Page 43 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

28 Reading Between the Signs

for example, may be continually rearranged throughout the day:
in conventional rows for the hearing classes and in a visually ac-
cessible semicircle for the deaf classes.
A closed door in one culture may convey the message of an
inviolable boundary one does not dare open, while in another it
represents only a temporary barrier at which one knocks and
enters at the same moment. Many other aspects of culture can
also be viewed either as protective roadblocks or as invitations to
further intimacy.
Paralinguistics
Although paralinguistics is frequently characterized as the study
of the way something is said as opposed to what is said, more
often than not, how something is said determines its meaning.
Here are a few examples in the areas of intonation, rate of speech,
volume, and the use of silence.
Intonation. In many Asian and African languages, the tone
determines the meaning of a word. In the Thai language, for ex-
ample, there are five contrasting tones: low, mid, high, falling,
and rising. The same syllable, naa, pronounced with different tones
produces five different meanings: “nickname,” “rice paddy,”
“younger maternal aunt or uncle,” “face,” and “thick,” respec-
tively (Fromkin and Rodman 1983, 93).
Although English is not a tonal language, intonation still plays
a large role in determining meaning. Consider this simple sen-
tence: “I will give you an A.” When spoken by a teacher to a stu-
dent with the stress placed on different words, the underlying
message can vary greatly: I will give you an A (as opposed to all
your previous teachers who failed to recognize your intelligence)
or I will give you an A (even though you haven’t earned it). A
sarcastic tone in English can even change a phrase to mean the
opposite of what it says: “Oh, I get to stay home all day with three
sick kids. How fun!”
Rate of Speech. Tempo is another aspect of paralanguage. When
we are so enraged that we greatly slow down our delivery, we
may say: “How…could…you…have…done…that?????” The under-
lying message is palpable: “Watch out, I am so mad I can barely
control myself!”
Another instance when we may slowly overenunciate our
words is when explaining something to children or to foreigners
whom we assume would have difficulty understanding “normal

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