Paralanguage, Chapter 5

Explanation:

The section of Paralanguage from chapter 5 is basically about how someone speaks.  According to page 118, the tone, the pitch and the way the words are delivered from their mouths.  The individual’s cultural tells how they speak they way they do also.  The only time they raise their voice is to show that the emotion of anger, frustration, excitement, etc. Page 118 also states that people from the United States tend to talk loud. Well to some other countries Americans talk loud. They may think Americans are loud and rude because of the volume they decide to use when talking.  Accents are considered a part of paralanguage, too. Different countries has is on accent that others can detect.  

In the United States, there are many types of accents or dialects.  People that live on the West Coast talk different from people that live on the East Coast, Midwest and the Gulf Coast.  So to one of those regions in the United States, they sound different from one another. 

Application:

Paralanguage refers to the non-verbal elements of communication used to modify meaning and convey emotion. Paralanguage may be expressed consciously or unconsciously, and it includes the pitch, volume, and, in some cases, intonation of speech. Sometimes the definition is restricted to vocally produced sounds.

Reflection:

I definitely agree with this section.  I must say, I am from America and I do talk loud, but I am not rude.  It’s just the environment I was raised in, where I grew up in and also where I’ve been.  People on the East Coast of the United States talk different from those on thee West Coast.  I mean having an accent, because there is certain letters in words people on the East, do not pronounce that people on the West pronounces.  I know when I stayed in Brooklyn, I had an accent and still have it.  It usually comes out when I go back to New York during my breaks from school.  I know how to turn it on and off depending on where I am located.