-
1 Paralanguage
-
2 TED1
-
3 TED2
In nonverbal language, the third important aspect is paralanguage. It is defined as “the set of nonphonemic properties of speech, such as speaking tempo, vocal pitch, and intonation contours, that can be used to communicate attitudes or other shades of meaning”, by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language(2003).
We do not speak with the same monotonous tone, volume, or speed when communicating with others. This is the individual differences. There are also group and ethnic differences. Our cultural background determines the appropriateness as to when and how to shout or cry or laugh. American people use laughing and yelling at sports games to show their excitement, but Japanese people are taught to control strong emotions in public.
1. Voice modulation
Voice modulation means emotional implications beyond the literal meaning. It is similar to Chinese “xuan wai zhi yin (弦外之音)”. In English “Yes” can be uttered in more than 50 different ways to show different emotions, attitudes and meanings. It is also true for Chinese counterpart “好”, “对”,“行”, etc.
The same Chinese sentence “能不见吗?” may bear opposite meanings when uttered differently. When the emphasis is put at the first Chinese character, it conveys a very strong and affirmative meaning, that is, the speaker is available. While if we put the emphasis on the second Chinese character, the meaning is quite contrary, a definite negative attitude of meeting people.
2. Tempo
In speech, tempo shows cultural variation. One British phonetician, Daniel Jones discovered that the British speak a hundred syllables more than Americans per minute. Other studies show Chinese TV and radio broadcasters speak slower than their American counterparts. Why? One explanation is tempo increases with industrialization; the other explanation is Chinese has less syllables — same amount of information can be encoded in fewer Chinese syllables.
3. Silence
Silence functions as a signal of cultural divergence. For Americans, silence is considered as passive, ignorant, apathetic or hesitated. While in Japanese culture, people view silence as a rich, necessary and desirable communication style.
Paralanguage is important in daily communication. How do you understand the following sentence?“Woman without her man is nothing.” Can you figure out the two different ways of reading it?
