Chapter 5 Silent Communication
Nonverbal Communication The transmission of messages w/o spoken words Body language… Smell, Taste, Touch Proxemics & Kinesics gender, status, culture & space types of gestures Gesture systems... Sign languages… analyzing signs Paralanguage… Speech substitutes….
Body Language Learned in cultural groups Interpreted unconsciously Often overrides verbal language ~60% of communication? Beware of guidebooks.
Smell, Taste, and Touch Smell Taste Touch And ethnicity, culture Cigars, perfumes and status Taste And group membership Spicy foods.. Touch And gender and power Relation to proxemics….
Proxemics Edward Hall, 1950s How people perceive and use space Cowboy proxemics Getting to theatre seats.
Gender, Status, & Space Entering into someone’s ‘space’ Getting the ‘best’ office Or the biggest bedroom Having one’s own ‘space’ Dens vs sewing rooms.
Culture and Space Different arrangements Different uses US grids & French circles German doors: closed vs open Different uses Where to eat in the Comoros Depends on gender too.
Kinesics Ray Birdwhistell, 1950s Body movements Facial expressions Shrugs, nods. Arm & leg-crossing Facial expressions Smiles, frowns, winks Gestures Palm up / palm down Thumbs up! Kinemes, allokines, & kinemorphs.
Typology of Gestures Eckman & Friesen, 1960s Emblems Illustrators Translatable (waving) Illustrators Of what is said (steering) Affect Displays Convey emotion (smiling) Regulators Control or coordinate (pointing) Adaptors Facilitate release (wiggling).
Gesture Systems Where verbal communication is difficult Topics and contexts are limited Simple alternative systems Little or no syntax Sawmills, baseball games, sailboat racing Complex alternative systems Syntax based on spoken language: Australian women mourners Some monastic orders Syntax independent of any spoken language Native American Plains sign language Signs used in varying order.
Paralanguage Sounds that “accompany” speech But aren’t words themselves George Trager (1950s) voice qualities Loudness, tone of voice Pitch, speed, rhythm Vocal modifications: whispering, cooing, breathy voice, rising intonation Vocal segregates (or vocal gestures) Stand on their own uh-huh, mhmm, shhhh, throat-clearing Ideophones? Bam, pow, slurp!.
Speech Substitutes Sound signals substitute for spoken words Or parts of words Useful for communicating over distances Examples: Drum languages based on tones (Nigeria) Whistle languages based on tones (Mazateco) based on vowels (La Gomera) different whistled pitches = different vowels
Sign Language Used by deaf people Topics and contexts are unlimited ‘Language performed in three-dimensional space’ Topics and contexts are unlimited Syntax is complex, unique to specific language American Sign Language (ASL; Ameslan) vs British Mutually unintelligible; not based on English syntax Signs = concepts, not words (‘right’ vs ‘right’) Syntax = one sign can stand for several words E.g., “I-ask-her” is one sign vs Signed English (SEE1 & 2) which follows English syntax.
Analyzing Signs Primes Three kinds of primes Minimal pairs Basic elements of signs (correspond to phonemes?) Combine into morphemes Three kinds of primes Hand shape Fist (A), Flat (B), Cupped (C) Hand placement Hand movement Minimal pairs Apple vs candy (shape: fist hand vs cupped hand) Summer vs ugly (place: forehead vs nose level).