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| Different languages |
Language is the key to communication between one another. Elements
of speaking the same language includes the words that are spoken, the
accent or dialect, and nonverbal communication such as gestures. While
communicating with the public, the story received will be affected by all
these elements. We can see it on television shows in different languages,
speaking different forms of Spanish, and nonverbal communication such as dance.
All of these are powerful tools that would be significant for communication
majors in advertising, political campaigns, and other public communication
applications.
Television can be a good way to
teach a new language. Watching a movie in another language can be very helpful
in understanding what is being communicated. For visual learners, subtitles
during a movie can be a very effective study method. Following the characters
in a movie, paying attention to the scenes that are going on, and relating to
what the people are acting out can help the viewers learn the language while
they guess what is coming next and connect it to the context without
fluent knowledge of the spoken language. The importance of
culture in a world view helps us decode the message behind the words and the
acting. The book Building
Imaginary Worlds by Mark Wolf
says, "Culture, as a means of structuring a world, not only helps to
unite other structuring systems (like geography, history, nature, and so
forth), but gives them a constant that relates directly to the experience of
its characters, and gives them meaning" (p.183).
People can share their stories and
their ideas by speaking the same language. It also brings them together and
connects them with similar purpose. However, some people who are coming from
different places around the world cannot always grasp the story's foreign
language. The key for a good story is to find the way that all readers will be
able to understand the context the same way that the writer means it to be. Even
when speaking the same language, each part of the world have different accents and dialects that make the language and the story special and known. There are some differences between Latin American Spanish and Spanish in Spain. Although
there are differences in accents, they still understand each other because the
language is the same. When a story is being told, there may be a different
accent or way that the author uses language, but they want their story to be
understood. As Wolf says, “Language is one that immediately gives a sense of a
cultures aesthetics and world view” (p.183).
Also, people have different
perspectives when they come from other places. Each person brings his own
experience from his life and has the power to tell the story
differently. In the field of communication, the perspective of being
multilingual can empower a communicator to reach a variety of audiences by
connecting to their language, the place they are from. The accuracy of
the language will make the story more authentic. Local people will
explain situations and stories from their daily lives differently than other
people who just read something from a book or another source. Wolf explained how language and words are often a source of
knowledge and power (p.184).
In the movie Rush Hour, the Chinese character Jackie Chan was
speaking English with the American character Chris Tucker and they both had
different accents and dialects, but one language in common. For someone for
whom English is their second language, a lot of new vocabulary could be learned
by watching Rush Hour with subtitles. Because it's
action packed and comedy-related, it is easy to stay engaged. As a
communication professional, this relates because engaging the audience is
important. Each scene in the movie is an opportunity to figure out the meaning
of a new word by following the actions as well as the subtitles. Making sense
of the scene helps with understanding of the words.
The Rush Hour movie in Spanish, Russian and Hebrew.
Movies and Television are good
examples for communication majors to consider in understanding the nonverbal
elements of storytelling. The series of Step
Up movies show great
examples of the power of gesture and movement in storytelling and culture. In
these movies, people express their story and culture through dance as they come
together for a common purpose. Each dancer in the movie brings his own special
dance talent and style. Each dancer has a particular style, and their
particular dance style communicates the place they are from. The dancers are
coming from different places across the world and have their own different
language. In today's world of imagination, advertisers use the language of
dance to communicate story, such as seen in the Apple
company's advertisements where stories are told with no spoken words.
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| An example of language of dance in the Step Up movie |
Wolf's explanation of the
importance of culture in storytelling applies to the communication field in
movies and television. "Culture can be one of the most compelling ways
that a world can exceed a story and spark the kind of speculation and
conjecture that brings a secondary world alive in the imagination"(p. 183).
The world of imagination in television and movies creatively brings people
of different languages together. Telling the story differently
and being a creative person strengthens the story being told. Consideration of
different languages, accents and dialects, and nonverbal communication gives
the communicator the power to impacts the story and increases audience
satisfaction. This can strengthen the connection to a multicultural audience.
