Paralanguage

Dear participants welcome to the last week of our discussions on Body Language. In thismodule we would take up Paralanguage and it is connotations in the context of nonverbalaspects of communication. Paralanguage is everything except the meaning of a word ina voice statement. We can say that it is what is left and perceived after detecting theverbal content or the meaning from a speech. Paralanguage as the name suggest, it existon the periphery of language.Paralanguage is considered to be a component of meta-communication. It is elements forexample voice, speed, pitch, pause, rhythm, volume, stress and tone modify the meaningsof what we have to say and at the same time at nuances to the spoken word. We can understandthat all oral messages have paralinguistic component because every message communicatesnot only the meaning associated with the literal understanding of the words.But at the same time how the words have been spoken by a person to add the connotationsand feelings in emotional aspects to it. It is, we can say, the how often utterance whereis the language is what of the content it is how we have spoken any word and often wefind that how we say is more important then what we say.Paralanguage of paralinguistics, as an independent field of study was developed by George L Tragerand American linguist during the 1950 .George L Trager was a close associate of Edward Sapir,Benjamin Lee Whorf and Charles Hockett other famous linguist of this era. During the 1950George Trager was working at the foreign service institute of the department of state, in orderto train diplomats before they were posted to different planes and here he was workingwith Edward T. Hall and ray Birdwhistle. As we have already seen ray Birdwhistle had developedthe studies of kinesics and Edward T. Hall had worked on Proxemics.It was in association with these two other people that George Trager developed his understandingof paralinguistics, Trager worked on using descriptive linguistics as a model for paralanguageand his findings were published during 1958 and early 1960s his work has laid foundationfor later research in this area particularly in the area of investigating, interconnectionsbetween paralanguage in culture. Paralanguage is the study of how a speaker verbalizes aparticular content.The prefix para means beside or side by side and denotes those activities which are auxiliaryto a derivative of that which is denoted by the base word. Paralanguage similarly is everythingwhich is in auxiliary to language. In the ancillary roles we find that the associationof the word para required something which needs better training etcetera, for example,as in paramedics. Researchers have found that the tone pitch and quality of voice as wellas the rate of speech conveys emotions that can be accurately judged regardless of thecontent of the message. In their findings, in association with rayBirdwhistle, various researchers asked participants to recite the English alphabet in such a waythat they are able to project a certain mood or emotion to the listener. Alphabet of alanguage does not convey any content at all it is a most neutral component of any language,but even in this recitation audience were able to almost correctly pinpoint the associationof a reading with a particular emotion. So, these type of researchers led the backgroundto this understanding that when we speak we do not only voice the content projected bythe meaning, the lexical meaning of a word but we also project and understanding or wepass on signals related with the emotions and feelings associated with that word orwith that situation. On the basis of listening to the other people’s voice, we can easilymake out not only the emotions and feelings of the other person, we can also understandcertain other aspects of that individual’s personality.We can understand the regional associations and social backgrounds of the person, we canunderstand the economic affairs of that individual. We can also make a very shrewd guess in assessmentof the broad categories of work or the nature of work with which that individual is associated,as well as we can find out a lot about the intellectual level of that person.And that is why we find the telephonic interviews are still considered to be a successful toolin the process of hiring people. In literature and awareness of different aspects of nonverbalcommunication has always been there.And understanding of the paralanguage and it is significance in our social life hasalso been a clear literary understanding. In this slide we look at a same downloadedfrom the famous movie My Fair Lady which was released in 1964. As many of you would knowMy Fair Lady is an adaptation of a play by George Bernard Shaw his play Pygmalion whichhe had spent in 1912 and which was a state in 1913. This play is a satire on the Britishclass system and how our understanding of the British class is based on our capabilityto use a proper accent during our conversation. Shaw’s character Professor Higgins is anexpert of phonetics and he tries to coach a cockney flower girl and is able to passon this young flower cockney girl as a duchess within a couple of months in his friend circle.All right Eliza say it again. The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plane.The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plane. Did not say that?No Eliza you did not say that you did not even say that the ever night before you getin the bed where you use to say your prayers, I want you to say the rain in Spain staysmainly in the plane 50 times ok. Much further with the lord if you learn not to offend theears now if you are etches Higgin this is going to be .George Shaw give the another chance. Huh right first time come here Eliza and watchclosely. Now you see that flame every time you pronounce that the h correctly the flamewill and there maybe you drop your h the flame