocabulary;

* eliminates unnecessary or annoying repetitions;

* while speaking is learned spontaneously, writing is not;

* is more demanding than oral language, requiring an activity of elaborating sentences and phrases according to a predetermined plan;

* has no situational character - not being supported by dialogue;

* is strictly regulated by graphic, grammatical and stylistic rules;

* if the oral language has short sentences, the written one has longer and more pompous sentences;

* the means of expression are much less represented than in oral language;

* the meaning of communication can be distorted even by the most insignificant omissions, etc. Usually, people don't speak the way they write - but they don't write the way they speak.

C) Nonverbal language: As the name suggests, nonverbal language is a wordless one, comprising all gestures, facial expressions, body postures etc. accompanying, doubling or substituting speech [7]. It is unmanageable and even uncontrollable, being able to complete, reinforce, replace or contradict the information transmitted verbally. It is well known (popular) saying that a gesture - makes a thousand words. If oral (or written) language, which uses a particular language, is limited (as is the space or number of people who use it), nonverbal language is universal. It communicates things (physical and mental states, feelings, emotions, etc.) between people who speak totally different languages (or even between those who do not speak any of the languages of the earth). First of all, we want to emphasize that nonverbal language can flow even from verbal language. You don't have to be a specialist to find out that certain emotions of speakers can be revealed (most of the time, without their will) from certain features of language. Thus, the strong tone of speech expresses anger, while the very low tone (slow speech) reveals shyness; the fast pace of speech expresses stress, and the slow one expresses calm, etc. That is why it is said that the way a person speaks is three times more important than the words he uses. Body language is more sincere than words.

D)Mimicry

When invoking body language, the first element considered is the mimicry (facial expression) of the interlocutors. Opposite mimicry, when presenting the company's offer (or any message to promote it) face to face with the potential customer, the marketer interested in knowing his buying behavior must be very careful first to look at it, because [8]:

* a (consistent) look straight in the eye means that he is interested in what he is being told;

* avoiding eye contact means doubt in what is communicated or disinterest (the same being expressed by looking away);

* looking forward accompanied by the crossing of arms expresses, in addition to doubt, an attitude of irritation and rejection of the message;

* lack of eye contact can be interpreted as negativity;

* the movement of the gaze from one eye to another, then to the forehead indicates a position of hostility;

* wide-open eyes express wonder;

* the lost gaze is the expression of distrust;

* looking at the clock denotes boredom;

* looking over the frame of the glasses means attention, seriousness or critical attitude etc.

Facial expression is the second component of nonverbal language. This must be translated by the marketer as follows [9]:

* harsh or expressionless facial expression often indicates hostility;

* tight lips indicate disapproval or the desire to end the conversation, and tight lips accompanied by raised cheeks mean a total rejection of what is said (if not aggression);

* biting the lips denotes self-doubt, shame;

* raising the eyebrows means surprise;

* the raised forehead reveals the attempt to recall;

* a crooked nose denotes different states of dissatisfaction, disgust or aversion;

* excessive blinking is a well-known indicator of lying etc.)

The smile of the customer in front of an offer (or a message to promote it) is, in turn, very rich in meaning. So [10]:

* a smile with tight lips denotes certain interests of his own that belong to his own person;

* the smile with visible teeth expresses his sincere availability and confidence in what is presented to him;

* the smile with the upper teeth in sight indicates a client very attentive to details, who cares a lot about his public image, and the one with the lower teeth in sight means that he does not value the opinion of those around him;

* the mysterious smile (accompanied by lowering the head slightly down and a look, under the eyebrows, upwards) indicates that it is dealing with a young, energetic and lively person;

* the discreet smile suggests that you are dealing with a client to whom you must be more and more reluctant and moderate;

* the smile in the corner of the mouth indicates (from the client) many things: pride, irony, defiance and even boldness etc. [11].

The smile attracts more attention than other mimic-gestural manifestations. The expression of the mouth, beyond the smile, also reflects the emotional state of the client. So:

* thin lips are an indication of stress;

* slightly parted lips denote positive, exciting emotions;

* the mouth of the bag expresses indecision, indecision, weighing options;

* licking or biting the lips denotes a state of nervousness, shyness or embarrassment, but also a way of calming, calming (releasing an inner tension);

* sticking out the tongue means defiance, mockery, but also victory [12].

Laughter is a form of expression of the human face that expresses either good mood and joy, or sarcasm and contempt, being accompanied by a certain state of relaxation. It can also be a self-defence reaction to the feeling of fear. Depending on the vowel that is emphasized, there are:

* laughter (fat) in a, which expresses enthusiasm or sincere joy, lack of hiding;

* laughter (sly) in e, specific to those who enjoy the evil of another;

* laughter (giggling) in, also called fist laughter, which is not intended for the outside (someone in particular), encountered in the case of those who consider that they are dealing with a bargain;

* laughter in a, characteristic of those who had an unpleasant experience with the offer presented to them [13]. On the other hand, laughing at someone (or something) is the equivalent of making fun of or denigrating that someone (or something).

