Body Language and Sociolinguistics

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at human communications and explains why they are more complicated than surface value. Semantics, meanings, and nonverbal cues are often very hard for people to pick up on. The kind of gestures and faces that people make while speaking can have drastic influence on how the message is interpreted by others. The writer looks at the physical, verbal, and linguistic issues.

From the Paper:

"Communication in one way or another has been around longer than any of us can imagine. Although the first interactions among and between animals were probably grunts and growls, without specific interpretations for the sounds, body language probably helped the receiving animals decipher the sounds into an understandable message. For instance, if primate A saw primate B who appeared to be searching for a meal, primate A may grunt to get B's attention, then point or make a gesture towards a source of food. It is believed by many researchers that sign language came before spoken language as we know it today. Today's primates, such as chimpanzees, tend to have a strong focus on the arms of other animals, as if recognizing the arms as the primary component of communication, which is one reason that many researchers believe that sign language came first (Zimmer). However, primitive communications were not limited to hand gestures and grunts but included markers, body language, and facial expressions. Today, these non-verbal skills are just as important as they were before the development of spoken language."

More papers on Body Language and Sociolinguistics:

• Persuasive Essay # 119127 : "Body Language and Communication"
• Term Paper # 133076 : "Is Body Language Universal?"
• Essay # 6352 : "Body Language"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: