Taking part in this fifteen
minute experiment was hard. I had to try and have a conversation with people,
but not a verbal one. I know very little ASL, but I couldn’t even communicate
with sign language or have any type of written communication. Had I have been
able to communicate at least with writing that would have definitely made
things easier to communicate. It felt like a game of charades; trying to show
what I was trying to say, except I was not able to write or use ASL. I did this
experiment with my family so it made things a little easier because then it
just became a conversation amongst themselves while I just agreed or disagreed
for the last few minutes. There were some moments where my family would
purposely try and get me to slip up by talking, but I was able to communicate
what I wanted without actually speaking. If my family and I were representing
two separate cultures that were meeting for the first time, they would
definitely have the advantage of communicating complex ideas. Being able to
speak and use sign language is easier than not speaking at all. Different
cultures speak different languages so there might be a language barrier to
communicate, but sign language is a universal language. Communicating with signs is helpful and can
definitely help with showing what we mean to say instead of simply struggling
with the language barrier. The speaking culture could possibly find it very
difficult to try and communicate with a culture that does not use symbolic
language. Individuals of our culture that may have difficulty with spoken
language are the hearing impaired and those with some type of oral language disorder.
Sign language helps with communication between individuals that are not able to
speak with those that are.
This second experiment;
communicating without any physical embellishments, was very difficult for me.
Even though the amount of time spent was the same as the previous experiment,
it felt like it was way longer. Within the first two minutes of the experiment
I was already using my hands as I spoke and I noticed I move my eyebrows a lot
when I speak. It was hard to be able to make facial expressions or use my hands
as I spoke. It is a very hard habit to break. I did this experiment with my
best friend so she had a blast watching me struggle with trying to just use my
words and no type of body language. Had I done this experiment with someone I
barely knew I am sure they would have thought I was heartless or weird because
I basically had to show no emotion or action. This experiment says our use of “signs”
in our language is very important because we are able to understand each other
more with not just speaking, but expressions and actions. I do not believe
people have difficulty reading body language because our culture was taught to
speak in many forms and when we are sad, happy, mad our facial expressions,
posture explains what we feel. I cannot describe an environmental condition
where there might be a benefit to not reading body language because we
communicate with actions and not knowing what people are feeling or thinking is
not helpful.
If I had been permitted
to use written language for the first experiment I did first, that would of
made things easier because that is the same as speaking only it is on paper.
The people I spoke with knew how to read English so there would be no language
barrier for us. Also, I would have been able to say what I wanted to without it
being a guessing game for my family. There were moments where I could not
describe what I wanted to say with just hand movements. The written language has expanded worldwide.
The internet is a prime example of how we are able to communicate news and
information with everyone and anyone. We are able to communicate through emails,
text messages, and instant messaging. Communicating through writing is used
more than face to face interactions.
