Language

I found this first experiment pretty difficult. I did not realize how hard it is to communicate with people without using any sort of symbolic language. As I do this assignment it really opened my eyes to other aspects in my life because I take care of senior citizens where some of them cannot communicate with any language anymore.  Even though this assignment was for only 15 minutes it really opened my eyes to the struggle and frustration that it might cause to people who can’t communicate with language when they need, want or just want to talk about something.  When I take care of the seniors who cannot communicate I do allot of showing things to them. Such as when I get them breakfast I choose multiple things and show them to them, and most of them point but others just smile when they see something which shows me that is something they want to have.  I have always tried my best to really understand how to communicate properly with people who cannot communicate with symbolic language and it is something that I gain knowledge daily on new ways to communicate with them since they cannot communicate with symbolic language.  I have found ways with using our senses like touch, and hear to communicate in a better way.  My partner in this experiment did alter the way of communicating with me because I was not talking and was not able to write things down when we were trying to have a conversation. My partner was my cousin who I live with and when I got home from work we started this experiment. He was asking me questions about how work was today, and what we were making for dinner. I tried to explain to him what I wanted for dinner and at one point he just started to take things out of the fridge and I was shaking my head yes and or no.  He altered his way of communicating with me within the first five minutes he stopped talking and just kept making faces like was it a happy day and he smiled, and then yawned and I thought he was asking if I was tired.  I was trying to use my mouth to say words without actually talking and he was laughing because at one point he had no idea what I was talking about.  I think my cousin in the first experiment when he using symbolic language definitely had an advantage. I think you would have an advantage when trying to communicate complex ideas. I think after doing this experiment and talking to my cousin after, he said it was really hard to even understand what I was trying to say almost the whole time until I started to point to things and shake my head yes or no but even then he said he was confused. I think there might be a very strong attitude from the speaking culture towards the culture that does not use symbolic language because it can cause allot of confusion and or frustration if there is something you are trying to find out. I think it is definitely interesting learning new ways of communicating such as American Sign Language but for people who do not know or understand it I think some people might come off as rude if they cannot communicate the way they want to. I think when people are open to new things such as learning to communicate with other cultures that do not use symbolic language it can help to better understand different cultures and the way they have to communicate with each other.  For part 2 I did not think it would be hard at all but in fact I didn’t even last the full fifteen minutes without moving my hands. I never thought I talked so much with my hands but when we stopped talking my cousin told me that I moved my hands more than five times in ten minutes. I was fine the first few minutes then in we got deeper into a conversation and I even moved my head a few times. I did not even realize that I was talking with using movement until he finally laughed and then I noticed. I felt like I was talking in a mono tone for a little bit and he said for a few minutes of our conversation it seemed super fake because I could not talk the way I would normally. He said It almost felt scripted because I was trying really hard to just sit and talk without using any sort of movements.  I think non-speech language is very important in our lives and I think that American Sign Language should be something everyone is taught along with other language’s because I do not think knowing one language benefits being able to communicate properly with other people, and even other cultures. I think the fact that I could not talk for a long period of time without using my hands to talk showed me that using sign language or just using different hand motions in a conversation can really help to get a point across or to make a statement if you are trying to say something. I think there are definitely people who have difficulty reading body language. I work at a senior citizen home and I work with seniors who have severe Alzheimer’s and Dementia. When working with seniors who at times can no longer communicate there wants or needs reading body language is a key factor in my job. I have seen many people who come and go working with us who do not know how to read body language. And for example a resident who is mad and cannot tell us what I have seen people try and talk to them and it causes them to get very agitated when in fact the way they were standing could have told them it all. I think that knowing how to read body language in any environment can be helpful. For instance someone who might commit a crime might walk in to somewhere with a certain type of body language and knowing how to read it might be helpful. I think reading body language can just help in your everyday life.  The only thing I could really think of where it might not benefit to not being able to read body language would be if you are in an environment where you are really trying to focus or pay attention and someone might distract you if you notice the body language that they are doing. Maybe an inappropriate flirty body language from a coworker, and if you do not notice or read the body language it might not make you feel as uncomfortable.

                                                       

I do think that in the first experiment if we were able to use written language it would have made it allot easier. I could have just simply answered my cousin’s questions by writing it down instead of trying to use hand motions and point to things. I think written language provides a great advantage to the cultures that use it because it helps us learn more, be able to write and understand things. I think having the Alphabet in our culture is very beneficial it is something we learn at such a young age and only grow from it. I think that the written language has had a great impact on globalization because it has helped others learn to understand a different ways of communicating. There has be other forms of written languages in the past and I think that it only keeps improving for others to better understand the written language. I think it has a good impact because we are able to share information with others around the world by writing it down instead of actually having to be right in front of them.  In the past there were pictures painted on caves or walls trying to represent something or tell a story, and know not only do we put pictures in books but we write about the story as well to fully explain what we are trying to say. I think with newspapers around the world it helps for people to read what is happening in other countries and can help them understand what is going on in other societies.