Routledge dictionary of language and linguistics - Developers

A-Z 809
non-monotonic reasoning non-monotonic
logic
non-strident strident vs non-strident
non-terminative telic vs atelic
non-verbal communication [Lat. verbum
‘word’]
All non-linguistic phenomena in inter-human communication processes which are studied
in psychology (or psychiatry), sociology, ethnology, and linguistics (to the extent that
spoken language can only be fully understood and described by considering nonlinguistic
communication). Two distinctions are made in the signals of non-verbal
communication: (a) vocal features such as the volume and pitch of the human voice, the
rhythm of speech, laughing, coughing, etc., the study of which is collectively called
paralinguistics (occasionally, ‘paralinguistics’ is used to refer to all types of non-verbal
communication); (b) non-vocal (motor) phenomena such as mimicry, gestures, body
language, eye contact, external appearance, and clothing, the study of which is also
collectively known as kinesics. Structurally determined and freely variable components,
which may overlie linguistic communication (such as intonation and speech tempo) or
occur independently of it, are found together in both domains. Fundamental to the
description of non-verbal communication is the question of the ‘character of the code,’
that is, the systematic nature of non-verbal communication which suggests a distinction
between intentionally directed non-verbal communication and unconscious, independent
behavior having no communicative intention. In analogy to the structural characteristics
of verbal codes, Trager (1958) and Birdwhistell (1954) interpret vocal, gesticulatory, and
mimic phenomena as communicative systems, while various functional approaches
(above all those of Ekman and Friesen 1969 and Scherer (1978) try to describe the
purpose and effect of non-verbal communication within the scope of all types of
communication and to describe their mutual conditions and dependencies. Scherer (1978)
distinguishes between four ‘parasemantic’ functions of non-verbal communication: (a) in
‘substitution,’ the non-verbal signal replaces the verbal semantic content, e.g. nodding
one’s head in agreement instead of saying yes; (b) in ‘amplification,’ non-verbal
communication serves to make the verbal expression clearer, e.g. directional gesture