i was fortunate enough to grow up speaking 4 languages and even more fortunate to have learnt 2 more through my schooling. research has shown that speaking multiple languages helps brain development. i believe that it has a positive impact on the personality. i feel priviledged in this regard but i haven't done much with my fortune since i moved to the US. so, it's time for an experiment in communication -- an attempt to use as many of the languages i know, learn a new one and to explore communication without language. vamshi is my partner in crime. we will be dedicating a day each to a language and then have 3 days for other experiments in communication. on one day, we will not speak at all. yes, that's right, no talking, nada, zip, nothing! sounds of silence will hum in the air! for those that know me, you may as well bury me alive. on another day, we will speak without looking at each other. we chose so to help us focus on our usage of voice during communication. finally, we will spend one day speaking 2 different languages at given point in time, i.e. the responder in a conversation must choose a language different from that chosen by the initiator of a conversation.
last week was the first time we did this. it was revealing in many ways --
- i could stay silent for a whole day, until v pushed me to speak!. it made me quiet and observant. i also found that i "thought" less that day.
- speaking without looking at the other person was simply frustrating. i had the strange feeling of being cheated all the time. i felt like i had a half-baked deal. for me, looking is just so integral to talking.
- the question came up as to what we should do when we are amidst other people. as expected, we concluded to speak the language they spoke in. it will sometimes break our experiment for that day; but hey, its an experiment not a law and breaking it is an experience too!
- i love trying to learn a new language. it provides an interaction challenge that i really enjoy. it also provides for some great humor.
this is week 2 and we are yet to begin the experiment for the week. i wait with bated breath and in some ways have only that. i don't get to speak tomorrow ...
yeay!
long time. . .
stumbled-upon your name @ Yogen's LinkedIn-list, & decided to look u up - 5 mins L8r, here i am ;^)
nevertheless, neat experiment - coincidentally, we recently heard about the "sound of silence" experiment from a buddy, & i certainly think that a soundless environment is *so* important, especially in the urban outposts that most of us occupy (fortunately i reside in the *heavenly* Texan oasis - Austin).
Posted by: Johann | April 23, 2006 at 08:32 AM