Paralanguage: Nonverbal Communication

“People are more frightened of being lonely than of being hungry, or being deprived of sleep, or of having their

sexual needs unfulfilled” (Frieda Fromm Reichmenn).

Paralanguage:

Communication by means other than language.

Paralanguage includes

• Facial expressions• Tones of voice• Gestures• Eye contact• Spatial arrangements• Patterns of touch• Expressive movements• Silence

Paralanguage: refers to all nonverbal communication actions

(Kinesics and Proxemics)

Paralanguage includes intentional and unintentional

nonverbal messages

Paralanguage may be:

• Complementary

• Unconscious

• Learned

Universals and Cultural Variations

• eyebrow flash, the nose wrinkle

• basic emotions:

--happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, anger, and surprise

The functions of nonverbal communication

• To repeat what was said verbally• To complement what was said verbally• To contradict what was said verbally• To substitute for what would be said

verbally• To regulate and manage the communication

event

Nonverbal communication divided into

• Kinesic and Proxemic acts• Kinesics: The study of nonverbal

gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and body posture

• Proxemics: The study of the use of space, touch, and distance as features of nonverbal communication.

Inborn Nonverbal Actions

• Smiling

• Crying

Universality versus Relativism

• Birdwhistell (1970)

• Emblems: are gestures understood by participant of a communicative community to express a specific meaning

Cultural Specific Emblems

• Can you guess what the following gestures from Japan, France and Iran mean?

Could reflect social status and gender: In North America

• Dominance versus subordination

---more space---take less space

---stare at others ---less eye contact

--- smile more-- smile less

Dangers of overgeneralizations

• Cannot assume everybody in a culture behaves the same way

• Infrequent actions should not be used to characterize a culture

• We should not ignore that nonverbal behaviors are part of complex communication processes

How do we communicate with those we don’t know?

• Leonard Zunin (The First Four Minutes, 1972)

Three common behaviours:

• Which side of the path” look

• I acknowledge you” look

• Look—away priority”

Proxemics

• Edward, T Hall in 1963

• refers to touch and issues of personal space

Distance Between Faces Tone of Voice Type of Message

very close (3-6 inches) soft whisper top secret or sensual close (8-12 inches) audible whisper very confidential

neutral (20-36 inches) soft voice, low volume personal subject

matter

neutral (4.5-5 feet) full voice non-personal

information

across the room (8-20 feet) loud voice talking to a group stretching the

limit

All nonverbal communication is best understood within cultural

context

• Body movements• Eye contact• Facial expressions• Touch

Silence also part of nonverbal communication

• Sends nonverbal clues during communication

• Culturally determined

• Igbos of Nigeria

Do you think that by studying nonverbal patterns can help us identify our own ethnocentric

attitudes?