Communication is really important because it is the essential thing that bound people together in a society.
Even though language is a main instrument of communication, it is not the only way of communication. Sometimes one's gestures, postures as well as the tone of voices can also convey subtle messages. I am volunteering in an organization which gives the open courses of some top American Universities Chinese subtitles so that they become accessible to more Chinese people. There is a rule for this kind of translation that we cannot make Chinese subtitles simply from the English subtitles without watching the video; we have to watch the gestures of the professor so that we can have a better sense of what he/she is talking about.
Therefore in making our podcast video, I believe we really need to pay attention on communications beyond languages: gestrues, postures, and facial expressions. Through these expressions, we may probably able to compensate our limited Japanese language skills.
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ReplyDeleteI agree; words are just one way to communicate. Language can be expressed physically. As a dancer, I learned to communicate through movement and expressions.
ReplyDeleteSometimes speaking on the phone is limiting because you cannot see how the person is speaking or listening. E-mails, text, or chat are even more limiting because you cannot hear how the words are being said. I tend to over-use smiley faces so that people know I'm saying everything cheerfully, or as a joke! Still, there are miscommunications.
This past summer, I took a partnering class at a dance intensive. I had a teacher there who believed that when a boy dances with a girl, they should both show that they care about their partner. He told us, "Stop dating online!" to get us to actually look at each other. It's easier to avoid face-to-face contact, but much of the intention behind the communication is lost in this way. In ballet, it's important to express ourselves clearly through our gestures, because there are no words; only music.
I think it's a good idea to implement the idea of communication through body language as well as spoken language in your podcast. Looking forward to seeing it!
I definitely agree with your ideas about the many and varied ways that communication can be expressed - not necessarily apart from language, but in addition to the the words actually being spoken. It is so true that in any language, tone, facial expression, and gestures are an extremely important part of communication. I think of how in English, the word in a sentence that we put the most emphasis on can completely change the meaning we are trying to convey, even in the most basic of sentences.
ReplyDeleteHe has a dog. versus He has a dog - in each case, the emphasized word explains part of what the speaker is actually trying to communicate. Hopefully, as you said, these nonverbal parts of communication will serve us well in our podcast!
It's interesting how you mentioned body language and gesture as methods of communication that you will use in your project. Of course, I find that to be perhaps the hardest part when making something like this unless you're really good at being on camera :)
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in seeing how your project turns out.