Humans communicate through verbal and nonverbal channels. Language is central to human social interaction. Differences in speech style connote social status, but ‘prestige’ forms of language reflect power rather than aesthetics. Communication accommodation theory suggests that because people usually want to be liked by others, they modify their speech style to make it similar to the speech heard around them (convergence). However if group identity is threatened, individuals may accentuate the distinctiveness of their speech style (divergence). Factors involved in successful second-language learning include intelligence, specific language learning ability, motivation and self-confidence as well as motivation to master a second language.  Paralanguage is the non-verbal component of speech; emotional reactions to the prosodic features of paralanguage (timing, pitch and loudness) appear to have a biological component.  Nonverbal behavior, including kinesics, haptics, and proxemics, is used to provide information about feelings and intentions, to regulate interactions, to express intimacy, to promote social control and to facilitate goal attainment. Facial displays of emotion share some universal features although social conditioning modifies whatever biological basis there is for this similarity. Eye contact, ‘body language’ and gestures, along with facial displays, provide powerful non-verbal channels of communication.

KEYWORDS: bilingualism, communication accomodation theory, facial display, nonverbal communication, paralanguage, prosodic features, speech style, verbal communication    

1. Research shows that there are basic similarities among all cultures in the facial expression of emotions that make it relatively easy for people from one culture to judge the emotional states of people from other cultures.

2. A high degree of eye contact most often indicates anger or threats.

3. Women are more likely than men to read sexual connotations into being touched by someone of the opposite sex.

4. Research has found that conversational style had no effect on how influential men were either with women or men.

5. Standard dialects, such as Parisian French, become standard because they are superior or more pleasing to people.

6. When people interact with people they want to be liked by, their ways of speaking often converge.

7. When two bilingual speakers, with different mother tongues, meet, they are likely to speak the language of higher ethnolinguistic vitality.

8. Research clearly shows that adults have more difficulty than children in learning a second language.

9. Studies of French immersion generally show that children learn French with no apparent detriment to their abilities in English.

10. People who learn a second language fluently sometimes experience a sense of estrangement from their own group.

1. F  

2. F  

3. F

4. T  

5. F  

6. T  

7. T  

8. F  

9. T  

10. T  

MCQ's for Chapter 7

1. Outline five functions of non-verbal communication.

2. Discuss the state of knowledge regarding the universality of facial displays of emotion.

3. What communicative functions may be served by eye contact?

4. Identify five categories of touching used in non-verbal communication.

5.Why is proxemics important in understanding interpersonal communication?

6. Identify five turn-yielding signals.  

7. What are some of the ways in which our speech style can be used by others to make inferences about us?

8. Describe the ‘inherent value’ and ‘imposed norm’ hypotheses about how standard and non-standard dialects arise. Which has received empirical support?  

9. Explain the process of communication accommodation.  

10. Identify some common misconceptions about second language learning. What factors are important to success in second language learning?  

1. Describe some of the gender differences found in verbal and non-verbal communication. Discuss the significance of these differences.

2. Considering the factors that influence the acquisition and use of a second language, how might bilingualism in Canada be encouraged?