15 Minutes No Symbolic Language
- I personally really enjoyed this experiment it was very interesting and amusing and frustrating at times. It was difficult when I had questions about something during the conversations but I couldn't figure out how to properly convey the proper message. My partner struggled with trying to figure out how to engage and start the conversation, they initially started out basically talking at me like telling a story opposed to conversating. When I tried to engage in conversation by making confused gestures when they got to a point when I needed more clarification they struggled to figure out exactly what I needed clarification about causing the conversation to turn into a guessing game.
- In my experience I felt that the speaker had the power, they were able to choose the conversation and the direction of the conversation. As the non- speaker you can't explain which parts of the conversation you agree or disagree with and why you can only give signs that you object or agree to something but very non specific. One benefit about spoken language is that you have the ability to voice your opinions at any time and make choices, as well as properly convey any message you may have.
- If me and my partner were two different cultures meeting for the first I would definitely say my partner had the advantage. They were able to properly convey their ideas and messages smoothly without a problem, where-as I was unable to properly express what I needed to say leaving them confused. The speaking culture may experience feelings of frustration or annoyance with the other culture. They may also make assumptions about the others cultures intelligence leading to negative stereotypes. People within our culture that struggle with spoken communication are babies/young children, non-verbal persons on the spectrum, deaf people, and people who have had damage to their throats and vocal cords. I feel like this experiment can mirror their own experiences in life because I am sure there are plenty of times in their lives where they have struggled to convey a non-verbal message even with the use of sign language. Especially babies and young children who not only lack the ability to speak but also lack the intelligence in most cases to figure out another way such as writing to convey the message.
No physical embellishments
- I wasn't able to last the full 15 minutes with this one, surprisingly it was harder then I had anticipated. I never realized how much I use my body to communicate, I use a lot of hand movements and really full body movements at times to fully express thoughts, emotions, and information. The other thing that made it challenging was trying to be monotone on purpose, it felt so unnatural that it made it really hard not to laugh every time I would try to speak.
- My partner expressed that the second conversation was definitely more awkward than the first one. They said that this version of the experiment made them feel as if they were talking to some one who was bored or slightly irritated opposed to speaking to someone who might have a disability. They also said while the first experience was a bit more frustrating at times this conversation felt colder.
- This experiment says a lot about body and non speech language in the sense that it seems to go hand in hand with speech, it gives us the ability to fully express our meanings we are trying to convey. Voice fluctuations and facial expressions help to tell what emotions some one is feeling, as well as body movement. We can also use non-verbal signs and movements to discreetly send information or for those who are speech impaired. Body language is so important we often use it during conversations in everyday life to determine whether the information being to told to us by some one is truthful. We look for signs like nail biting, excessive sweeting, fidgeting are all signs that some one is nervous and may be lying. Signs such as stick your chin or chest out when you talk, putting your hands on your hips. wagging a finger van all be signs of irritations or frustration.
- Some people do struggle with reading body language, I think this happens because of a mixture of poor observation as well as a mixture of a lot of possible other things. An environmental condition where it might not be a good idea to read body language would be at a boring job meeting. You would not want to show signs of being bored or uninterested in front of your boss or important people within your work space.
Part 3
- Part one would have been significantly easier if I could have written out or even drew what I was trying to explain. Writing or drawing would have given a visual representation of the message even if I wasn't able to say it. The advantage written language gives to the culture that develops and uses it first is that they get to decide what everything means and how it's used. Written language has given us the ability to see the thoughts and ideas of ancient cultures. It has also given us the ability to send any kind of message to any one any where around the world especially thanks to inventions like the mail services, the printing press, and the email.
Part 1: Very good description of your experiment and your partner's response, as well as your discussion on the issue of power and control in the conversation.
ReplyDeleteGood discussion the advantages spoken language gives in communicating complex ideas.
I agree that adults with physical disabilities that limit their spoken communication would mirror this experiment. Babies are a different story! Babies actually have quite a bit as they are surrounded by parents and caregivers who have plenty of incentive to make sure that baby is well cared for. That translates into "power" for that baby.
Another situation that mirrors this power differential is seen 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 2: Good description of both your experience and your partner's. Did you ask them what they felt was missing from this conversation? What were they looking for in this part of the experience that made it "colder"?
You discuss alot of the ways we communicate through body language, but you don't really explain the *benefits* of using and reading body language. What about the ability to figure out if you can trust someone? Or determine if a person is attracted to you? Or is angry with you (and a possible threat)? Or what about if a person is lying to you? 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.
Like all human traits, there is normal variation in expression, and the ability to read body language is no different. But beyond that, there are groups of people who have great difficulty or an outright inability to read body language due to physical or mental disability, such as those who are in the autism spectrum or those who are blind (though they can read vocal intonation).
What you are actually describing in your example is a situation where you would not want to *exhibit* body language. But the question here is about not *reading* body language. Example: When might body language of others mislead you and it would be better to ignore it? 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?
Part 3: Good opening response to the first prompt.
The second prompt isn't about who does it *first*. Just about the cultural advantages of using written language in general. Think of how fast information can be spread in this day and age of the internet which, involves a lot of the written word (along with video and audio). It also has an impact on the education of a population, allowing large groups to receive the identical piece of written information, as opposed to spoken, which can be vary in it's presentation over several deliveries and is subject to misinterpretation more readily. You can also record history and events for future generations to remember and learn from.
You are touching on the issue of globalizaton a bit with your last sentence, but this is a much bigger issue and needed to be expanded. Think of how written language has accelerated the spread of helpful (and harmful) information globally. Consider the pandemic as an example: We were able to spread helpful information about how to control infection and take vaccines very quickly. Unfortunately, false information was also able to spread just as quickly, so there is are positive AND negative impacts from this.