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| Universal Nonverbal Language |
Learn - According to some recent research, we humans share an innate nonverbal communication system that emerges when we gesture without talking. This system includes body language, eye contact, facial expressions, and vocal noises, all of which indicate how a person is feeling. The researchers found that language begins influencing nonverbal representations of events at an early age, and that different languages may have different effects on how people gesture. However, when people are asked to describe something without speaking, the differences between languages disappear, and a universal nonverbal language emerges.
This suggests that we humans have a common way of expressing and understanding ideas through gestures, regardless of their native language. This may have implications for cross-cultural communication, education, and cognitive science.
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Evidence Suggests Humans Share A Universal Non-verbal Language
The video report is based on a new research study by a team of psychological scientists from Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta, who investigated how humans share a universal non-verbal communication system. The study was published in the journal Language and Cognition.
The researchers wanted to understand how language impacts the way people think and how they construct and express ideas through gestures. They also wanted to test if there is a common way of gesturing that transcends linguistic differences. To do this, they conducted two experiments with 100 children, aged 5 to 10, who were either native English or Turkish speakers.
In the first experiment, the children were shown videos of two actors performing different actions, such as kicking a ball or hugging a teddy bear. The children were asked to describe the actions verbally and with gestures. The researchers analyzed the order and the type of gestures that the children used, and compared them with the word order and the grammatical structure of their native language. They found that the children’s gestures were influenced by their language, and that there were significant differences between the English and Turkish speakers. For example, English speakers tended to gesture the subject of the action first, followed by the object, while Turkish speakers tended to gesture the object first, followed by the subject.
In the second experiment, the same children were asked to describe the same actions again, but this time without speaking. The researchers expected that the children’s gestures would become more similar across languages, since they would not be constrained by the grammatical rules of their native tongue. They found that this was indeed the case, and that the children’s gestures converged to a universal non-verbal language that was consistent and coherent. The children used the same order and the same type of gestures to convey the same information, regardless of their linguistic background.
The researchers concluded that humans have an innate non-verbal communication system that is independent of language, and that emerges when people gesture without talking. They suggested that this system may have evolutionary origins, and that it may reflect how humans communicated before the development of spoken language. They also proposed that this system may have implications for cross-cultural communication, education, and cognitive science.
How Do Culturally Different People Interpret Nonverbal Communication?
In the publication “How Do Culturally Different People Interpret Nonverbal Communication?” by Molly Edmonds explains how different cultures have different meanings and norms for nonverbal communication, such as body language, gestures, eye contact, and vocal noises. The article provides several examples of how nonverbal cues that are common or acceptable in one culture may be offensive or misunderstood in another culture. The article also discusses the role of facial expressions in nonverbal communication, and how they may be the only form of nonverbal communication that is universal across cultures.
The article begins by describing a hypothetical scenario of a traveler who encounters difficulties in communicating with people from a different culture using only hand gestures. The article points out that nonverbal communication is not universal, and that every culture interprets nonverbal cues differently. The article then lists some of the factors that affect nonverbal communication, such as:
- Body language: the way a person moves, stands, or sits, which can convey attitudes, emotions, or intentions. For example, crossing one’s arms may indicate defensiveness or resistance in some cultures, but it may also indicate comfort or relaxation in others.
- Gestures: the movements of the hands, arms, head, or other body parts, which can convey specific meanings or messages. For example, nodding one’s head may indicate agreement or affirmation in some cultures, but it may indicate disagreement or negation in others.
- Eye contact: the degree and duration of looking at another person’s eyes, which can convey interest, respect, or intimacy. For example, maintaining eye contact may indicate honesty or confidence in some cultures, but it may indicate rudeness or challenge in others.
- Vocal noises: the sounds that a person makes without using words, such as sighs, grunts, or laughs, which can convey emotions, reactions, or feedback. For example, burping after a meal may indicate satisfaction or appreciation in some cultures, but it may indicate disgust or impoliteness in others.
The article then provides some examples of how these factors can vary across cultures, and how they can lead to intercultural conflict, misunderstandings, or ambiguities in communication. For example, the article mentions that:
- The thumbs-up signal, which is a positive gesture in many cultures, is a vulgar gesture in Iran.
- The “OK” signal, which is a common gesture in many cultures, is a rude gesture in some countries, such as Brazil or Turkey.
- Pointing with one finger, which is a normal gesture in many cultures, is an insulting gesture in some countries, such as Indonesia or Malaysia.
- Touching another person, which is a friendly gesture in some cultures, such as Latin America, is an intrusive gesture in others, such s Japan or Finland.
- Patting a child on the head, which is a affectionate gesture in some cultures, such as the U.S., is a harmful gesture in others, such as Thailand or China.
The article concludes by stating that facial expressions may be the only form of nonverbal communication that could be considered universal, based on the research of Charles Darwin and other scientists, who found that there are six universal facial expressions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. The article suggests that facial expressions may reflect how humans communicated before the development of spoken language, and that they may have evolutionary origins.
Scientists Say We Share A Nonverbal Communication System
Imagine we are traveling to a foreign country where we don’t speak the language. We want to ask for directions, but we don’t have a translator or a map. How would we communicate with the locals? Would you use our hands to gesture what we are looking for? Would they understand us?
As mentioned above, this is the kind of question that inspired a team of psychological scientists from Georgia State University to conduct a study on how humans share a universal nonverbal communication system that emerges when people gesture without talking. The study was led by Şeyda Özçalışkan, a professor in the Psychology Department, who has been researching the connection between language and thought for years.
The researchers wanted to understand how language affects the way people think and how they construct and express ideas through gestures. They also wanted to test if there is a common way of gesturing that transcends linguistic differences. To do this, they conducted two experiments with 100 children, aged 3 to 12, who were either native English or Turkish speakers.
In the first experiment, the children were shown videos of two actors performing different actions, such as kicking a ball or hugging a teddy bear. The children were asked to describe the actions verbally and with gestures. The researchers analyzed the order and the type of gestures that the children used, and compared them with the word order and the grammatical structure of their native language. They found that the children’s gestures were influenced by their language, and that there were significant differences between the gestures of the English and Turkish speakers. For example, English speakers tended to gesture the subject of the action first, followed by the object, while Turkish speakers tended to gesture the object first, followed by the subject.
In the second experiment, the same children were asked to describe the same actions again, but this time without speaking. The researchers expected that the children’s gestures would become more similar across languages, since they would not be constrained by the grammatical rules of their native tongue. They found that this was indeed the case, and that the children’s gestures converged to a universal nonverbal language that was consistent and coherent. The children used the same order and the same type of gestures to convey the same information, regardless of their linguistic background.
The researchers concluded that humans have an innate nonverbal communication system that is independent of language, and that emerges when people gesture without talking. They suggested that this system may have evolutionary origins, and that it may reflect how humans communicated before the development of spoken language. They also proposed that this system may have implications for cross-cultural communication, education, and cognitive science.
The importance of this study is that it reveals a hidden aspect of human communication that is often overlooked or taken for granted. It shows that humans have a natural ability to express and understand ideas through gestures, even when they don’t share a common language. It also shows that language shapes the way we think and gesture, but it does not limit our nonverbal communication. It suggests that there is a universal language of the hands that can bridge linguistic and cultural gaps, and that can enhance our communication and cognition. (dyi-education)