will remain stationary that is how you knowyou done it correctly and time your here for here the difference, see better in the mirror.Now listen carefully in heart food helipad and Hampshire hurricanes hardly ever happen.Now you repeat there after me in heart food helipad and Hampshire hurricanes hardly everhappen. In heart food helipad and Hampshire hurricaneshardly ever happen. No no no no Eliza no here at all.Do not you tell that. No please you start from the very beginningjust do this go ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha.Go on; go on. This is a clear indication of how paralanguagesuggest different aspects related with our personality in background. In order to understandparalanguage we have to understand different signs associated with it and these are volumeof voice speed of voice etcetera.The volume of voice shows our feelings if it is a whisper or a loud voice or are weshouting. So, it showcases our feelings and our attitudes as well as our response in agiven situation. A slow voice can show our timidity our diffidence.In the same way the speed of voice suggests our attitudes and our feelings. If it is slowthen it suggest our hesitation, our lack of preparedness, our sorrow for instance, ifit is fast it can easily indicate our hesitation. Similarly we find that intonation our tone,our pronunciation, and the clarity of articulation are also important. These aspects we wouldtake up in detail in the next few slides. Similarly our understanding of pause as asubstitute of the punctuation marks is also important.Some pauses maybe temporary which may indicate our uncertainty and hesitation, whereas someother, maybe like caesura or the dramatic pauses, which are planned and show our controlof the content and our desire to control the audience reaction.Our voice quality is important it conveys the message and at the same time it also complimentsthe understanding of this message. Our voice enables us to say a particular word, our voiceenables us to see the content in a particular manner. Voice controls how we say a certainthing. And by accenting different aspects of an utterance it modifies the meaning ofwhat is said and can be a major indication of feelings etcetera. For example all of usknow that if we are speaking in a monotonous stone, it suggests a board attitude. If ourvoice has low speed and low pitch it shows our depression high pitch is normally associatedwith enthusiasm and eagerness, high pitch but a long drawn out way of speaking suggestour disbelief, accenting tone suggest astonishment and abrupt speech also shows our defensiveattitude. So, these aspects of voice are important in order to understand different paralinguisticfeatures and would be taken up in detail individually. Paralanguage can be used intentionally also.In most of the situations it is an unintention use where our feelings and our emotions areautomatically transmitted and signal to other people. But it can also be used in an intentionalmanner in order to complement the communication it can also be learnt to pass on in a particularsocial situation. Paralanguage can be further divided into three categories as of primaryqualities, secondly, modifiers which can be further subdivided into qualifiers and differentiatorsand thirdly, the alternates.In the primary quality of paralanguage we refer to the characteristics of voice thatdifferentiate individuals, the pitch, the volume, the resonance, the intensity or volumethe range of the intonation the voice register etcetera these are differentiated becauseof the size of the vocal cords, they are also differentiated by the gender and also by ageand also they are differentiated on the basis of the geography.These qualities are shaped by biological, physiological, psychological, cultural, andsocial features. Basically primary qualities and elements that while being first consideredas indispensable constitutes of verbal language may also modified or alternate with it asparalinguistic phenomena.Voice continuous to remain the primary tool of communication despite various technologicaldevelopments, we find that the absence of voice hampers our performance and our capabilityto interconnect with other people. Human voice conveys the meaning or message and heightensthe importance of the most difficult element of a speech delivery that is effective articulationand voice modulation. The clearer the voice the more effectivelyit will convey the meaning and it also informs us of the speaker’s gender, background,education, training, attitude, temperament etcetera. The aspects which we would discussin detail under it includes pitch, variation, speed of speech, pause and voice modulationor waviness in all those professions where our performance is directly linked with ourvoice.Voice has to be first worked on at a physical level to unleash it is full natural potential.For example in professions like singing acting as well as for professional speakers we findthat the voice has to be trained. But in paralanguage we look at those aspects of language whichwe come across in those professionals where this type of training is not included.Pitch refers to the varying intensity of the voice It refers to what the listener is capableto here is high or as low tonal properties to rising and falling voice patterns. Thepitch of human voice is continuously variable and it is necessary to make our speech effective.People who speaks in monotones come across as highly monotones speakers and the audienceimmediately lose interest. It is not necessary that people who speakin a monotone speak in a low pitched voice, sometimes we may feel that the person mayhave a booming voice and still may end up speaking in a monotone. Tone is the phonologicalcorrelate of pitch and pitch variation and can serve different purposes across languagesaffecting the meaning of a word and communicating it clearly to the audience.A single sequence