Being that we are humans, born in the 20th century (I may have just aged myself a bit there) and have been exposed to language our entire lives it was a bit difficult at first to hold a conversation without any words. I imagined if we had been living during a time before language existed thought about what that would look like. If we were never exposed to this thing we call language and had to figure it out from the beginning, would it have been so "difficult"?
In the 1st experiment where I was only able to use hand signs, body language and non-verbal vocalization I was actually quite successful in getting my points across. I was able to easily point to what I wanted and nod my head in agreement. I am currently working toward my A.A. in ASL interpreting so while I did NOT use any ASL to communicate, it was simple for me to use various hand signs and facial expressions to communicate. One crucial thing to mention here is that when learning about language you learn that there is so much entailed in communicating. In fact, only 6% of language is actually communicated with our actual words, and 55% is communicated with facial expressions, gestures and body language (body language is KEY). So it was easy for me to ask my husband how he was doing by simply pointing at him, tilting my head to the side, while slightly nodding, with a concerned expression on my face. And when he would respond with, "what's wrong"? I would nod my head yes as if to confirm that was what I was asking him. My husband, did not really alter his communication, except for a couple times he would point at something rather than saying the words as if he was instinctively using the same methods as me. It was easier than it would have been had I not explained to him what I was trying to accomplish and why.
If my husband and I represented two different cultures where one of us used spoken language and one of us did not I feel like neither one of us would be at an advantage. I say this because, like previously stated, language is more than just "words"; it's more than what's actually being said. When it comes to complex ideas there might be a bit of a struggle; however, I strongly believe that over time we would develop our own language that worked for the both of us where ideas, complex or not, would be communicated easily. It's difficult for me to differentiate between cultures who do and do not use "symbolic language" because I find that all cultures have a method of communication and while those methods may not make sense to us, they are their way of life. Our attitude toward varying cultures who do not use language the way we do is misunderstood. There are processing disorders and spectrum disorders where verbal language may take longer to process or may not exist at all. The Deaf Community is often times discriminated against simply because they cannot hear. It's as if their inability to hear automatically makes them incapable of other things. This might sound like a cliche; however, knowledge is power and it's important to remember that communication is not lost on those who can't speak or those who can't hear; it is simply conveyed in other ways. Beautifully and compassionately.
When it came to "controlling" the conversation I would say I was in the drivers seat. I say this because he was looking to me to lead the way in how I wanted the conversation to go. Perhaps to make it easier. While we conversed about our days and the kids (we have 3 children, ages 10, 9 and 7) he would often say something, look to me and then confirm whether or not we were in agreement. We even let the kids in on the "game" and they had fun trying to do the same. My daughter didn't like the fact that I wasn't speaking, so we cut it short after the 15 minute wrap up. Whenever I needed to get anyones attention I would simply tap them on the shoulder and then point to what I needed or wanted and then they would talk and confirm in reciprocity. It was a fun way for our family to connect, despite the hesitation on my daughters part. We each had own piece of the power because we all looked to each other to agree that we were on the same page and that our "voices" were being "heard".
The 2nd part of this experiment was much harder! It was hard enough trying not to change the intonation of my voice, let alone keeping my hands, facial expressions and body language at bay. Thirty-nine percent of our language is expressed in our vocal intonation so taking that away, along with any kind of body language or gestures was difficult and comical, to say the least. Imagine if someone says to you, along the lines of this experiment, "you're wearing that". Without the intonation in my voice you don't know if I mean that to be a good thing or bad. We talked about our friends and potential plans for the weekend and while the conversation flowed freely my husband often found that he himself changed his intonation to match mine. Almost as if it was instinct to mirror my way of communicating.
I previously touched on this earlier in this post, but I will go more into detail here. Our use of "signs" and "non-speech language techniques" is crucial as language is more than just words. Way more. The very definition of language is, "a "system of relatively arbitrary symbols and grammatical signals that change across time and that members of a community share and use for several purposes; to interact with each other, to communicate their ideas, emotions, and intentions and to transmit their culture from generation to generation" ~Cokely & Baker-Shenk. Of all traits of language, body language is MOST important, so taking that away, along with any intonation is a hinderance to conversing. I was able to express my words and say whatever I needed to; however, it took more work and time to also express any meaning behind what I was saying.
Being able to read somebody's body language is crucial to playing a role in a conversation. Mis-reading body language could be detrimental, but it is up to the sender to decode a conversation prior to sending it and for the receiver to encode, (figure out) what was sent. Learning to better read body language can lead to a more successful way of life. Negotiations, business deals, sales pitches, parenting, teaching, leading in any way. The ability to accurately read someone is an important element in our lives.
