Week 3 Language
Part 1: I feel like this part of the experiment was the most difficult because of not being able to use any type of normal language. Not being able to use normal language was difficult because it's something that I use everyday and communicating made it really challenging. The person I was communicating with had trouble understanding a lot of the body language and hand signs I was using. My partner's impressions throughout the conversation were very expressive. Their hand and facial expressions became very demonstrative, as if he were trying to throw out the information I had trouble communicating to him. He made a lot of speaking gestures and hand gestures in an effort to try and understand the information that I tried to communicate. I feel like the culture that can speak has an advantage in communicating very difficult ideas because it allows them to express all their ideas at their full capacity. The speaking culture might see the other culture that uses symbolic language as not very intelligent because they don't speak. Some people in our culture that can't communicate spoken language are people that are deaf and newborn kids. It can be very difficult communicating with the deaf because they can't hear what your saying and they rely heavily on facial expressions and sign language. Since newborn kids have not learned to speak yet it can be hard communicating with them because because they can't tell us what they want or what their feeling.
Part 2: It was hard to last the full 15 minutes of this experiment since I use all types of language and communication everyday. It was definitely a lot easier for my partner to understand what I was telling them compared to the first part. My partner said I became very dull when communicating, which made it difficult for him to follow along in the conversation. Our non speech language in our culture is very important because it allows us to communicate more effectively. Hand signals and body movements add emphasis to our spoken language and add clarity to our communications. This makes it a lot easier for us to understand the content of communication. The people that have difficulty understanding body would be the people that are blind and younger children.
Part 3: I think that using written language in part one would have been a lot easier because I feel like written language has the same power as spoken language. some advantages that written language have would be it being more precise and explicit, as well as it being a permanent record. A big impact that written language has had on globalization would be being able to spread ideas to people and places that do not understand the spoken language.
Great post! I agree that the first experiment was the most difficult. It's hard trying to get the other person to understand what you're trying to say with only hand gestures. The second one was easier since you're able to speak in that one. Though, I do agree that the conversation becomes dull when one of you lack emotion in your voice.
ReplyDeleteInitial comment: When all your points are collapsed into one paragraph, it makes it difficult to parse out your responses to each prompt. It is to your advantage to ensure that your answers are clearly indicated. Separate each set of guideline prompts into separate paragraphs.
ReplyDeletePart 1: Can you explain what you mean by "normal" language? :-) Spoken language is "normal". So is body language. So is written language. Can you be more specific here to avoid bias?
Otherwise, I appreciate your description of your partner's experience here. Why did your partner feel the need to use exaggerated body language to communicate with you? You weren't having trouble understanding *them*, right?
Missing the next prompt asking about power and control in the conversation? This is a reason why it is important to separate out your responses to each prompt, so you don't miss sections.
I agree with your conclusions on communicating complex ideas and attitudes.
Yes, those who are deaf will have experiences that mirror this experiment... unless they are majority and the hearing person is in the minority. Think about it... if a hearing person walks into a room filled with people who are deaf, who's at the disadvantage then?
Newborns are not really a good example as they are in the unique position of having the power over their parents and other caregivers, who have good incentive to meet their needs and help them survive.
Part 2: A little short on your own description here. Better with the description of your partner, but why did they have trouble understanding you? You had full access to spoken language, right? Can you explain this?
The benefit of body language goes far beyond just adding emphasis to our spoken words. Think about how it can help you figure out who to trust, or is a person might be attracted to you, or might be angry with you. Additionally, 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.
I agree that those who are blind will have trouble reading body language, though they can still hear vocal intonation or sense spatial information. Children are actually pretty good at reading body language. It is the first language they learn, after all!
Missing the final question here: Can you think of a situation where it might be better to ignore body language? For example, 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?
Part 3: Okay on the first prompt.
For the second, let's think a little deeper on this. Think of the advantages recording history, or communicating information reliable across a population, or creating a foundation of information to build upon within a culture.
I'm having a little trouble following your final point... if a group of people don't speak a language, how will it help them to put the information in writing in that same language?
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.