of words can have different meanings depending on the tone pattern withwhich it is spoken. Whether it is produced or a spoken at a continuous high level, arising level or at a falling level, pitch variation expresses the intention of the speaker,for example, a person may come across otherwise as a confident person, the facial expressionsmaybe control the handshake may be strong, but if the voice has streamers then the lackof confidence or tension in the given situation becomes apparent.Intonation and a stress blend together; they help us to conclude whether it is a statementor a question or an exclamation. Stress on a particular word may alter the meaning. Thestress can be either a linguistic one or a deliberate one. The linguistic stress, whichis a part of our language training, tells the other people about our educational background,the social class. On the other hand the deliberate stress on a particular syllable or on a particularword communicates our meanings and indicates our feelings towards other person.Tone of the voice tells us about the attitudes and feelings of the speaker, these signalshowever should always be taken as a part of the total context of the message and neverin isolation. And we must consider these signals as well as the words in totality, the sentencesin totality, and combine the interpretation with other kinesics features to fully interpretthe significance of an utterance.The speed at which we speak is also important we speak at different speeds on differentoccasions and also while we convey different parts of a message. The speed of a speed ismeasured by the number of words which car is spoken with in a minute. If the speaker’saverage speed is very slow, the listener becomes bored and impatient. On the other hand, ifthe average speed is too fast the listener does not have enough time to interpret fullythe message and therefore, would also end up losing interest. So, the speed of the wordshas to be measured, it should neither be too fast nor too slow.The speed of this pitch is also related in many ways with the content we have to deliver.Even in official presentation we find that as a general rule we present the easy portionsof our message and presentation in a faster speed and the complicated parts of the informationare passed on in a slow manner. Because it is thought that understanding of difficultor more technical part of the presentation require better understanding and more focus.It, at the same time, indicates our emotional state to we tend to speak in a fast mannerif we feel anxiety or there is a certain urgency in the communicated message. On the otherhand, when we are relaxed our speed also becomes comfortable. The cultural aspects in the rateof speech are also apparent. Researchers have commented on the speed of Italians and peopleof the Arab country and they comment that they speak in a faster manner in comparisonto people of the US. In the same way we find that the regionaldifferences also exist in the way people speak within the same country. We find that in certainprovinces or in certain parts of the country people may adopt a faster pace, whereas insome others people may adopt a slower pace. Difference in speech rate causes problemsin understanding the intended message, therefore the speed should always focus on the audienceand then the speaker should be able to introduce variations in the speed.Our paralanguage communicates different messages to the other people on the basis of how wepass on our messages. Examples of these paralinguistic features particularly pitch and tone in thefamous American sitcom friends can be viewed where they have been used in a hilarious manner.You two are happy then I am happy for you I am fine.Really. Absolutely I am fine totally fine I do notknow why it is coming out all loud and squeaky because really I am fine.Joe well I guess Joe you went home and look there is still one box that I have to unpack.Oh my god. Oh my god you almost gave me a heart attack.My best friend and my sister I cannot believe this.Sorry, but if it is true I love him too. My best friend I cannot believe this.If the previous video had taken up the hilarious aspects related with paralanguage, the currentvideo in a serious manner suggest how tone, pitch, rhythm, pitch and voice have profoundimpact on those people who have to communicate with a large audience. The given link canalso be further exist in order to listen to the complete video I am showing only certainexcerpts from the complete one. There it is tone and pitch.We have to choose between change and more of the same.Its speed. We have to choose between looking backwardsand looking forwards. And rhythm.We have to choose between our future and our past past; past; past.Barack Obama’s voice seems very natural, but most politicians work very hard to achievea sound that impresses the voters. The word going against.Body language in particularly voice tone have a profound effects on how well you communicate,normally as people rise up the words the more noticeable they are the more or likely theyhave coaching. So, by variant most politicians at the very top will have talk about therebody language and especially their voice tone how deep their voices and how emarginatedand slow it is. Now, I personally think they had ideas, butthey were bad ideas they were bad ideas for America all of the.Female politicians have an additional hurdle to overcome with male words.their women’s voice actually a facts the emotional part of a men’s brain. So, weautomatically thinks women is so emotion when a speak.A very important aspect which is related with our paralinguistic features is pause. Thespeed of speaking is also accompanied by several pauses these may be uninternational also.Those ‘aaa’ ‘ummm’ etcetera. When we are trying to focus on what next to speakare the arbitrary pauses which is spoil the impact of our speech. The pauses which