The Language Experiment

The Language Experiment:

1.   1.  For Part 1 of the language experiment we were asked to not use any form of symbolic language, thus referring to speaking, sign language, written language, just nothing verbal or ASL if we knew it. We were asked to do so while our subject of choice was allowed to speak freely however they wished.

This was definitely a difficult task to do because language is part of our everyday experiences but then again so is body language so I was able to get more in touch with how body language can come across and can give meaning behind something that was not intended before and this is why sometimes our communication is flawed because we mistake meanings of things for how we interpret the other person’s body language. I found myself using hand signals for like a thumbs up if my subject had guessed what I was gesturing towards right and if something they said was not the right message I was trying to get across I would laugh at them subtly and shake my head no so that they understood it was not what I was trying to say.

My subject was able to get my expressions and what they meant pretty well because I use body language an insane amount everyday probably much more than I actually speak and my subject was my fiancé so he was able to read my body language right from the start though of course would not be able to guess exact words I would want to be portraying but it always was at least very close or on the dot with understanding each other.

He did seem to alter his form of communication a little when it came to this experiment because he wanted to be able to understand what I meant more clearly and felt he could do that if he were to mimic me in some way so that when he would feel himself start to make an expression or move a certain way and analyzed how he was feeling in that moment then he would understand that when I made those same expressions or movements I was feeling pretty much the same.

I feel in some ways symbolic language and body language can both have their advantages if two people from different cultures were to converse because when speaking a different language and if the person from the other culture cannot comprehend that language, body language can definitely come in handy and leave both feeling like they were still able to have a successful conversation without symbolic language. I feel like the speaking culture would feel either more superior or like the other is helpless because of their lack of symbolic language yet if we didn’t use body language then I feel it would be even harder to communicate or form any type of opinions and sometimes having body language to back you up can be helpful in ways like convincing a loved one to better their life if they see that their lifestyle is hurting you by your gestures and sometimes one look can change someone’s world. Some people in our culture can’t use symbolic language anyway because they are deaf but this does not stop them from conversing with us. They have adapted their own symbolic language but when they have yet to learn it they cannot comprehend our words very well and I have noticed that the deaf people I have encountered are very good at using their body language and facial expressions. You are easily able to see the passion behind each gesture when they tell a story or want something and it’s awesome to be able to have friends who don’t quite get your language and you don’t quite get theirs but you have an understanding of each other through a smile or frown in a certain way.

2.    2.  For Part 2 of the language experiment, we were asked to only use symbolic language and no body language of any sort. This was probably the most difficult for me because I convey how important or how unimportant something may be by my tone of voice and facial expressions always very strongly and to not be able to use them kind of drove me insane with trying to express how I felt about something. I was not able to last the full 15 minutes without slipping up and using my face or body to show what I felt about what I was saying or in response to someone else’s remarks but it was interesting to see how difficult that would be to not show my feelings behind something not only for me but for my subject when trying to understand me.

My subject laughed at me mostly the whole time during this experiment because it was out of the “norm” to not have any meaning behind what you say and things that are foreign to what we are used to usually come off as weird to us. It was frustrating watching them laugh when I was trying to get a point across and I was envious of the use of their body language they were allowed when I was not.

I think this just shows how thrown off people can get when communication does not involve body language. I believe that is why being able to facetime is such a big deal and so is being able to hear the other’s voice over a phone because through letters and text the meaning or expression someone tries to share behind a word can be completely misinterpreted when the other person can’t see or hear he context in which it is said at the time.

Those who are blind cannot read body language though I know they still use it. It kind of is instinctive and can’t be helped but those who are blind when conversing will use body language themselves even though they may not see it and I personally feel like they can still read it somewhat by the tone of someone’s voice or if when they were to wrinkle their forehead when worried and then feel it for example this could show them that that is a part of expression of worry or confusion sometimes. But in some ways I guess body language would be good to not have because then you can focus on the actual writings and let that consume your mind more than the context behind it like when taking a class in person and hearing the tone of voice the professor may read in and if they have a certain opinion or judgement on a matter like humans are meant to then that will be what you take away from it but taking an online class like me, you are just seeing the raw words in the book.