Depending on how it manifests, there are several other types of laughter, such as:

* contagious laughter, specific to customers with a sense of humour (delighted with the received message);

* giggling laughter, specific to shy customers;

* excessively noisy laughter (also called "ogre" type), which is a more demonstrative one, wanting to draw attention to the personality of the one who produces it;

* forced laughter, which is out of obligation or politeness etc. [14]. However, laughter does not exist outside of what is human, it being considered (sometimes) the prerogative of intelligent people in contact with each other.

E) Body elements. A very good part of consumers' behavioral cues are found among their bodily elements. These are: gestures (position and movement of the head and hands) and body posture. The position and movement of the head help the marketer to deduce the real intentions of the client in relation to what is offered to them (or presented to them). For example, the head slightly turned on its back denotes sympathy, agreement, and the head bent down expresses shyness etc. [15].

The position and movement of the client's hands while receiving a commercial message is as "telling" as possible for marketers. For example:

* open hands express a state of relaxation and pleasure, as well as the willingness to be approached; * hands held on the table reflect the ability and desire to be contacted;

* covering one hand with the other is a gesture of insecurity:

* his hands and arms under the table indicate that he is not ready to be approached, being emotional and insecure about him [16].

The position and movement of the legs also "say" interesting things. For example, sitting cross-legged expresses the client's state of relaxation, safety and willingness to be approached, and sitting cross-legged (possibly with the palms behind the body or head) reveals his superiority, the desire to dominate others. The posture (position) of the body is directly related to the social status that clients have (or want to have). Thus, the rigid posture of the body is the reflection of anxiety, in that the position of the body directed towards the interlocutor is interpreted as a sign of understanding and cooperation [17]. Decoding and interpreting all the meanings of nonverbal language provides the marketer with useful landmarks in knowing consumer behavior [13].

F) Paraverbal language: It is well known that man is given two ears and one mouth, and that we should listen twice as much as we speak (because we do not always say what we think - the tongue being given to man to hide his thoughts). It is precisely such ideas that define, in essence, the role of what specialists call paralanguage. The paraverbal language is, at the same time, verbal and nonverbal, thus being situated at the border between them. It is said to be a vocal form of nonverbal language [18].

The way we say something is more important than what we say, and when the meaning of the words contradicts (involuntarily and unconsciously) the message of the voice, the interlocutor gives the voice and the tone more credit than the words.

The paraverbal message is one coded in the nuances of speech - causing it to intensify, weaken, distort or cancel out the meaning of words. He may encourage or intimidate, empathize, press, relinquish control, obtain approval or rejection, and so on - more easily than the verbal one. But, as a rule, he can only play his roles at the same time as verbal language. Under the intervention of the paraverbal, one and the same verbal message can substantially change its meaning, which is called overcoding. This is about:

- The volume (tone) of the voice, which [19]:

* if he is strong, he denotes states of sincerity, arrogance or self-satisfaction;

* if it is too low, it expresses restraint, modesty, tact, lack of vitality or weakness (a tone that is too high - shrill - can be annoying, and one that is too low can force the listener to pay extra attention - to -decrease their ability to concentrate);

- The rhythm (speed) of speech, which:

* when he is big, he can suggest the state of impatience, urgency, impulsivity, lack of confidence; * if it is normal, it indicates a state of balance and good mood;

* when it changes during the transmission of the message, its meaning also changes (what is said quickly becomes insignificant, and what is said rarely and more pressing becomes important). That is why it is recommended to use a slower, introductory rhythm at the beginning of the transmission of the message, which can then increase in intensity (to mark more strongly its basic idea);

- The intonation of the voice (given by the timbre and the variation of the pitch of the voice), which may suggest certain emotions, feelings and attitudes, as well as the fact that the speaker is happy or sad, angry or scared, friendly or hostile, etc. Thus, it can [20]:

* change the meaning of words; * turn statements into negations (and vice versa);

* sweeten or harshen the verbal message etc.;

- Pauses in speech (through which speech is separated into groups and cascades of words or phrases), which provide clues to emotional states and attitudes of the speaker such as:

* state of active involvement or fatigue - suggested by long breaks;

* the idea of the importance of what needs to be emphasized - induced by wellplaced rhetorical or tactical pauses;

- Diction (quality and art of pronouncing and articulating words), which depends on the way of articulating consonants and nuances of vowels, which strengthen or diminish the meaning of the message;

- The way of emphasizing (the way of pronouncing a certain syllable in a word or in a syntactic group more strongly, more intensely or in a higher tone), which can change the meaning of the words [18].