areintentional and are a part of a planned pause at the right moment at to the overall impactand significance of our speech they are very much like the dramatic pauses like caesura.Caesura is a Latin word for cutting it suggests the break a grammatical boundary a pause whichrefers to a point of articulation. The word caesura is also used in music to suggest asilent pause. Caesura is often used in poetry, a very interesting example is from a nurseryrhyme “Sing a song of six pence/ A pocket full of rye/ Four and twenty blackbirds/ Bakedin a pie.” In formal speech also we find that it suggestour capability to introduce a right pause in such a way that it prepares the audienceto receive a significant portion of message. We can never continually speak without insertinga pause, we can emphasize the upcoming subject with the help of a plant pause then it wouldenable us to hold the attention of the audience. During a conversation those unintentionalpauses those arbitrary pauses which are also called non fluencies are often inserted withsounds and utterances like ‘oh’, ‘uumm’ etcetera. A careful use of these non fluenciescan also add to the fluency of the speaker and give a time to relax. But these shouldalways be plant sometimes a good speaker can also train oneself to use them effectively.For example all those teachers who are unable to answer to a particular question by a student,would deliberately introduced it so that they would keep on listening withthese non fluencies and it would give them time to plan. In general we can say that thepause should never be accidental it should always be a part of careful planning in aprofessional dialogue.The functions of plant pauses are displayed in this particular visual, the different waysin which we can use a plant paused are succinctly presented. The build-up suspense and emphasizethe word or sentence that follows, they also give time to the listener to assimilate theword particularly for the dramatic announcement which is likely to follow. They also increasethe impact of the projected feeling and bring the continuity of thought making the listenersbored.Voice modulation or waviness is important for a clear communication of the message.In general, we can say that we should be loud enough so that the audience can hear us. Inlarge gatherings when we have to use the mike we should have the technical competence touse it properly. The loudness of our voice with or withouta mike should be adjusted to the size of our audience. Further in order to maintain theinterest of the audience the voice should be enthusiastic because only an enthusiasticvoice would convey our interest and excitement to the audience and it would be in fixturesin this context. In the small groups and particularly in dyadic conversations we do not have toexaggerate voice modulations because it could be easily hurt and understood.However, in group situations we have to learn to exaggerate the voice modulation and inflections,particularly when we have to demonstrate some kind of emotion or highlight a point. In alarge group it is easily lost. At the same time we should avoid monotone a low droningvoice always has a soporific impact on the audience and makes them lose whatever littleenthusiasm they may have for the interaction.An increased volume normally indicates an angry person, on the other hand a level andmeasured volume of the voice suggest a better empathy the willingness to talk to listenand to negotiate. An increased rate of speech can also indicate a hurry or an impatienceon the part of the speaker, whereas a decreased rate could also suggest a reflective attitude.So, loudness of volume between softness and loudness can differentiate in correlationoften with a lax or tense facial musculature and gesture perfectly congruent with the internalmuscular effort. Between, for instance, is soft compassionate apico alveolar click.Cultural differences in volume of speech are also apparent and here I quote from a researchby Martin and Chaney. They have found that middle easterners speak loudly because theyassociate volume with strength and sincerity, speaking softly for them would convey an impressionof weakness or in sincerity. Germans also feel according to this research that usinga commanding tone is better while a person is speaking, because it would be equated withself confidence. On the other hand people from Philippinesspeak softly, associate a soft speech with education and good manners. They have alsosuggested that the Japanese also associate using a soft voice with good manners and thinkthat speaking in a loud voice suggest that a person is lacking self control, city researchersalso find that the volume of a speech is also conditioned by the city density where thepeople are from a person who has spent lifetime in a density would tend to use my relativelylow volume. In comparison to a person who has spent lifetime in a density or tend touse a relatively low volume. In comparison to a person who has spent alife time in sparsely populated place and those people who are from less populated placestend to use a higher volume.Another aspect we have to consider is modifiers. This is the second paralinguistic categoryand encompassing qualifiers and differentiators are a series of vocal effects produced byfactors. For example, like the direction and characteristics of respiratory air. It iscontrolled in the vocal bands and how do they vibrate by certain changes in the pharyngesby the position of the soft palate, by the articulation as it is produced in terms ofmuscular tension and position of the organs, also by the anatomical configuration shapingof the lips and the lower jaw. It can also be arranged as they appear before the observerin contrastive sets, but the terms of these polar pairs can differ by as many degreesis we want for our own analysis. From a middle point Poyatos has prefer to call medium ratherthan normal and