3.     I feel like yes the experiment in Part 1 of the assignment would have been a lot easier if we were able to converse using written language as well but then the importance of body language would not really sink in and we all would have tried to focus more on writing things down than taking in the act of using only our body.

3. Written language can provide a lot to the cultures that use it though. This is a form of how we communicate long distances and was the only source of communications for decades. Written language can keep the importance of the message itself a top priority and helps us keep documents on historic or secretive matters.

Written language has impacted the world by spreading the language itself around the world the act of communicating through words that we create. It has impacted us by informing many of inventions around the world, of music, art, history, science, and many other great creations. Written language has made it so that we can expand our ideas further than just where we reside.

Environmental Adaptations

Population Comparisons

Zulu Population:

1.       Environment of population:

Rainfall is typically between .4 and 5 inches of rain throughout the year.

Climate can change from highs of 84 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter time to lows of 66 degrees Fahrenheit also in the winter time.

In the summer time highs of 77 degrees Fahrenheit and lows of 44 degrees Fahrenheit

Fall and spring wall in between these too.

2.       Physical adaptation they present:

One physical adaptation they have is the tone of their skin. It is one of the much darker varieties. This tone of skin is based on the amount of melanin and they need this because they live in an area where they may be more contact with ultra violet rays that are harmful to skin types that have less melanin and can cause skin cancer or melanoma.

 

3.       Cultural adaptation they present:

The cultural adaptation of the Zulu population would be the war tactics of King Shaka. During the late 1700s, when the Zulu population faced great threat from invasions, King Shaka developed new tactics and weapons to help combat their opponents while also starting off a new tradition among warriors.

 

4.       Race?

Based off of physical appearance, the Zulu , would best be described as part of the “African” race due to the physical characteristics of their body as well as skin color are associated with what is known to look “African”.

Andean Indian Population:

1.       Environment of population:

In the winter temperatures can be less than 52 degrees Fahrenheit and the rainfall is about 4 inches at this time. In the summer the temperature can range from 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit with about 8 inches of rain.  They are in a high altitude because they reside in the Andes Mountains of South America.

2.       Physical Adaptation they present:

The physical adaptation they have is lung capacity. This is helpful to them because they live in a very high altitude where otherwise it would make breathing hard to do but they have adapted in that way with an increased production of hemoglobin.

 

3.       Cultural Adaptation they present:

The Andean Indians didn’t receive much assistance from their environment in their way of food since it was harder for plants and animals to survive in that altitude so there was a slim selection that included alpacas and llamas for wool and milk.

 

4.       Race?

The race of the Andean Indians would be described as Native American by the details of their physical appearances.

5.       Summary- Adaptation vs. Race:

To base a person off of the race and not their adaptations would be a mistake for an anthropologist I believe. If based on race then it could be misleading and not as accurate as if you were to start the research on the adaptations of this race to figure out why they may look the way they do or be the way they are. The adaptation of a person in their environment can add to what makes them of a certain race anyway but to base their race off the appearance only would not have as much insight behind it. Looking into how the adaptations listed above helped mold them would be much more insightful.

Works' Cited

http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_3.htm

http://www.zulu-culture.co.za/zulu_food.php#.VxhMEfkrKM8

https://www.google.com/search?q=andean+indian+lung+capacity&espv=2&biw=1600&bih=775&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiIt5zdgZ_MAhXGOT4KHSRgAvYQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=GdJjcIobcHeBzM%3A

http://wallpaperweb.org/wallpaper/nature/andes-mountains-patagonia-argentina_11542.htm

5 Words Describing Nacerima Culture

PART A:

One word to describe the population Miner observed is supernatural. They have many beliefs that are not attributed to science or the laws of nature. An interesting quality related to the word supernatural is that they believe the mouth has “an influence on all social relationships. Were it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believe that their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws shrink, their friends desert them, and their lovers reject them.”