Of course there are people who have difficult reading body language. Those with neurological disorders (e.g. autism) might have trouble reading body language. There are ways around concerns such as these that, kind of like the experiments above, would just take a little extra work and patience. Communication would exist in other manners. It might also be difficult to read body language for those within different cultures or societies than our own. Not only could it be difficult to read, we could also be perceived as rude. Not being able to read someone's body language could be beneficial when speaking with a medical professional. If a Dr. had news to give and wanted to focus on the positive aspect of treatment it would be beneficial to not be able to read his or her body language if it was a more serious case. Focusing on the positives can be mentally healthier than focusing on the negatives.
Reading your blog post was very informative. Do you think your studies in ASL made the first part easier than the second part for you? I myself found the second part easier than the first. After completing this experiment I felt that words with body language were about 50/50 as far as importance in communicating, but the statistic you posted "6% language is actually communicated with words" is really eye opening. This makes me think that deaf people may actually be better at understanding and processing emotion than a person who speaks regularly. Perhaps having the ability to speak naturally shuts off a portion of our receptiveness to others emotions, whereas if someone who can speak HAS to read into body language to put the whole picture together. This makes me feel like we take speaking for granted, and ultimately I am thinking I myself need to get better at not just listening, but processing both body language and words together. I always wondered why doctors seem so emotionless when they are giving a diagnosis, especially if someone has a serious issue such as cancer. I fell like doctors almost come across as "cold", but now it makes perfect sense. I used a salesman as my example because their body language can be just as persuasive as words. Overall, you provided some great insight to language, both spoken and unspoken, that really is invaluable. Thank you for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteGloria,
ReplyDeleteFirst off I want to say that it is super cool that you are getting a degree in ASL interpretation. I know ASL but never thought to get a degree in it, thank you for picking a cool degree that will be beneficial to a whole community that a lot of people overlook. I also found the first part of this assignment a bit easier with a background in ASL (though i did not use it) it makes reading body language and facial expressions quite a bit easier having studied how to do so properly. I agree that the second part was quite a bit harder do to the complete lack of body language other than eye movement. Body language is so very important to the communication of people, especially those who do not speak verbally.
Good opening description of your first experiment.
ReplyDeleteLet's step back and take a second look at the issue of power and control in the conversation. You had a measure of control because you were directing how the experiment was running. Beyond that, how much real power did you have? To figure this out, imagine what would have happened if you had tried to conduct this experiment with a perfect stranger off the street. How long would it have lasted before the stranger gave up and walked away? Your family stuck around because they are invested in you as husband and children. A stranger would not have that incentive. So did you really have control over the conversation... or did your family LET you have the control? In which case, was it your control to begin with?
"If my husband and I represented two different cultures where one of us used spoken language and one of us did not I feel like neither one of us would be at an advantage."
But the question was more specific than that regarding "complex ideas" (and I do see that you address "complex ideas later, but there is still a problem there). Back up and understand what "complex ideas" actually are. Would you be able to explain Darwin's theory of natural selection or Einstein's theory of relativity without symbolic language? I don't think I could. If body language was better at communicating these complex ideas, we wouldn't need spoken symbolic language. Because symbolic language is pervasive in all cultures, that tells us that it is advantageous in communication, particularly with concepts that are just ideas and not things to demonstrate and show.
"Our attitude toward varying cultures who do not use language the way we do is misunderstood."
? That needed to be clarified. How do we (unfortunately) tend to treat those who speak differently from us?
"The Deaf Community is often times discriminated against simply because they cannot hear."
That's better, but is it because they can't hear? Or is it because we have trouble understanding them and getting them to understand us? This is an interesting question and reveals just how much importance we place on the ability to communicate.
Part (B):
Good description of this part of the experiment.
I don't disagree with your conclusions regarding the information we receive from body language, but you are only considering the situation where body language matches and supports the information you receive from spoken language. What does it tell you when the body language doesn't match the spoken language? Humans tend to use body language as a type of lie detector. If spoken words don't match with the body language, we are more inclined to believe the body language and doubt the words. Think about how being able to detect liars might help an individual's ability to survive and reproduce (which applies to the next section).
Okay on the benefits of body language, but what type of benefits do you get by being able to detect liars?
Yes, those in the autism spectrum are a good example of those who have difficulty reading body language.
Avoiding a doctor's body language might make the news easier to take, but you might also miss information that could be key to surviving the illness. Would it really be wise to close off any accurate information from body language? But what if body language gives you false information, not because the person is lying but because you don't know how to read the body language? Do all cultures use the same system of body language? They all use different systems of spoken/written language, so why would we assume their body language isn't different? If you travel to another country, can you trust the information you get from their body language?
Hello Gloria,
ReplyDeleteGreat post I love how you talked about how not having the movement can be detrimental to a conversation I couldn't agree more and I think that's why it was hard to me because i'm such a lively hand speaker.