Language & Communication

Part 1:
     I found this experiment to be both difficult and simple. It was simple in the sense that it did not require a lot of knowledge or research on the subject. However, it did require patients, critical thinking and listening, and comprehension skills from my partners. Needless to say, i found this experiment to be very entertaining and different from experiments i have conducted previously, where as my partners thought it to be somewhat fun, but frustrating.

     The impressions of my partners varied depending upon the hand motions, facial expressions, and other body language i chose to use. While conducting my experiment, i found it would often take multiple attempts and changes in my body language to get my partners to fully understand what i was trying to communicate. My partners did alter their way of communicating with me, but only slightly by using more hand motions and speaking slowly with larger mouths.

     If my partners and i were two separate cultures meeting for the first time, the culture who communicated vocally and through writing would have the advantage. This is because with out vocal and written language, understanding and advancement is difficult to achieve. The attitudes of the speaking culture may be harsh toward the culture that does not use symbolic language. People of the speaking culture would probably assume that the other culture are uneducated. They may also feel superior because they have the "upper-hand" (so to speak) in developing new things.

     Some individuals in our culture who have difficulty communicating through means of spoken language are the mute and the deaf. The deaf often have trouble communicating via spoken language because they lack the ability to hear the pronunciation of words and letters. Mutes can hear and likely understand the pronunciation of words, but cannot communicate with us vocally. Those of us who have been privileged enough to be able to speak, and to hear often find it difficult to communicate with these individuals. We will try things such as slowing the pace of our speech or emphasizing the letters in the word with hopes that the deaf can read lips. Another way we communicate with the deaf and the mute is through written language which is probably the easiest way for us and for the mute, but still challenging for the deaf.

Part 2:
     I was unable to last the entire fifteen minutes of the experiment using only vocal communication. When I speak, I use a lot of body language and hand motions to add emphasis and understanding to my side of the conversation. This was very difficult for me as well because I wear my emotions on my face meaning i use a lot of facial expressions, so not being able to use them while i was talking was extremely challenging. I felt robotic.

     I found
that it was very difficult for my partners to be able to understand the context of what i was saying. It was also more difficult to keep my partners engaged in the conversation because a conversation without any physical aspect is very boring, and can be taken out of context. For example, my partners were unable to tell whether I was trying to be mean (yes, I actually have to try to be mean..I'm too nice) or just being sarcastic. This actually added humor to the experiment because i could barely do this without showing any sense of emotion or movement.

     Non- speech language techniques are very important to our ability to communicate effectively. Unspoken language helps to provide emphasis and clarity to what the speaker is trying to accomplish in his or her conversation. Physical embellishments in spoken language are also important because just plain old speech can be tedious to listen to and may be misunderstood.

     Yes, there are people who have difficulty reading body language. Some people may mistake certain types of body language for the party providing to be rude, or funny when that is really not the case. Some people may think the speaker is just flopping their limbs around because they do not pick up on body language at all. Being able to read body language is definitely a benefit. This is because body language tells us so much about the context of the conversation. For example, If someone says "hi, how are you?" but keeps walking instead of stopping to talk and finish the conversation, they likely are in a rush. I do not feel there is an environment where not being able to read body language is beneficial. I think being able to read body language is always beneficial because body language tells you a lot about someones personality or mood.