Bumble 1/22/08 : post class

Sounds of Silence. There is a reason that Simon and Garfunkel could sing an entire song about the “sounds” that silence makes!

According to Pierre Machery said, always look at what is NOT being said.

Hatred, love, attraction, confusion, anger… all of these words are expressed so powerfully in silence. In fact in many ways these are all expressed more powerfully with no words at all.

Love and attraction is symbolized through body language, a stare, a gaze, a smile.
Hatred can be seen in a stare as well or simply a lack of response. If someone asks a question and there is no response, that choice to be silence is POWERFUL!

Is there a sound of silence? Well clearly there is or as a culture we wouldn’t hate awkward silences so much, they mean so much more then filler words!


Why is it that when discussing and learning about relationships we are always told, never just listen to what he/ she is telling you. You have to watch the actions because actions speak louder than words. People might tell you that they love you, but if they act differently, those actions of acting distant are way more of an accurate measure of feelings then words. Again, this relates to our discussion in class the other day about the lack of trust of words. Do words actually still have meaning? Sadly we are diminishing the meaning of words which is not always a good thing. Then again, we also discussed that language and words are all Arbitrary so do they actually mean anything at all in the first place? Words are simply how people define symbols and our thoughts and try to explain them, so maybe that is why the silence is so much more important!

Silence is powerful and can often get mixed up less then the inconsistencies of language. How do we all understand each other? This boggling question raised in class makes us aware that we have this incredible ability to retain experiences and apply them to our understanding of words, languages, and signs. But because all of our understanding of languages is cultural and is based on setting and our common shared experiences, it is so easy for miscommunication to occur. A great example of this was when I was in high school I was playing a game of lacrosse and all of the girls on the field were yelling in our shared peculiar language of this sport. My father was on a phone with a business client who asked him, “Are you at a chicken farm, I keep hearing chickens?” My dad laughed and said actually you are hearing a team full of girls yelling in a language that they seem to understand! We could miraculously understand eachother, but someone who had never been exposed to this situation before could easily confuse it for a chicken coup.

It might sound like cock-a-doodle-doo, or as you were saying in French, Cookoo- ree—coo.

Another example of the miscommunications and differences in languages is when I was watching my baby sisters play in a play ground. They had just moved to Dubai, which is a mixture of all different countries and languages. So in the playground you have a girl speaking in Flemish, Russian, Finish, French, Urdu, Arabic, and they were speaking in English. While the adults were watching, we were pondering how a group of children who have no common language will be able to communicate and play. Well, somehow these little children managed to play, they did not see a barrier but rather found the common language of FUN!! They did not take long before somehow developing games, rules, and hugs. It is remarkable because we wonder how we can all understand each other, but maybe we are all more alike then we thought and are able to identify with things together. If you try hard enough you can most likely find a common language with almost anyone you meet. Whether it is the language of fun, science, math, smiles, or just being a girl or boy.

Language barriers can be very funny, and I have come across some amusing complications people have had with their travels around the world.
“In an Italian hotel, signs by the bell: If service is required, give two strokes to the maid and three to the waiter.”
“In a Bed & Breakfast in France: Please avoid coca watering, cream cleaning, wet towels wrapping, and ironing drying”