Paralanguage refers to the non-verbal elements of communication used to modify meaning and convey emotion.

Paralanguage may be expressed consciously or unconsciously, and it includes the pitch, volume, and, in some cases, intonation of speech. Sometimes the definition is restricted to vocally-produced sounds. The study is known as paralinguistics. The term 'paralanguage' is sometimes used as a cover term for body language, which is not necessarily tied to speech, and paralinguistic phenomena in speech. The latter are phenomena that can be observed in speech (Saussure's parole) but that do not belong to the arbitrary conventional code of language (Saussure's langue). The paralinguistic properties of speech play an important role in human speech communication. There are no utterances or speech signals that lack paralinguistic properties, since speech requires the presence of a voice that can be modulated. This voice must have some properties, and all the properties of a voice as such are paralinguistic. However, the distinction linguistic vs. paralinguistic applies not only to speech but to writing and sign language as well, and it is not bound to any sensory modality. Even vocal language has some paralinguistic as well as linguistic properties that can be seen (lip reading, McGurk effect), and even felt, e.g. by the Tadoma method. One can distinguish the following aspects of speech signals and perceived utterances: Perspectival aspects Speech signals that arrive at a listeners ears have acoustic properties that may allow listeners to localize the speaker (distance, direction). Sound localization functions in a similar way also for non-speech sounds. The perspectival aspects of lip reading are more obvious and have more drastic effects when head turning is involved. Organic aspects The speech organs of different speakers differ in size. As children grow up, their organs of speech become larger and there are differences between male and female adults. The differences concern not only size, but also proportions. They affect the pitch of the voice and to a substantial extent also the formant frequencies, which characterize the different speech sounds. The organic quality of speech has a communicative function in a restricted sense, since it is merely informative about the speaker. It will be expressed independently of the speakers intention. Expressive aspects The properties of the voice and the way of speaking are affected by emotions and attitudes. Typically, attitudes are expressed intentionally and emotions without intention, but attempts to fake or to hide emotions are not unusual. Expressive variation is central to paralanguage. It affects loudness, speaking rate, pitch, pitch range and, to some extent, also the formant frequencies. Linguistic aspects These aspects are the main concern of linguists. Ordinary phonetic transcriptions of utterances reflect only the linguistically informative quality. The problem of how listeners factor out the linguistically informative quality from speech signals is a topic of current research. Some of the linguistic features of speech, in particular of its prosody, are paralinguistic or pre-linguistic in origin. A most fundamental and widespread phenomenon of this kind is known as the "frequency code" (Ohala, 1984). This code works even in communication across species. It has its origin in the fact that the acoustic frequencies in the voice of small vocalizers are high while they are low in the voice of large vocalizers. This gives rise to secondary meanings such as 'harmless', 'submissive', 'unassertive', which are naturally associated with smallness, while meanings such as 'dangerous', 'dominant', and 'assertive' are associated with largeness. In most languages, the frequency code also serves the purpose of distinguishing questions from statements. It is universally reflected in expressive variation, and it is reasonable to assume that it has phylogenetically given rise to the sexual dimorphism that lies behind the large difference in pitch between average female and male adults. In text-only communication such as email, chatrooms and instant messaging, paralinguistic elements can be displayed by emoticons, font and color choices, capitalization and the use of non-alphabetic or abstract characters. Nonetheless, paralanguage in written communication is limited in comparison with face-to-face conversation, sometimes leading to misunderstandings.

Proxemics is the study of measurable distances between people as they interact. The term was introduced by anthropologist Edward T. Hall in 1966.[1] The effects of proxemics, according to Hall, can be summarized by the following loose rule: Like gravity, the influence of two bodies on each other is inversely proportional not only to the square of their distance but possibly even the cube of the distance between them. In animals, Swiss zoologist Heini Hediger had distinguished between flight distance (run boundary), critical distance (attack boundary), personal distance (distance separating members of non-contact species, as a pair of swans), and social distance (intraspecies communication distance). Hall reasoned that, with very few exceptions, flight distance and critical distance have been eliminated in human reactions, and thus interviewed hundreds of people to determine modified criteria for human interactions.