All these elements of paralanguage have a special role primarily in situations where other nonverbal elements cannot be involved. The set of paraverbal and nonverbal components of oral language is called metalanguage (a term derived from the Greek meta which means beyond). This involves interpreting words and expressions to guess the speaker's intentions and ideas - the concept thus referring to the real meaning of the sender's message, from which the receiver must discern what, how and why he is actually saying. Any communication behavior (verbal or nonverbal) can also be metacommunication. Paralinguistics therefore includes those forms of communication (called paralinguistics) that ensure the transmission of messages and their meaning without using words, emphasizing both nonverbal (body) language and nuances of voice. Although they use it very frequently, consumers are often unaware of it. For marketers, the ability to interpret it correctly is considered a firstrate professional skill (without which behavioral studies become virtually inconceivable). It is important to know that the interpretation of gestures (and paralanguage in general) must be avoided by some pitfalls, such as those that educated consumers can use to send false feedback (for fun or for reasons more serious), or like those related to certain cultural peculiarities of them. For example, spitting in the face, considered (almost by everyone) extremely offensive, to the Musai natives of Kenya is a gesture of sympathy, kindness or blessing. Also, spitting in the street, possibly as far away as possible, reprehensible to all, is considered by some individuals (like American movie heroes or neighborhood tricksters) a gesture of pride. Spitting in the palm, although unsightly, is a very natural gesture for gymnasts or for those who use their hands in strenuous physical activities [15]. Along with gestures, facial expressions, tone and volume of voice, etc., in paranormal communication, distance also enjoys an important place. Thus, the shorter distances between the communicators and the audience induce in some of them a state of comfort and communion, while in others a state of disturbance (on the grounds that this violates their intimate space). It is estimated that about 40% of the meaning of communication is affected by paralanguage. It is very difficult to imagine what a message sent without the incidence of movements, gestures, facial expressions, etc. would look like.

Metacommunication helps the trained client to defend himself against manipulation techniques that pseudo-marketers (more and more in number) can afford to use.

Here, for example, is what a trained metal buyer should use when buying real estate [9]:

- Buy, unique opportunity! = We have problems with sales;

- Allows optimal use of space = Very small space;

- Located in a good, quiet area = Away from shops and schools;

- It leads to a garden that does not require much maintenance = It does not have a garden.

So, metacommunication turns out to be an act of active listening that helps the marketer discern many things that words are trying to hide.

Conclusions

In terms of content, language and speech are not equivalent concepts (although the basic component of language is spoken or written language). Addressing the client in his language does not only mean knowing his mother tongue (official), but also the dialect, subdialect, speech and even the jargon he uses in his current communication with his peers. A regionalism or an archaic expression well placed in a promotional message can attract the customer to the company's offer incomparably more than the rest of the message. Body language is universal, often contradicting what the client expresses in words or signs. A smile of the seller can win the customer if he is sincere and natural, and if it is obviously artificial (i.e. "professional"), it can irritate him, making him suspect him of hidden thoughts and not give a damn on him).

References

References

[1] https://www.archeus.ro/lingvistica/CautareDex?query=LIMB%C4%82

[2] http://socioumane.ro/blog/mariuscioara/files/2011/05/Limbajul.pdf

[3] https://www.dictie.ro/dialectele-limbii-romane/

[4] Gherasim, A. Gherasim, D., (2020), Marketing internaţional, Universitaria Publishing House, Bucharest

[5] https://www.coramdeo.ro/limbajul-scris-versus-limbajul-oral

[6] http://socioumane.ro/blog/mariuscioara/files/2011/05/Limbajul.pdf

[7] https://www.edvim.ro/ce-mesaje-ascunse-transmite-un-zambet/

[8] Brătucu, G., Brătucu, T. O., Analiza sistemului de factori care influenţează comportamentul consumatorului individual, http://www.managementmarketing.ro/ pdf/articole/58.pdf

[9] Carnegie, D., (2018), Cum să vorbim în public, Curtea Veche Publishing House, Bucharest

[10] https://respiro.ro/time/zambetul-forma-de-comunicare

[11] https://www.mediafax.ro/stiinta-sanatate/ce-spune-rasul-despre-personalitatea-unuiom-10872117

[12] Ciobanu, C. S., Ce este limbajul paraverbal, https://stefansilviuciobanu.wordpress.com/ 2014/04/29/ce-este-limbajul-paraverbal/

[13] Niţă, M. A., (2021), Strategii de comunicare si marketing în afaceri, Pro Universitaria, Publishing House, Bucharest

[14] http://drumspresucces.com/ce-spui-sau-cum-spui/paralimbaj/

[15] Botiş, I., (2018), O istorie antropologică a culorilor, Centrul Artistic Baia Mare

[16] Duvernos, I., (2020), Limbajul corpului. Atenţie, gesturile vorbesc pentru noi!, Niculescu Publishing House, Bucharest

[17] Claidini, R. B., (2019), Psihologia manipulării. Totul despre persuasiune si influenţare, Euro Press Publishing House, Bucharest

[18] Badin, A. L., (2021), Marketing cultural, Universitara Publishing House, Bucharest

[19] https://www.infopsihologia.ro/2013/02/rasul-semnificatiile-rasului/

[20] https://romanialibera.ro/actualitate/fapt-divers/decodeaza-limbajul-trupului-pentrusucces-in-afaceri-158288