Doing
this experiment, where I could not speak, write or ASL (which I don’t know), I found
really hard to communicate with my friends, I told them what was it about, and
when they agreed and stared talking, it was really hard for me to not say
something, to stay all quiet unable to speak. We found that the easiest way to communicate
was making simple questions where I could respond yes or not with my head, but I
was not being part of the conversation all the time. They compared this experiment
with those kind of table games when you get a card with a phrase and you have
to mimic it.
My
friends were in control of the conversation all the time, I was not able to
make any questions, I literally just answered if they asked me something. We were
taking breakfast, so we were catching up about what we did last week and it was
very frustrating because I did not how to explain for example that my oldest daughter
has been having tantrums every time we get out of the house. So for sure they
excluded me of the conversation a couple of times. They had a complete power
this time.
When
we talk about cultures, I really think that the speaking culture will be in
advantage comparing with the culture that communicate through symbolic language.
The quality of information somebody gets from a speaking person is way more
complete, complex, and in a faster way. Although, I also believe that if there
is a community that just use symbolic language they could be as efficient as
the speaking people, but just within their boundaries, within their community,
otherwise they would be behind everyone. Society’s evolution requires people to move
faster than before, that’s why spoken language I think it’s the principle way
to communicate. I believe a good example
would be comparing any spoken languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese etc) with
indigenous language. They have a complete different culture and speak their own
language, but also live almost isolated, and have their own rules, manners, and
different ways to live life.
The
second part of this experiment was worst for me, because I am very expressive
when I am speaking with someone, I make a lot of gestures and I use my hands a
lot, my husband makes fun of me because of this. Continuing with the assignment,
it was easy because I could at least talk to them, but they mentioned that I looked
bored, sad, or like I was not paying attention or interested in the
conversation at all. They also told me that my attitude could be easily
mistaken for someone that has any kind of persona disorder.
I think
this experiment proves that signs in our language is very important, communication
as a whole has to have spoken and body language to really transmit what you
mean. An easy example: you can say you are very happy, but if your body
language is not showing that, people would be confused. To really understand the
mood of people we need body language. Actually, you can know what’s happening
to someone just watching he/she act.
When
someone knows how to read body language is because that person is very
sensitive and is always looking around, like watching what is happening. I have
a situation that fits here perfectly. I went to the park with my daughters like
2 weeks ago, there were a couple of kids, mommies and daddies. Suddenly there
is a guy dressed like we were in summer, with shorts, tank top and barefoot; and
had a small dog. He stared to do some pushups too close to a stroller that was
left alone, but I think he noticed I was watching him. Then he moved a bit away
of the stroller and stared stretching. I
instantly put my daughters on the swings because I felt something was wrong
with this guy, and it was not just me, I noticed the other mommies stared to
called the kids to be close to them. Five minutes later everyone stared to leave.
So I really think we have to be aware and always be alert of everyone around
us, nobody talked to this guy that day, but sure everyone felt something was
not right with him, and all because his body language. So body language can
help a person survive, obtain resources, and reproduce successfully, because that
is every person presentation card, that is the way to transmit what you are,
your essence.
Maybe
people that have any kind of disability, they are also susceptible to know how
to properly used their body language. When I was in high school I volunteer every
Sunday for a couple for months to take care of some kids, while their parents
were taking classes. (catholic high school). There was a kid that I thing had
down syndrome, but she did not look like it. She was very strong, and sometimes
she was so happy about something that she stared to bother the other kids. Like
she was too excited about something she did, but she did not know to manage that
excitement. I always tried to talk to her, calm her down, and start playing
again. If someone else would have passed by that classroom when she was acting
like that with the kids, it could have easily been confused as if something
else was happening.
Hello, it was extremely difficult for me as well to express myself with just using my voice and not use gestures or hand signals or face expression since I use them a lot. I felt like a robot and felt that the conversations had a different tone because the emotion was missing. It was also hard to communicate with my partner in the first part when I was only using hand gestures because I didn't know how to start a conversation with a signal or symbol. This experiment was overall very interesting to see how communication is not only fueled by language or voice but also by emotion and in order to communicate efficiently you must use all in combination.
ReplyDeletePart A:
ReplyDeleteGood description of your first experiment and good discussion on the issue of power in the conversation.
A couple of issues in the next section. I agree with your conclusion regarding speaking vs. non-speaking cultures, but I'm not seeing a discussion on the attitude we might see from speaking to the non-speaking?
Additional, understand that "symbolic" language IS spoken language (and also written and ASL). What we are comparing here is the difference between symbolic and sign language, generally spoken vs. body language.
I don't understand how the real-life example you present mirrors the conditions of the experiment. To find a real life example of this experiment, we need to find a situation where you have a speaking population and another group that doesn't speak that language. (You are, instead, comparing western languages with indigenous languages... but they are all symbolic languages.) We see these conditions mirrored in the interaction between English speakers and non-English speaking immigrant populations. Think about how non-English speaking immigrants are treated in Southern California? Are they treated as equals?
Part B:
Interesting description of your second 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).
Interesting discussion on the issue of the benefits of body language, and I appreciate your story of how this works in real life. That aside, what type of benefits do you get by being able to detect liars? How does being able to figure out who might cheat you impact your survival?
I appreciate your example in the final section. Yes, those with some disabilities have difficulty reading body language. I'm not familiar with those with Down's Syndrome but I do know that those in the austim spectrum are characterized by difficulty reading body language, which is why they can't understand jokes or sarcasm easily.
Missing the final question about a situation where body language might mislead you and it would be better for you to not read it? To answer this question, you have to consider if there are situations where body language gives you false information, not because someone is lying to you (body language usually belies a lie), but because you don't understand the system of body language they are using, just like you might not understand a different spoken language. Do all cultures use the same system of body language? If you travel to another country, can you trust the information you get from their body language?