In Part One of the Language experiment, when I was asked to speak without using symbolic language, I found it very difficult. I could only explain things to a bare minimum and was unable to describe anything specifically. For example, I gestured that I was looking for somebody, but I could not even describe that it was a person that I was looking for, so my friend who helped participate in the assignment believed that I was just looking for something and had no idea what it was.
My friends participating in the experiment were not able to say much in return because they found it very difficult to understand what I was trying to communicate to them.
If my partners and I represented two different cultures, I believe that the culture that actually uses symbolic language has the advantage because, as previously stated, it is very difficult to communicate without it. Those who use the symbolic language would find a culture who didn't use it to be very primitive, and probably not even bother to try to communicate with the other culture because it would be very difficult and time consuming. Individuals who are mute and/or deaf would have a difficult time communicating with others who use spoken language. It would be the same for pretty much any other person who doesn't know how to speak english in America.
In Part Two of the experiment, when I was asked to speak without physical embellishments, it was very difficult to last the whole 15 minutes because it was very unnatural for me. It required me to focus completely on speech which is not normal for anybody. I found it almost as difficult as trying to speak a foreign language, and I kept forgetting what I was talking about and how I felt about what I was talking about.
My partners involved in the experiment became very bored and eventually wanted me to just stop because the had no idea how I felt about the subject that I was talking about (the events of my day).
This experiment shows that the use of, "signs" are very important in communication because you can convey emotions without having to state them, and it also makes conversation more interesting for the people who are listening.
Yes, there are people who have difficulty reading body language, and even using body language. If you possess the ability to read body language you can understand a lot more about the emotions that are trying to be conveyed within that body language.
I believe the only time that there would be a benefit to not reading body language would be if the person is trying to hide something or lying about something.
I agree with you that individuals who are deaf or mute can have overwhelming challenges trying to communicate with people who can hear. Most hearing people do not know sign language so deaf/mute people have no way of communicating with them unless it's through body language. As we learned through this assignment, using body language as a form of communication can be quite difficult and even impossible. We cannot fully understand each other through body language and often times make mistakes of the interpretation. The part 2 of this assignment showed us that without using certain signs or body language during communication, it can be quite dull and emotions are not recognized. By smiling, laughing, and nodding, we can understand the other person's emotions which can make communicating more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteGood discussion on how a speaking and non-speaking culture would interact.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it interesting how your partner wanted to stop during the second part? Do you think this was because of lack of interest on his part or discomfort with the circumstances?
Can you identify the individuals who have trouble reading body language? Would not being able to ready body language really help if someone is lying? Usually they lie with their words and tell the truth with their body language, so it seems like you would be more likely to be duped.
Good post.
I liked the way you compared two people who speak the same or different langauge to the ability to use symbolic language. Although two different individuals may have the ability to use symbolic language, they need to know the same lanugage good enough to communicate with each other.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your last sentece. I think lying is a very good example for this scenario.