The Language Experiment

Part 1

• For this experiment I was communicating in a conversation between my little brother and my girlfriend. I found the experiment difficult because I was very limited to what I could express with just my body language alone. For the most part, it was like a game of charades where I had to use my body to guide them to the words I wanted to say. There were many times were I used my hands to make certain gestures that would allow them to know if they were getting close to what I wanted to say. But they would not always get the exact word, but they would come up with similar words to what I was thinking.

• Both my partners laughed at my facial expressions and body language. They also expressed how they now appreciate being able to communicate and say what they wanted to say to anyone. At first, it was difficult for them to understand my body language, but after some time they eventually became used to it and picked up on cues from my facial expressions and hand signals. Although they rarely said the actual word I was thinking they still managed to keep me in the conversation by saying something similar to the words I was trying to express. My partners did in fact have to alternate to some extent to the way they would usually speak because of my lack of symbolic communication. They would speak at the same speed they would in a normal conversation, but they had to slow down and stop the conversation when they were trying to figure out what I wanted to add to the topic. 

• I believe that the culture that would have the advantage when communicating complex ideas is the culture that uses symbolic language. Because the culture with symbolic language have an alphabet, there are many words they could say that could express an idea. They can also communicate with other people in their culture clearly allowing them to work trade and work together. The attitude cultures may have toward the culture that does not use symbolic language would be an ethnocentric attitude. They would believe that since their own culture uses symbolic language, they must be more advanced that the one who doesn't. Fact is, there are many cultures are the word that may be similar or vastly different from one another. But this does not make that culture have any less value that other cultures. Individuals in our own culture that have difficulty communicating with spoken language are deaf people. Because they  cannot hear the language, most of them cannot make the different sounds we use to speak the words. It can be difficult if you try to communicate with a deaf person by only using spoken language because they will not be able to communicate in the same way. However, they can in fact read lips and this helps them better understand what the other person is trying to communicate. This does not mean that they can't communicate however, because they use their hands and bodies for what is known as Sign Language. Sign language has an alphabet in which a person can form words together, but not sounds.  

Part 2

 

• I was actually unable to last the full 15 minutes using only speech for communication. What made it difficult for me was that whenever I would say a word my body would subconsciously move in correlation. My partners caught me moving my eyebrows when I was curious in what they were saying. They were also saying some things I found humorous and it was very difficult not to laugh, but I eventually gave in. I did not realize if I was making facial expressions or not. It gave me a new perspective on how important facial expression and body language is. 

• My partners expressed how they had more fun when I could not use speech for communication. They found my appearance and tone to be emotionless, and empty. We were able to communicate more effectively, at the cost of the quality of the conversation. Whenever I said something it was short and to the point because I was focusing more on not moving my body or make facial expressions. 

• This experiment has shown me that body language is a very important aspect to the way we communicate with each other. Non-speech language techniques only help what we are trying to communicate with one another. Body language alone can give a person many hints into what that person may be feeling for example. Verbal speech and body language can be used effectively to express an idea or concern. 

• No one is perfect at any one thing, and this also includes reading body language. I believe there are people who can pick up on body language more than others. These people may not understand what you are trying to say until you actually say the words. On the other hand, there are people who read body language so well that they may become offended if you look at them a certain way. I do not believe there is any non-benefit to not reading body language. It can help spot a dangerous situation for instance if a person were hostile. A clenched fist, heavy breathing, grinding teeth, and wide open eyes are all examples of body language that can be used to determine that it would not be safe to approach a certain individual. 

Part 3

• The experiment in Part 1 would have defiantly been easier if I was able to use written language. Being able to use written language would have made communicating with my partners easier. During that part of the experiment I was also able to use body language and facial expressions. So I would have still been able to say what I wanted to say just not verbally. My partners would have understood the writing and we could have communicated entirely through writing if we were required to. 

• The advantage the written language provides to the culture that develops and uses it are preserved ideas and historical accounts. It also proves another mean of communication if a person can not verbally speak. Written language has provided our society with books of fact and fiction that is a form of entertainment. 

• Written language has allowed us to communicate with people around the word who speak the same language. Before the internet, people would send each other written letters that expressed ideas or emotions. But sometimes those letters would take days or even months to receive. The internet has changed our culture drastically. It is now normal for people to walk with their heads down looking at their phone while they cross the street. In my opinion the internet has had both benefits and disadvantages. In the form of written communication, it has helped share ideas with different people around the world. We trade information with people from different cultures and backgrounds. With written communication, recipes for different foods from different cultures can be found on the internet. Before, recipes could only be shared if the person were to physically be shown how to make the food. Globalization includes all types of different ideas and information shared between different people both near and far. So written communication is just as important and verbal communication.