Language Experiment
Part 1
1. Not being able to talk was a barrier that I never noticed. We use language all the time to speak so this was a very big challenge for me. The experiment consisted of my father and I. At the very start he was trying to guess what i was trying to communicate with him. I could point at things but he was having a hard time understanding me. At the end of it the conversation did not get anywhere.
2. My father was in charge of the conversation because I was the one who could not speak. Since I could not end or start a new topic he had to just keep the conversation alive or just start a new topic. If there was another person in this experiment I would definitely be excluded. The only response I could is yes or no answers. The two individuals who have the voice could have power because they can express their own opinion where I just have to follow along because I cannot communicate with them.
3. The one population who uses spoken language can express their ideas easily and more complex because they can describe what they are saying. The culture with the speaking language will automatically have power of the other culture and would want to take them over or try to teach them their language to fit in. An example of a speaking culture that took over is humans. As humans we are the master of all living beings on earth. We control everything because we have knowledge and the power to speak.
Part 2
1. The no emotions and less expressions was an easier task than not talking at all. The only barrier is that you could not read body language. My dad had issues reading my body language and did not know if I was interested in the subject or not. I had to talk more to explain if i wanted to engage more on the topic.
2. Non speech expressions play an important role in our language and allow us to use context clues in order to read a person. These clues that help us read a person make us realize the expression of the other person.
3. Being able to read an others body language can help you survive because you can calm a person down so they do not try and fight you. You can communicate with others to allow trading and you can communicate with mates to reproduce.
4. I do not think there is not a time where you should not read a persons body language. You can always get some valuable information. The only way that this is bad is that if you read them wrong. It can change the encounter very quickly. Another bad thing that can happen is that the person you are reading is giving a false reading so that they seem to be one way but is really feeling another emotion at the time.
1. Not being able to talk was a barrier that I never noticed. We use language all the time to speak so this was a very big challenge for me. The experiment consisted of my father and I. At the very start he was trying to guess what i was trying to communicate with him. I could point at things but he was having a hard time understanding me. At the end of it the conversation did not get anywhere.
2. My father was in charge of the conversation because I was the one who could not speak. Since I could not end or start a new topic he had to just keep the conversation alive or just start a new topic. If there was another person in this experiment I would definitely be excluded. The only response I could is yes or no answers. The two individuals who have the voice could have power because they can express their own opinion where I just have to follow along because I cannot communicate with them.
3. The one population who uses spoken language can express their ideas easily and more complex because they can describe what they are saying. The culture with the speaking language will automatically have power of the other culture and would want to take them over or try to teach them their language to fit in. An example of a speaking culture that took over is humans. As humans we are the master of all living beings on earth. We control everything because we have knowledge and the power to speak.
Part 2
1. The no emotions and less expressions was an easier task than not talking at all. The only barrier is that you could not read body language. My dad had issues reading my body language and did not know if I was interested in the subject or not. I had to talk more to explain if i wanted to engage more on the topic.
2. Non speech expressions play an important role in our language and allow us to use context clues in order to read a person. These clues that help us read a person make us realize the expression of the other person.
3. Being able to read an others body language can help you survive because you can calm a person down so they do not try and fight you. You can communicate with others to allow trading and you can communicate with mates to reproduce.
4. I do not think there is not a time where you should not read a persons body language. You can always get some valuable information. The only way that this is bad is that if you read them wrong. It can change the encounter very quickly. Another bad thing that can happen is that the person you are reading is giving a false reading so that they seem to be one way but is really feeling another emotion at the time.
Hello Michael, I agree with your post and definitely feel like speaking without emotion was a lot easier than just using my head to nod for yes a now. Instead of having the first conversation with just one person I sat in on my mom and sister talking and it was interesting to have a back seat in a conversation like that. Even though there was one other person in the conversation, it seems like most of the students had a similar experience with the first conversation, feeling excluded and not involved.
ReplyDeletePart 1: A little short on description here. Expand. Were you able to ask questions? Change topics? Did your dad alter how he spoke to you? You need to help you reader understand how this altered your ability to communicate.
ReplyDeleteGood discussion on the issue of power and control in the conversation.
I agree with your conclusion regarding which culture has the advantage.
"An example of a speaking culture that took over is humans."
That wasn't the question. This asked you to identify a real-life situation that matches the experiment, which means you need to find a situation where humans are communicating and one side has more power and control than the other. To say "humans" doesn't match these conditions as there is no "other side" or this conversation. 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: Okay, but were there any problems for your father with regard to lack of interest in the subject? Why is this important? And did you talk to your father afterward about his impressions of this experiment? What was it like to talk to his son while he was expression not body language? Expand.
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?
You don't answer the first question in the next prompt: Are there people who *can't* read body language? 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).
With regard to a situation where it might be beneficial to ignore body language, think about a situation where body language might lie to you. 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? 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?
Great blog post! I really enjoyed your insight on the experiment and found your details very informative. I agreed with your premise that it was more difficult communicating without speech as opposed to speaking without body language. Overall, the experiment was a nice insight into how the world was before we were able to communicate via organized speech.
ReplyDelete