Interpersonal communication not only involves the explicit meaning of words,

the information or message conveyed, but also refers to implicit messages,

whether intentional or not, which are expressed through non-verbal
behaviours.
Non-verbal communications include facial expressions, the tone and pitch of
the voice, gestures displayed through body language (kinesics) and the
physical distance between the communicators (proxemics). hese non-verbal
signals can give clues and additional information and meaning over and
above spoken (verbal) communication.
Non-verbal Messages Allow People To:
!einforce or modify what is said in words. "or example, people may nod
their heads vigorously when saying #$es# to emphasise that they agree with
the other person, but a shrug of the shoulders and a sad expression when
saying #I%m fine thanks,& may imply that things are not really fine at all'
(onvey information about their emotional state.
)efine or reinforce the relationship between people.
*rovide feedback to the other person.
!egulate the flow of communication, for example by signalling to others that
they have finished speaking or wish to say something.
he types of interpersonal communication that are not expressed verbally are
called non-verbal communications. hese include+
Body Movements (Kinesics)
Posture
ye !ontact
Para-language
!loseness or Personal "pace (Pro#emics)
$acial #pressions
P%ysiological !%anges
Animal !ommunication
,ost animals (including people) use -body language& as well as sound and
smell in order to communicate with one another. .ere are some of the ways
animals express themselves.
,any animals communicate by smell+ they release p%eromones (airborne
chemicals) to send messages to others. *heromones play an important part
in reproduction and other social behavior. hey are used by many animals,
including insects, wolves, deer, and even humans'
Bees dance when they have found nectar. he scout bee will dance in the
hive, and the dance directs other bees to the location of the nectar.
&%at is %uman language'
/anguage is a highly elaborated signaling system. 0e call the aspects that
are peculiar to it the design features of language. 1ome of these we find only
with the language of human beings, others we have in common with animals.
2nother aspect of human language is that we express thoughts with words.
2 principle feature of human language is the duality of patterning. It enables
us to use our language in a very economic way for a virtually infinite
production of linguistic units. .ow does this principle work3
2ll human languages have a small, limited set of speech sounds. he
limitation derives from the restricted capacity of our vocal apparatus.
he speech sounds are referred to as consonants and vowels.
/inguistically speaking, the distinctive speech sounds are called
phonemes, which are explained in more detail in the chapter on
phonology. $ou cannot use isolated phonemes for communication,
because phonemes are by themselves meaningless. 4ut we can
assemble and reassemble phonemes into larger linguistic units.
hese are commonly called -words&. 2lthough our capacity to
produce new phonemes is limited, we fre5uently coin new words.
.ence, our capacity to produce vocabulary is unlimited.
)isplacement
In contrast to other animals, humans have a sense of the past and
the future. 2 gorilla, for example, cannot tell his fellows about his
parents, his adventures in the 6ungle, or his experience of the past.
he use of language to talk about things other than -the here and
now&, is a characteristic of humans. )isplacement is thus our ability
to convey a meaning that transcends the immediately perceptible
sphere of space and time.
2lthough some animals seem to possess abilities appropriating
those of displacement, they lack the freedom to apply this to new
contexts. he dance of the honey-bee, for instance, indicates the
locations of rich deposits of food to other bees. his ability of the
bee corresponds to displacement in human language, except for a
lack of variation. he bee fre5uently repeats the same patterns in its
dance, whereas humans are able to invent ever new contexts.
7pen-endedness
he ability to say things that have never been said before,
including the possibility to express invented things or lies, is also a
peculiar feature of human language.
1timulus-freedom is another aspect that distinguishes human language
from animal communication. he honey-bee must perform its dance, the
woodchuck must cry out in order to warn his fellows when it beholds an
eagle.
.umans have the ability to say anything they like in any context.
his ability is only restricted in certain ceremonial contexts such as
church services, etc., where a fixed form is expected to be followed.
he possibility to violate this fixed linguistic behavior is then the
source of 6okes, such as a bride8s -no&.
2rbitrariness
0hy is a table called -table&3 7bviously, the thing never told us its
name. 2nd tables do not make a noise similar to the word. he
same applies to most of the words of our language.
.ence, words and their meaning have no a priori connection. 0e
cannot tell from the sound structure which meaning is behind it.
/anguage is not motivated, as we can also put it.
here are, however, exceptions to this rule+ language can be iconic,
which means that there is a direct correlation between form and
meaning. he length of a phrase, for example, could represent a
length of time the phrase refers to, like in -a long, long time ago&.
.ere, the extension serves to visually represent the semantic
emphasis. Iconicity in language can be found fre5uently. 0e will see
this in more detail in the chapter on semiotics. 2nother example for
nonarbitrariness are onomatopoeia. hese are words that seem to
resemble sounds. here are many examples for onomatopoetic
words, like splash or bang. 1ome names for animals are also
onomatopoetic, for example, -cuckoo&. 1till, since animals such as
the bird are named differently in different languages, there can be no
ultimate motivation for the name.
he human vocal tract
2n elaborated language re5uires a highly sophisticated speech
organ that will enable the speaker to produce the many
differentiated sounds. 7nly humans are endowed with a speech
organ of this complexity.