Paralinguistics refers to vocal communication that is separate from actual language. This includes factors such as tone of voice, loudness, inflection, and pitch. Consider the powerful effect that tone of voice can have on the meaning of a sentence. When said in a strong tone of voice, listeners might interpret approval and enthusiasm. The same words said in a hesitant tone of voice might convey disapproval and a lack of interest.
In this day and age most of us chat and text more than talk on the phone. Chat, in general, tends to have very limited additional paralinguistics and at the risk of belittling other users' intelligence. I generally try to express my opinion with words rather ironic pose. I think that is actually quite different from the way most of us speak (like on the phone or in person).
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about Paralinguistics. Tone is a very important factor in a persons way of speaking. I have a friend that always tells me people of her own ethnicity and those that are not talk too "white" for a black girl. Her tone categorizes her unintentionally. Also, another friend that always has an angry tone to her voice that no one ever really knows whether she is really angryor any kind of emotion.
You bring up a very good point that text and chat have replaced what used to be the conventional way of communication. With texting and chatting, it really takes a lot of the context out of the conversation. The response "OK" can mean so many things--in what tone of voice would they have used if they were speaking? Was it sarcastic? Did they use such a short response because they were busy and didn't want to chat anymore? With chatting and texting, we lack a lot of social cues we normally look out for when communication--nonverbal behavior, tone of voice, choice of words (without length limits!), etc.
ReplyDeleteSo many people have become dependent on mediums such as text and e-mail. It is interesting how paralinguistics are not as definite, if even present in these mediums. For example, I have sent simple e-mails before that are taken the wrong way, because my tone or gesture could not be observed. On the other hand, there are symbols within technology that allow paralinguistics to be present. For example, many people will send text messages with smiley faces or exclamation points and words in bold and CAPS to show specific emotion. It's almost as if these symbols allow paralinguistics to be present in modern communication mediums.
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