The paradox of comprehending emotions during inter-cultural communication
The paradox of comprehending emotions during inter-cultural communication
Our ability to comprehend the emotions of someone from a distant culture is paradoxical: (1) by definition, expressions of emotion cannot completely translate, and yet, (2) people can identify with an incredibly high degree of accuracy expressions of basic emotions through vocal features in a language they do not know.
1. Expressions of emotion cannot be completely translated
First, why do expressions of emotion, by definition, defy translation?
Semanticist Paul Kroeger, in his introduction to semantics, Analyzing meaning, states that the expression of emotion cannot be completely translated into descriptive terminology (2022, 28). He calls this the descriptive ineffability of emotions (ibid). For example, the meaning inherent in a young child screeching “Daddy!” while giggling cannot be completely captured in descriptive language. Such emotional expression occurs both in the prosodic contours (intonation, pauses, volume, etc.) and in the words that individuals choose. Sometimes, the primary difference between synonyms is the emotions that they connote. Researchers call the emotional connotation that words gain through the environments in which they most often appear semantic prosody (Hauser 2016). For example, the words “father,” “dad,” and “daddy,” only differ in their level of formality and coinciding emotional overtones. The term “father” tends to occur in more formal contexts, whereas “daddy” occurs in very intimate, informal contexts. In sum, the descriptive ineffability of emotions and the semantic prosody unique to each word makes translating emotions across cultures incredibly complex, which would make us think that such transfers of meaning would rarely be successful.
2. People can correctly identify expressions of basic emotion across cultures with surprising accuracy
Here’s the catch: a meta-analysis of studies on the cross-cultural recognition of emotions in vocal recordings conducted by Laukka and Elfenbein (2021) has shown that people can correctly identify emotions in communication from people of different cultures and languages at an above-chance level. How far above chance? In over 35 studies, with participants totaling over 40 cultures, people from different cultures could accurately judge the emotions of a speaker 84% of the time. These same studies showed that people within the same culture could only accurately judge emotions 89% of the same, only a 5% advantage. In addition to recognizing emotions in speech, people could also recognize non-linguistic expressions (grunts, sighs, etc.) of some emotions with high accuracy (Laukka et al. 2013).
Why can people recognize many basic emotions well across cultures?
People seem to be hard-wired to recognize expressions of emotion because they serve as a reliable source for understanding the intentions of the speaker (Adolphs and Anderson 2018, 89-97; Lanigan 2022, 280; Park 2011). The expressions of some emotions (such as anger and relief) are likely linked directly to the biology of humans, which make them easier to recognize (Laukka et al. 2013). In addition, as Nida argued, the large body of shared experiences between all peoples enables translation between any languages (Waard and Nida 1986, 44-45). So, although recognizing emotions in communication is complex, people are designed for this task and highly motivated to identify emotions.
There’s a lot that doesn’t make it across cultures, though, which I will discuss more in part 2 of this topic (in a week or two)!
TL;DR
If the email was too long to read, here are the main points:
- The translatability of emotions is paradoxical because the task is very complex, yet people do it automatically.
- Research indicates that people are hard-wired to recognize the expression of emotions because they serve as a reliable source for understanding the intentions of the speaker.
- In a future newsletter, I will discuss what gets lost in the translation of emotions.
Challenge for You
I encourage you to watch media from another culture for 3 minutes without subtitles some time while attempting to identify the emotions of the characters. After the 3 minutes are up, turn on the subtitles and see how well you did!
References
- Kroeger, Paul. 2022. Analyzing Meaning. Language Science Press. Language Science Press. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6855854.
- Lanigan, Richard L. 2022. “Saving-Face: The Nonverbal Communicology of Basic Emotions.” In Exploring the Translatability of Emotions: Cross-Cultural and Transdisciplinary Encounters, edited by Susan Petrilli and Meng Ji, 279–319. Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91748-7_11.
- Laukka, Petri, Hillary Anger Elfenbein, Nela Söder, Henrik Nordström, Jean Althoff, Wanda Chui, Frederick K. Iraki, Thomas Rockstuhl, and Nutankumar S. Thingujam. 2013. “Cross-Cultural Decoding of Positive and Negative Non-Linguistic Emotion Vocalizations.” Frontiers in Psychology 4 (July): 353. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00353.
- Hauser, David J., and Norbert Schwarz. 2016. “Semantic Prosody and Judgment.” Journal of Experimental Psychology. General. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000178.
- Park, Joseph Sung-Yul. “Framing, Stance, and Affect in Korean Metalinguistic Discourse:” Pragmatics 21, no. 2 (June 1, 2011): 265–82. https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.21.2.05par.
- Waard, Jan De, and Eugene A. Nida. 1986. From One Language to Another: Functional Equivalence in Bible Translation. 1st edition. Thomas Nelson Inc.