The second word describe the population with would be Inhumane. The word inhumane describes certain ceremonies, rituals, and traditions that these people use, which come across as cruel and morally wrong in my point of view. Miner states that rituals for men “include scraping and lacerating the surface of the face with a sharp instrument” and women “women bake their heads in small ovens for about an hour”. Some may justify these actions as tradition but nevertheless, pain inflicted is the same whether the person in pain accepts it or not. What makes these people inhumane would be what Miner observed as “the gleam in the eye of a holy-mouth-man, as he jabs an awl into an exposed nerve, to suspect that a certain amount of sadism is involved.”

Third word I would use to describe the Nacerima people would be Shy. The Nacerima people are contain with men “whose own wife has never seen him in an excretory act” and they live in a society where “Bathing and excretory acts are performed only in the secrecy of the household shrine, where they are ritualized as part of the body-rites.” This is because these people “avoid exposure of his body and its natural functions” as part of their everyday life.

Fourth, I would describe the Nacerima as Contradictory. Miner started out by saying that they view the human body “ugly” and being “ Incarcerated in such a body, man's only hope is to avert these characteristics through the use of ritual and ceremony.” However, Miner also reports that vulnerable women “find their naked bodies are subjected to the scrutiny, manipulation and prodding of the medicine men.” Contradiction continues when intercourse is “viewed as taboo” however, it is accepted during “certain phases of the moon.”

The last word I chose to use is Unsatisfied. The Nacerima seem unsatisfied with any type of human body. According to Miner “There are ritual fasts to make fat people thin and ceremonial feasts to make thin people fat” and “other rites are used to make women's breasts larger if they are small, and smaller if they are large.” Satisfaction with the body is rare in this society and the few viewed as satisfactory are objectified and “make a handsome living by simply going from village to village and permitting the natives to stare at them for a fee.”

PART B:

1. Me being an American as are they I feel the words I chose still stand true to what I felt about their culture before I had discovered they too, were Americans. I do still believe that Americans can be contradictory and inhumane the most at times. I don't believe that anything I had stated, especially when backed up by the quotes I chose, was untrue. The way he had said that they would sacrifice humans and inflict pain on them just  for a ritual or tradition is still inhumane to me no matter what culture.

2. I will say that yes I believe maybe a word of mine to describe the culture could have been a little bias, when I used the word supernatural. This is drawing the conclusion that what they are believing is not a law of nature and also again saying that it was an inhumane culture is I do believe biased on my part because I do not agree with violence and I am not looking at it as though it is a ritual, I look at it as man slaughter. Some words I would say are free of bias that I had used would include unsatisfied and shy. The people described seem to keep some things private in their life including everyday parts of it which seems like a shy thing to do and unsatisfied when it comes to the human body is based off of only things that were stated of how they are never happy with what they have. They always want what they don't have, thus leaving them always unsatisfied.

3. Another word I might use in exchange for inhumane would be brutal. I would not like to pass judgement and the word I chose and point I am trying to get across can't really be described in any way that would not come off as judgement to someone. I can sugar coat the first word with this one to still get across that I personally find it brutal the way they sacrifice or ritually put a woman's head in the oven for an hour or how a man cuts their face. I don't understand why they would do such a thing but to not be judgmental I would say that it is because they believe in the sacrifice, they could believe it is for a greater good or purpose above our living. Who am I to tell someone what to believe whether my own culture or not?

4. I believe for a cultural anthropologist it could be easy to keep from having bias if they just invest research equally into all cultures and simply write down fact without opinion  but as a human I don't think it is very easy for us to keep from having an opinion in most ways. I do think it is important to not publicly announce your bias opinions about a culture out of respect to them, especially without proper knowledge on that culture as an outsider. If you want to speak your mind because it would have a beneficial effect though then sometimes a biased statement is welcomed but most people are effected but criticism of culture negatively so it's good to know how open minded they are and to learn completely about a religion or culture before making judgement.