Language is something more than a system of communications; it is also a social convention

, which one must observe. Improper use of language can easily interfere with your success and advancement.

Conversely, the proper use of the proper language can lead to success in both business and social relations. For this, there is a well-grounded psychological reason.

Language is a set of roles agreed to and accepted by common agreement of all the speakers. There is no connection between the object "hat" and the word "hat" except that the word has been set apart by the English-speaking community to serve as the symbol of the object. A French- speaking community will use not "hat" but chapeau to represent the object we call a hat. It is unstable in the same way that a dollar bill, or a pound note is unstable of purchasing power.

If you find yourself alone in a desert you will quickly realize that the value such dollar bills shrinks to nothing, and that a canteen of water is infinitely more valuable than a handful of hundred-dollar notes. You will also find that your language is of no particular value, since there is no one to use it on.

But human beings normally do not live alone in deserts. They live in communities of their fellowman, and in such communities symbol values come into play. The dollar bill has no value in itself; it is only a piece of paper. But it is everywhere accepted as a symbol of purchasing (购买) power. In the same way, language becomes of value because it is accepted as the symbol of thought.

Why is a forged (伪造的) dollar bill not accepted, while one produced by the government presses is？ This is because we know that government has the silver with which to redeem the paper note.

In language, the community has decided that certain words and forms are valid as symbol of thought and shall be accepted by all members of the community, while others, for one reason or another, are not valid.

What will happen if you use language in an improper way？

A．You'll achieve success.

B．You'll never be promoted.

C．Traditional people will accuse (指责) you of the violation of law.

D．You'll have misunderstanding from other people.