body language, and many other interesting links

http://mediamatters.org/items/200709250011?f=h_topic

This article got me started on a long path of exploration lasting the better part of the last hour. I also liked it because it had a convenient video to accompany it. It's from a segment of The O'Riley Factor with a body language expert analyzing Hillary Clinton's interview. It led me to a many questions: what evolutionary forces have given rise to "body language" or "kinesics" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesics)? What are the good and bad implications of the fact that most all of us consciously AND unconsciously display things about our states of mind? And more practically, what are some of the body language cues that I might be able to pick up on and what do they mean?

An interesting paper (http://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/awconlang.html) gave a quick answer to the first question. Dr. Charlton states that it was our ape ancestors who first communicated largely through facial expressions and gestures, so perhaps our body language is a reminant of simpler times before complex language. (Also, something I randomly picked up from his paper was the uniqueness of human language in its displacement abilities.)

The second and third questions blended together a bit as I perused wikipedia articles on the subject of nonverbal communication, and checked one of the original sources cited (http://www.gcastrategies.com/books_articles/article_06_11.php), an interesting article aimed at some sort of governmental communicator it seems. I think there's a lot to be said for nonverbal communication and maybe I'd take a class on it in the future. It seems it would give one an edge on anybody who isn't trained in such matters.

A couple tidbits from the most recently cited article:

"Body language is a product of both genetic and environmental influences. Blind children will smile and laugh even though they have never seen a smile."
This seems to be the typical answer to questions of nature vs. nurture within psychology; I suppose it only follows reason that it would apply here as well.

"the idea of mirroring body language to put people at ease is commonly used in interviews. It sets the person being interviewed at ease. Mirroring the body language of someone else indicates that they are understood."
This is simply an example of one type of body language, what it expresses, and how it might be applied. I find these things very interesting, but I understand there must be some limits to what one can infer from nonverbal communication alone.

All this talk of body language begs the question of what email, im, and blogs are all doing to human communication, and the rise of : ) : ( ; ) and ~~^~<@ (a rose)... But that's something entirely different.

This link (same as a previous one) discusses some specific body language communications and what they imply:
http://www.gcastrategies.com/books_articles/article_06_11.php



A few other links I don't have time to blog fully about, yet still found interesting follow

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/30/news/edsafire.php
Language: Translating the lingo of adultaescence.
This one was particularly interesting seeing as I would qualify as one of these people, propagating this alternative vocabulary, yet there are still some of these expressions that I'm not familiar with. Why not? How am I different from "my generation" which is inventing these things. Perhaps some discussion in class might be in order...

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/irish-language-glue-for-our-new-nation-1092836.html
Language as a political tool to unify the people of Ireland.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/25/stories/2007092550830200.htm
The measure of how well a language will do these days is how adaptable it is to technology.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2189820,00.html
After reading the Language Instinct and learning how incredibly sponge-like children are in their ability to learn language, it's definitely a very indicative sign of abuse if your children can't even speak beyond a baby's level (at least in the absence of learning deficiencies.) Also, an interesting line: "when they were offered McDonald's food by social workers, they did not know what it was" It's notable that McDonald's food is the measure of being part of society.

http://www.startribune.com/west/story/1440921.html
The changing face of education, especially how languages are taught. Upsides and downsides of computers as language teachers?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/09/25/entertainment/e122915D48.DTL
Shakespeare is absolutely filthy, and we can't appreciate it!

Finally, let me say that it's very enjoyable to have a homework assignment that's open-ended, educational (not necessarily simple practice), and very engaging.