The Language Experiment
The Language Experiment
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Part 1: Communicating with only hand signs, body language, and nonverbal vocalizations
The first part of the experiment was tougher than I thought it would be; it was difficult to not chime in with comments or respond to questions. I instructed my partner to talk normally for the experiment so the way of communication did not change, but the conversation topics died quickly and were not effective in communicating since I could not respond. My partner said the fifteen felt very long and ineffective since she just had a conversation with herself. Although I tried to respond with hand movements, it was difficult to convey what I actually meant. The only successful hand motions were walking and talking; so overall not a very productive conversation.
My partner was in control of the conversation and initiated and changed topics since I could not easily convey that with body language. My partner asked questions and I TRIED *tried being the key word here* to answer using facial and hand movements but it was quite difficult to get on the same page. My partner definitely had the power in the conversation because she controlled the topics and could change the conversation easily; I on the other hand, was struggling to keep up and unable to communicate what I was thinking in my head. We realized after the fifteen minutes that we could have drawn- kind of like a game pictionary.
If we imagine that my partner and I represent two different cultures, one that speaks and one that does not, it becomes clear which would have the advantage. Having the ability to communicate with our populations would allow warnings of predators, team work, friendly communication, and easier sharing of ideas. The partner who could talk would hold the advantage over me and their cultures would probably look down upon mine. They would view us as less competent and could even treat us as prey. There is actually a modern example of the two populations that most of us have probably encountered without even realizing. A house pet such as a dog or cat, cannot speak to us besides from a purr or a tail wag, and we view them as less intelligent and have we have superiority complex in regards to them. If they could speak we would most likely treat them much differently and have a completely different relationship with them. It is wild to think about how drastic the change would be in animal treatment if they could speak, abuse rates would probably decline.
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Part 2: Speaking With No Body Language
It was much easier to communicate in this experiment than in the previous but if felt very awkward and uncomfortable not being able to move. My partner said it was borderline creepy when I talked completely still because it is just so unnatural as human beings to communicate as only with voice. It took a lot of thought to not move the body because it is just natural instinct when it comes to talking and expressing oneself. She could understand me fine but not as in depth as when I would be using movement and expressions.
This experiment shows that we use “signs” in our language almost every single time we speak. Using sings helps us convey our expressions and give the other person social cues on what we mean. People recieve messages like disinterest or interest, anger, happiness, excitement, and surprise (these are just a few); body language allows us to communicate without our words.
Being able to read body language could save your life in a survival situation. For example, one could tell if the other person had bad intentions or posed a threat. You could also be able to tell who is friendly or interested in your population or another which creates relationships and can lead to reproductive advantages or allow for productive teamwork that can help you obtain resources productively.
Despite the usefulness of body language, some people have difficulty picking up on cues from it. People who may be disabled or children could struggle at picking up on body language cues possibly because they do not process things the same as your average adult. Some scientists believe that women are biologically wired to understand body language better because they must pick up on signs of distress in their young. However, it may be useful not to read body language in certain situations such as in court or in a business deal. Although these may seem like situations where one would rely on such language, the people you may be interacting with will be trained by lawyers or business degrees to convey the body language that seems right, even if they are lying or being misleading. Also, if one is anxious they could over analyze body language and misread the situation. It is important to remember that body language is a part of language- but not all of it.
Your example of a modern nonverbal communication between two cultures (humans and animals) was really creative! I can't believe I hadn't thought of that, even with my cat sitting next to me when I was typing up my post. I feel like communication with animals is so much easier to feel comfortable with than with humans, because humans have so many different ways of communication, and dishonest ones at that (even if it's unintentional). We seem to have a dependence on reading body language and expressions that it's almost natural that we get along with and instantly love almost every animal we come across.
ReplyDeletePart 1:
ReplyDeleteIn general, good opening description. With regard to this:
" I instructed my partner to talk normally for the experiment "
Well, you wanted to see if your partner changed their approach to communicating with you, so you may have shut the door here on some important information.
Good discussion on the issue of power and control in the conversation.
Since this is an assignment on the evolution of human language, let's see if we can find a real-life example in human populations, since we don't expect other dogs and cats to speak. 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, and this results in a power differential, with the speaking culture having power over the non-speaking. We see that 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:
" She could understand me fine but not as in depth as when I would be using movement and expressions. "
I would have liked more information on this. Usually the most interesting part of this experiment is the response of the partner. Some have actually gotten angry and stormed out.
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).
Okay on the benefits of body language, but what type of benefits do you get by being able to detect liars?
Yes, there are those with disabilities who have difficulty reading body language. Can you be more specific? How about those in the autism spectrum? Also, while children may not understand some adult-specific body language acquired later in life, children are also very adept at reading general body language. It is, after all, the first language they learn.
I see your point with the final response, but body language is actually very difficult to fake. If you suspected that a person was lying to you verbally, the last thing I would want to give up was the ability to read their body language, as that may be the only way to detect their spoken lie. But the issue of "lie" is key here, not because a person would intentionally lie with their body language, but because body language may give you false information if you are not reading it correctly. When might that happen? 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?
I had a similar experience in my experiments. As I am a naturally oud and expressive person, it was very hard for me to carry out the experiment. These experiments helped show me the lengths the people before us have gone to develop what language is today.
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