Lesson 4 Symbol Systems: Nonverbal

Symbols
Nonverbal Symbols
Neither spoken nor written
Do not include words
Include vocal elements and visual
elements
Functions of Nonverbal Symbols
Simply repeat the message of verbal
symbols
Complements the verbal symbol by
clarifying or explaining
Serve as a means of accent
Substitute for the message
Contradict with verbal symbols
Two Types of Nonverbal Symbols

1. VOCAL ELEMENTS
Articulation - formation of discrete speech
sounds
*To have the correct production of sounds, we
should start with the organs of speech.
ORGANS OF SPEECH
Articulators - movable organs of the vocal tract
which is involved in articulation
Example: Tongue and lower lip
Points of Articulation - parts of the vocal tract
which cannot move but which are involved in
articulation
Example: Teeth
Other parts of the vocal tract include the
following:
Resonance Chamber - where the quality of the
vocal sound is modified
Pharynx
o Part of the vocal tract that connects
the larynx with the oral cavity
o Acts as resonance chamber for
vocal sound produced in larynx
Oral Cavity
Nasal Cavity
Voice - produced by vibrations of the vocal cords
Consonants - speech sound caused by
stoppage or hindrance of the voiced or voiceless
breath

Classifications of Consonants
1. Voicing
2. Point of Articulation
3. Manner of Articulation
Voicing - may be voiced or voiceless

Voiced the vocal folds are set in

vibration by the outgoing breath stream.
Voiceless the vocal folds do not vibrate,
and the resultant sound is composed
exclusively of the noise of friction.

Point of Articulation - tells where the sound

is produced
1. Bilabials produced with the lower lip or
against the upper lip (p, b)
2. Labio-dentals produced with the lower lip
near the upper teeth (f, v)
3. Interdentals produced with tongue tip
between the upper and lower teeth, but
not touching them
4. Alveolars produced with the tip of the
tongue near the alveolar ridge (t, d, n, s, z,
l)
5. Alveo-palatals produced with the front of
the tongue near the hard palate
6. Retroflex produced with the tip of the
tongue going upward and backward
towards the hard palate (r)
7. Prepalatal produced with the dorsum or
upper surface of the tongue near velum
(y)
8. Velars produced with the back of the
tongue against the velum (k, g)
9. Glottal produced with the narrowing of
the glottis so that the air passing through
causes friction but not sufficient vibration
to produce voice (h)
Manner of Articulation - tells how the sound
is produced
1. Stops produced by closing and opening
the mouth with an explosion (p, b, t, d, k,
g)
2. Nasals produced by the explosion of the
vocalized breath stream through the nose
(m,n)
3. Fricatives produced by forcing the air in
a continuous stream through a restricted
passage way (f, v, s, z, h)
4. Affricates produced when the
articulatory mechanism combines the
movements for the stop and fricative so
rapidly that two sounds are heard as a
single unit

5. Semi vowels produced by a smooth but

marked and rapid movement of the
articulators during the production of the
sound (w, y, r)
6. Lateral produced with the tip of the
tongue pressed lightly against the upper
teeth (l)
Voiceless Aspirated Stops / p, t, k /
A sound is aspirated when
accompanied by a strong puff of air
Vowels
- represent voice modified in various ways
by the shape of the oral cavity
shape is determined largely by the
position of the lips and that of the tongue
Classifications of Vowels
1. Section of the tongue
2. Height of the tongue
3. Shape of the lips
4. Articulatory muscle quality
Section of the tongue
a. Front Vowels- front of the tongue is
higher than the other parts of the tongue
b. Central Vowels- neither the front nor the
back of the tongue is raised
c. Back Vowels- back of the tongue is
higher than the other parts of the tongue
Height of the tongue
a. High Vowels- part of the tongue is raised
at a relatively high level
b. Lower-high Vowels- part of the tongue is
raised at a relatively lower-high level
c. Mid Vowels- part of the tongue is raised
at a relatively middle level
d. Low Vowels- part of the tongue is kept
low
Shape of the Lips
a. Rounded Vowels- both upper and lower
lops are so positioned that they may form
a circular or somewhat circular opening
b. Unrounded Vowels- both upper and
lower lips are not so positioned as to form
a circular opening
Articulatory muscle quality
a. Tense Vowels- muscles of the tongue and
neck are taut
b. Lax Vowels- muscles of the tongue and
neck are relaxed
ORAL INTERPRETATION
Paralanguage

Refers to those extra linguistic elements

such as voice quality, pitch, volume, rate
of speech that exist alongside the formal
language structure
Goes beyond words

Voice Quality - sound of the voice

Pitch - highness or lowness of a voice
Volume - loudness or softness of a voice
Rate - how fast or slowly a person talks

The Use of Focus in Oral Interpretation

(offstage focus)
1. Open Focus - directly to the audience
Example: Narration, asides
2. Closed Focus - directly to the defined
characters
Example: Dialogues, dramatic monologues
3. Inner-closed Focus - towards, but not
directly to the audience
Example: Soliloquies
4. Semi-closed Focus - ideally towards the
back-wall
Example: Address to muses, god,
inanimate object or absent person

2. VISUAL ELEMENTS
Kinesics
- Communicating through our looks and
gestures
- Coined by Ray L. Birdwhistell
o Facial Expression
o Hand Gesture
o Head Movement
o Posture
o Facial Expression and Gesture
Oculesics
- study of how eyes and eye movements
can communicate
Proxemics
- study of how people use space and
distance for purposes of communication
- coined by Edward T. Hall
Haptics
- expressing a tremendous range of feeling
through touching
Chronemics
- study of time in communication
Objectics
- display of ornaments, jewelry, glasses, and
other artifacts that have communicative
potential
Environmental Factors

how physical environments reveal the

characteristics of the owner of the place
and affect ones way of communication

Physical Appearance
- communicating through a persons
clothing