SYMBOLS IN A WORLD WITHOUT SOUND

With this in mind, Dr Norman Kagan of Michigan State

University conducted a study among deaf people. They

were shown films of men and women in various situations

and asked to guess at the emotional state of these people

and describe what body-language clues they used to

convey this state. Because of technical difficulties they

were unable to use lip reading.

' It became apparent to us,' Dr Kagan said,' that many

parts of the body, perhaps every part to some extent,

reflect a person's feeling-state.'

As an example, talking while moving the hands or

playing with a finger ring and moving restlessly were all

interpreted by the deaf as nervousness, embarrassment and

anxiety. When the eyes and face suddenly 'came down',

when the person seemed to ' swallow back' his expression,

or when his feature ' collapsed' it was interpreted as guilt.

Excessively jerky movements were labelled frustration,

and a shrinking body movement, as if hiding oneself,

spelled out depression. Forcefulness was seen as the snapping

forwards of the head and whole body including the

arms and shoulders, and boredom was inferred when the

head was tilted or rested at an angle and the fingers

doodled. Reflectiveness was linked to intensity of gaze, a
wrinkled forehead and a downcast look. Not wanting

to see or to be seen was signalled by taking off eyeglasses

or looking away.

These interpretations were given by deaf people, and

sound played no part in transmitting clues, yet the interpretations

were accurate. The gestures were interpreted

within the total context of a scene, but the scene was

played without any words. Body language alone, it

seems, can serve as a means of communication if we have

the ability to understand it, if we are extremely sensitive

to all the different movements and signals. But this

requires the supersensitivity of a deaf person. His sense of

vision has become so heightened, his search for supernumerary

clues so intense, that the total context of a

scene can be transmitted to a deaf person through body

language alone.

The real value of body language, however, still remains

in a blending of all levels of communication of the

spoken language, and whatever else is transmitted on the

vocal wavelength, with the visual language including

body language and self-imagery, with communication

along any other bands. One of these other bands is the

tactile, which sometimes overlaps the visual but is really

a more primitive and basic form of communication.

According to the late Dr Lawrence K. Frank of

Harvard, a child's knowledge of his world starts with the

touch of his mother, with caressing and kissing, the oral

touch of her nipple, the warmth and security of her arms.

His education proceeds with a 'don't touch' indoctrination

to fit him into the 'property rights' aspect of his

culture, to teach him a sense of possession and belonging.

As a child and as an adolescent his touching of his own

body, his adventures with masturbation - the ultimate

self-touch - his exploration in young manhood of the touching of love,
 the mutual body exploration with his

love partner, are all aspects of tactile communication.

But these are obvious aspects. We also communicate

with ourselves tactually by scratching, patting or pressing

against objects. We say, 'I am aware of myself. I am

giving myself pleasure and satisfaction.' We communicate

with others by hand-holding, handshaking and all

kinds of touching, saying, ' Be reassured. Be comforted.

You are not alone. I love you.'

Just where body language leaves off and tactile communication

takes over is difficult to pinpoint. The barriers

are too hazy and uncertain.