Language Blog

            For my language blog I decided to have a conversation with my mother. The first part was pretty easy. My mom just got a catalog from Swiss Colony and I was pointing out all the things I want for Christmas. Then my mother changed the subject to my upcoming vacation back east over winter break. She could not remember what day my flight is and thought I was taking a red eye flight. I was able to sign to her I leave on the 14^th of December but I do not remember what time my flight is at.

            My mother and I had to alter the way we converse to understand each other. I told her before our conversation began that she should keep things simple and ask yes or no questions instead of open ended questions. Since neither of us could remember what time my flight is at, my mom had to go on the computer and look it up. My mother liked the first part of the assignment because she was able to vent out a lot of her frustrations at work and I just nodded in agreement.

            If we were two cultures meeting for the first time I think that the culture that can vocally communicate has the advantage. They do not always have to read body language to know what somebody else is thinking. They just have to listen. It is very difficult to answer an open ended question with just body language. The speaking culture may think that the other culture is not as advanced or smart as them.

            In our society it is very hard for people who cannot hear to have a vocal conversation. Deaf people have developed their own symbolic language so that they can communicate. The only problem is that many people who can speak do not know sign language and it is very difficult to understand each other. I used to work at a restaurant with three deaf people and we had a lot of communication issues. Only one or two other people knew sign language so they had no problems communicating. In order to communicate I had to write down what I wanted to say on a piece of paper and then they would write their answers.

            The second part of the language experiment was very difficult for me. It was very hard for me to not use any part of my body during the conversation. I kept catching myself moving my head up and down when I was agreeing with what my mother had to say. My mom and I were able to communicate better during this part. I was able to ask her what she thought my aunts would like for Christmas from the Swiss Colony catalog. We were able to pick out a nice gift set for them.

            This experiment showed me how important nonverbal signs are in a conversation. We rely on verbal and visual cues to understand what somebody is telling us. There are many people who have problems with nonverbal cues in conversations. People with a mild form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome cannot read body language which causes a lot of problems. They cannot empathize with others which can make them seem insensitive. They also take things people say literally because they do not understand figurative language. Being able to read body language has many advantages. It allows us to know how a person is feeling and gives us clues when we should or shouldn’t say something. Police are able to tell if a person is lying based on their body language.

             There are a few conditions when it is not beneficial to read body language. People can tell how the president of the United States is feeling based on the body language he displays while giving a speech. This makes lying very hard for politicians to get away with especially if experts are analyzing their body language. Body language can also ruin a job interview. If a person is fidgeting in their seat during an interview, it lets the interviewer know that they are nervous.