distinguishes two groups of modifiers they are qualifiers and. Secondlydifferentiators .Qualifiers are those modifications of the voice which are caused not only by the changesin the area between the thoracic cavity in the mouth and nose but also bifacial anatomy.They include breathing effects, for example whispery voice, laryngeal effects for example,the creaky voice, the harsh voice, the tense voice and others created by pharyngeal controland nasality. Speakers differ from each other in terms of voice quality and we are ableto recognize individual voice even on phone because of this capability only.They also introduce quite a lot of variation into their voices for particular purposes.A considerable amount of research in this field has equipped us with a better understandingof the meaning of such terms as creaky voice, breathy voice and harshness. Even though thesewords were used earlier in a blanket manner, but now the scientific interpretations haveenabled us for a better understanding and connotations of these terms.A Laryngealized or creaky voice is also referred to as a glottal fry because of it is bubblingquality, a frying like quality. It is phonological in certain languages but paralinguisticallyalso besides being caused involuntarily by physical exertion or pain or old age for thatmatter, it is also used in an attitudinal manner. For example, it can express boredomreluctance “oh not now” or suppressed rage “how can you”. It can also suggestaffectionate admiration or sympathy “just look at that sweet kitten” coaxing adultsalso the affectionate or babyish purring voice are known as creaky voices.The American actor Vincent Price is famous for his excellent creaky voice in menacingmoments and it has always been referred to by researchers working in this area.A breathy voice is associated with passionate speech true or false? It is a sigh like mixtureof breath and voice it is not quite a full voice so to say. We find it often used inTV advertisements which are based on the sales of perfumes or comments on the smoothnessof fabric for example or any advertisement which has emotional reactions associated withit. It has often produced by the inhaling phaseof a sigh “I love you”, it appears also in situations of weariness facing a difficultdecision or question. It is often combined with a certain whisperiness in this situations.We can quote the example of Marilyn Monroe who is known for her breathy voice.Harshness is related with a disagreeable rough voice it is caused by laryngeal strain andtension, extreme vocal fold contact, irregular vibration and low pitch. In languages we findsimilar synonyms for example, grating voice metallic voice raucous rasp rough shrill etcetera.It adds to the meaning of negative attitudes and feelings like anger ridicule etceteraas well as violent emotions to verbal languages or paralinguistic alternates. A husky voiceis understood as dry and rough, in some cases it can also be perceived positively as beingseductively sensual in the context of certain women. However, it can also be understoodas a negative quality in those context where women are being judged as mannish in patriarchalcontext. For practical purposes it could be associated with more normal deep soft or whisperyvoice. Hoarse voice is normally applied to pathologicalforms of rough voice. It seems to imply a quality acquired through negative activitiesconveying a poor image or a poor health image of the speaker.Differentiations are the modifications of verbal utterances which occur independently,but are never devoid of the interpretations associated with language they include soundconstructs such as laughter, crying etcetera. Most typical differentiations are groupedaccording to their basic characteristic and by degrees. The basic characteristics forexample, point to those which like laughing form a whole class with different nuancesand also possess cultural and subcultural varieties. The more common differentiatorsinclude whispering the loud voice crying, laughing, complaining etcetera with varioussynonyms. Some modifying factors that might be takenfor differentiators are may be caused by the conditioning background and they should notbe overlooked. For example, an individual might be speaking with a pipe in mouth orthere may be certain health reasons for a particular type of voice quality.Alternates refer to those vocal sounds which occur independently of verbal utterances,we can describe them as language free size, voluntary throat clearings, clicks, inhalationsand exhalations hisses, blows slurps etcetera. Ingressive sounds occur more commonly as paralinguisticalternates, for example a grasp of terror an ingressive “fff” of physical pain voluntaryas well as involuntary aspects of alternates are visible. For example, a voluntary tongueclicking in impatiens and involuntary reaction ooh if suddenly one is hurt, they may be consciousas well as totally unconscious. While most are single, we find that some are articulatedinto phenome like sounds such as pooh, booh, tz-tz etcetera.Many other show no clear articulation and consists mainly of audible air frictions suchas a sniffle a pre speech pharyngeal ingression or an egression of impatience. Differentiationscan also be alternants. Although alternates do not modify the proper linguistic structure,while differentiators such as laughter may cover whole stretches of speech combined withprimary qualities and qualifiers distorting it.They differentiate amongst psychological states in but are not always universal, for examplein Spanish we can say ay and in English we can say ouch for the same phenomena. So, wesay that paralanguage is an important aspect of nonverbal communication, it passes on aclear understanding of our emotions, moods, background etcetera to the listener. Languageis never in neutral commodity paralanguage sensitizes us to the various dimensions languagecan have. Thank you.