This is my account of the results of the language experiment I engaged in over the weekend, which involved myself, a few of my friends, and my two brothers.
Part 1: I found this experiment to be very challenging because it removes the communication aspect of having a conversation (for lack of a better description). As I involved myself in a conversation with people, I quickly found myself shut out of the discussion, with the occasional question asking if I agreed with something that had been said, to which I would have no choice but to respond with a mere nod or shake of the head. This is something that I do not often find myself doing in conversation, as I prefer to use a healthy combination of verbal and physical communication in everyday conversations. It was this departure from what I am comfortable doing that made this experiment difficult, but definitely not as difficult as its second part (which was definitely a surprise to me). As I mentioned above, my partners in conversation definitely treated me differently while I was unable to speak verbally; most of them did not include me in the conversation because they knew I could not keep one going (after all, how entertaining and enticing can a conversation be if one of the participants isn't truly participating?). A few of the people tried to include me, as I previously mentioned, but I could only contribute nods or head shakes, anything that did not resemble actual language. I must say, however, that this part of the exercise made me a much better listener in conversations, as I was more or less forced to listen to what my partners while thinking of limited ways I could contribute. But I digress; essentially, the way my friends and brothers communicated with me for these fifteen minutes was very different from the way we normally communicate with one another because of my inability to speak and therefore contribute to the conversation. If my partners and I were part of two different cultures that were meeting for the very first time, I would say that the culture I belong to would be at a severe disadvantage because my partners are able to verbally communicate. This ability allows them to present and discuss new and complex ideas much better than I would be able to in this scenario, given that I cannot speak and therefore cannot do much more than respond to yes or no questions. Because of my inability to speak, I would most likely be viewed by the speaking culture as inferior to them, and they would most likely treat me in a way that demonstrates their assumed superiority over me. An example of this scenario in our culture today would be people who immigrate to the United States of America (or to any land foreign to them) and attempt to integrate themselves into the population. The cultural differences as well as the variation in spoken language would both contribute to these newcomers receiving negative attention from many people; some would most likely feel that the immigrants are inferior to them simply because they are not accustomed to the local customs and language. While it is clear that this treatment is unfair, it cannot be denied that people from other countries who are not familiar with American culture and/or the English language deal with negative treatment from those who are fluent in the language and culture of the country.
Part 2: I was surprisingly able to communicate using only words for fifteen minutes with my partners, but it was an extremely difficult challenge for me. For one, it is nearly impossible to speak without using inflections that subtly (or blatantly, depending on how they are used) reveal my emotions about a particular subject. I am certain that I inadvertently used intonations in my voice at one point, but for the most part I was able to avoid using them. What made this such a challenge was the additional lack of movements and gestures that accompanied the scenario; participating in this experiment made me realize how much I use my hands and face to express my feelings throughout a conversation. In order to remain focused on my task, I forced myself to keep my hands pinned to my side while I thought of ways to stay as detached from the conversation as possible (I wanted to avoid getting excited or passionate about the discussion because I often use my hands and face when talking about something I am into). Because I could speak using actual words in this span of fifteen minutes, my partners were rather relieved, although they were thrown off by my almost robotic lack of emotion as I spoke. Some of my friends did not understand my sarcasm or joking remarks because I was unable to say them in a way that would typically provide levity to a situation. These minor issues were not nearly as off-putting to my brothers and friends as my inability to speak was in the previous part of the experiment. This part of the experiment shows just how important it is to be able to communicate not only what you feel, but why you feel that way. Without being able to demonstrate different vocal tones or use hands, people are incapable of sharing exactly how they feel about something; it would almost feel like having a conversation with a machine that has no emotions or desire. This inability to have effective conversations is greatly contributed to this machine-like delivery of information, which is why it is so necessary to use physical gestures in speech. There are some people who have difficulty reading body language, particularly those who are socially primitive and have little experience dealing with people (I imagine a hermit would definitely be amongst those who struggle with reading body language). If a person (or a creature) is able to read body language, it might help that person or animal stay alive. For example, a creature in the ocean that can read body language might be able to figure out when predators are coming to attack because of the physical hints that body language provides. At the moment, I cannot think of any particular situation where being able to read body language might not come in handy in the environment (when I do think of some I will add them to this post by commenting on it). Perhaps in an environment where body language is misleading and will lead to death?
I agree with you, I also found myself shut out of the conversation for part 1 of the experiment it was rather odd for me to just stand there and listen.
ReplyDeleteVery good and thorough explanation of the part 1 experiment. Reading your account reminds me of how language and the ability to communicate is an aspect of power in our society. People can sway or change minds or even maintain some level of control over people with language. So to have no language skills, such as you in this experiment or considering the plight of the immigrants you discuss in the post, is to be relatively powerless in our society. I think this is an important connection to make. Good discussion.
ReplyDeleteAgain, good description in Part 2, but body language doesn't just contribute emotion to a conversation. It can contribute validity to the spoken word. Humans use body language to validate what they are hearing. Is that person telling the truth? What does their body language tell me? Without that confirmation, we don't know if we can trust what we are hearing, like a missing lie detector. Some partners in these experiments have become so upset with the absence of this information that they become angry and storm out of the room. Strong responses like that happen for a reason!
" There are some people who have difficulty reading body language, particularly those who are socially primitive and have little experience dealing with people."
'Primitive" is a word now avoided in anthropology as it has a judgmental value to it, but I understand your point. But, alternatively, people in the autism spectrum are recognized as having great difficulty reading body language. That is why they cannot read "sarcasm" and have difficulty with jokes, since they really only process words.
"Perhaps in an environment where body language is misleading and will lead to death? "
Yes, although it doesn't have to be a life and death situation to affect survival. Just reduced access to resources is sufficient. So are there any circumstances where body language might mislead you? Can it be misinterpreted? Do all cultures use the same system of body language?
Ah, I see you conducted your experiments differently than I did; I didn't expect to see that happen. I approached the assignment by having the entire group communicate in a restricted manner. The differences I noticed between our two methods are that the conversation itself slowed down entirely for the first part--it basically devolved to a game of charades (of which I am well-trained in) where there was one speaker and everyone took turns speaking. As for the second part (well I'm already pretty mono-tone so the inflections thing was a non-issue for me), it ended up sounding like those conversations where you have two early model robot voices talk to each other. When I think about it like that, the whole prospect didn't seem too strange.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I would like to point out is prosopagnosia--the inability to recognize faces. It's actually a real thing. It feel people with this disorder would have similar difficulties recognizing some body language in a similar way to how foreigners can misinterpret things. The more you know.