7D: Compare Types of Communication

Compare Types of Communication

Reading

Do you speak "elephant"?

As humans, we communicate using the senses of sight, touch, and hearing. We send messages with body language, we greet friends with touch, and we speak using words to show our emotions and ideas. Animals don't communicate in as many ways as humans-for example, they don't have language like we do-but many animals do also use the senses of sight, touch, and hearing. A good example of this is elephant communication.
Like humans, elephants understand each other by looking at each other's body language. To send a message, they use their whole body, or individually their heads, eyes, mouth, ears, trunk, tail, or feet. For example, elephants spread their ears to show anger. And while humans shake their heads to disagree, elephants do this to show they are happy.

As with humans, touch is also very important between elephants. Just like a human mother holds her baby, a mother elephant regularly touches her young calf with her trunk. Elephants also show they are friendly when they touch other elephants. And when they want to have fun, they hold each other by the trunk and pull, like in this photo. Even if they can't laugh like a human, elephants have a great sense of humor.
Elephants have very large ears, which means they can hear other elephants from as far as 2.5 miles away. Like humans, they can also copy sounds and make their own sounds that seem to communicate basic human words and phrases like, "Hello," "I love you," and "Let's go."

Example:

- Nodding your head in Vietnam means a greeting or sign of agreement.

(Gật đầu ở Việt Nam có nghĩa là một lời chào hoặc dấu hiệu đồng ý.)

- Common Vietnamese gestures and body language:

(Các cử chỉ và ngôn ngữ cơ thể thông dụng của người Việt Nam:)

+ Nodding: a greeting, affirmative reply or sign of agreement

(Gật đầu: một lời chào, một câu trả lời khẳng định hoặc một dấu hiệu đồng ý)

+ Shaking one’s head: negative reply, a sign of disagreement

(Lắc đầu: câu trả lời phủ định, dấu hiệu không đồng ý)

+ Bowing: greeting or a sign of great respect

(Cúi đầu: lời chào hoặc một dấu hiệu kính trọng)

+ Frowning: an expression of frustration, anger or worry

(Cau mày: biểu hiện của sự thất vọng, tức giận hoặc lo lắng)

+ Avoiding eye contact: shows respect to seniors in age or status or of the opposite sex

(Tránh giao tiếp bằng mắt: thể hiện sự tôn trọng với những người có tuổi tác và địa vị cao hơn hoặc khác giới)