Gee and Hays (2011) state that language is extremely important for people as it enables communication that provide meaning and knowledge and context. Information and communication are dialectically linked …show more content…
Non-verbal language (body language) is extremely important in a conversation as it provides context and interpretation as to what is happening in the social interaction that speech does not as discussed by Bessant & Watts (2007, p. 85). Body language is as important as the intonations you use when speaking as both add important information that is not spoken or written and can change the message or information contained in the communication (Robbins et al. 2011, …show more content…
In Australia the preferred language is AUSLAN over signed English. Each state of Australia has different dialects of AUSLAN and these will vary between the generations. Deaf people use AUSLAN as their first language and then English or writing in English comes second. AUSLAN is not grammatically correct when spoken or a deaf person writes yet it is still understandable as they use body language to communicate as well as signing. The Royal Institute for the Deaf and Blind (1998, p. 8) state that to define a sign (or perhaps non-verbal body language) is to look at how the sign is used in context and that the meaning lies in the use of the sign or surrounding signs. This is very true of both verbal and non-verbal body language, it is open to interpretation and it must be assessed as a whole to ensure the communication is received and understood the way the communicator intended rather than making assumptions (Robbins et al., p.