Overview
Body spacing and posture, according to Hall, are unintentional reactions to sensory fluctuations or shifts, such as subtle changes in the sound and pitch of a person's voice. Social distance between people is reliably correlated with physical distance, as are intimate and personal distance, according to the following delineations: Intimate distance for embracing, touching or whispering o Close phase less than 6 inches (15 cm) o Far phase 6 to 18 inches (15 to 46 cm) Personal distance for interactions among good friends or family members o Close phase 1.5 to 2.5 feet (46 to 76 cm) o Far phase 2.5 to 4 feet (76 to 120 cm) Social distance for interactions among acquaintances o Close phase 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m) o Far phase 7 to 12 feet (2.1 to 3.7 m) Public distance used for public speaking o Close phase 12 to 25 feet (3.7 to 7.6 m) o Far phase 25 feet (7.6 m) or more. Hall notes that different cultures maintain different standards of personal space. In Latin cultures, for instance, those relative distances are smaller, and people tend to be more comfortable standing close to each other; in Nordic cultures the opposite is true. Realizing and recognizing these cultural differences improves cross-cultural understanding, and helps eliminate discomfort people may feel if the interpersonal distance is too large ("standoffish") or too small (intrusive). Comfortable personal distances also depend on the culture, social situation, gender, and individual preference. A related term is propinquity. Propinquity is one of the factors, set out by Jeremy Bentham, used to measure the amount of pleasure in a method known as felicific calculus.

Types of space

Proxemics defines three different types of space:[2][3] Fixed-feature space:This comprises things that are immobile, such as walls and territorial boundaries. However, some territorial boundaries can vary (Low and Lawrence-Ziga point to the Bedouin of Syria as an example of this) and are thus classified as semifixed-features. Semifixed-feature space:This comprises movable objects, like mobile furniture, while fixed-furniture is a fixedfeature. Informal space:This comprises the individual space around the body, travels around with it, determining the personal distance among people.

The definitions of each can vary from culture to culture. In nonverbal communication, such cultural variations amongst what comprises semifixed-features and what comprises fixed-features can lead to confusion, discomfort, and misunderstanding. Low and Lawrence-Ziga give several anecdotal examples of differences, amongst people from different cultures, as to whether they regard furniture such as chairs for guests to sit in as being fixed or semifixed, and the effects that those differences have on people from other cultures. Proxemics also classifies spaces as either sociofugal or sociopetal (c.f. the sociofugal-sociopetal behaviour category). The terms are analogous to the words "centrifugal" and "centripetal". Sociopetal spaces are spaces that are conducive, by means of how they are organized, to interpersonal communcation, whereas sociofugal spaces encourage solidarity.

Behavior categories
Proxemics also defines eight factors in nonverbal communication, or proxemic behaviour categories, that apply to people engaged in conversation:[2][4] posture-gender identifiers:This category relates the postures of the participants and their gender. Six primary subcategories are defined: man prone, man sitting or squatting, man standing, woman prone, woman sitting or squatting, and woman standing. the sociopetal-sociofugal axis:This axis denotes the relationship between the positions of one person's shoulders and another's shoulders. Nine primary orientations are defined: face-to-face, 45, 90, 135, and back-to-back. The effects of the several orientations are to either encourage or discourage communication. kinesthetic factors:This category deals with how closely the participants are to touching, from being completely outside of body-contact distance to being in physical contact, which parts of the body are in contact, and body part positioning. touching code:This behavioural category concerns how participants are touching one another, such as caressing, holding, feeling, prolonged holding, spot touching, pressing against, accidental brushing, or not touching at all. visual code:This category denotes the amount of eye contact between participants. Four sub-categories are defined, ranging from eye-to-eye contact to no eye contact at all. thermal code:This category denotes the amount of body heat that each participant perceives from another. Four sub-categories are defined: conducted heat detected, radiant heat detected, heat probably detected, and no detection of heat. olfactory code:This category deals in the kind and degree of odour detected by each participant from the other. voice loudness:This category deals in the vocal effort used in speech. Seven sub-categories are defined: silent, very soft, soft, normal, normal+, loud, and very loud.

KINESICS
Kinesics is the interpretation of body language such as facial expressions and gestures or, more formally, nonverbal behavior related to movement, either of any part of the body or the body as a whole.

Birdwhistell's work
The term was first used (in 1952) by Ray Birdwhistell, an anthropologist who wished to study how people communicate through posture, gesture, stance, and movement. Part of Birdwhistell's work involved making film of people in social situations and analyzing them to show different levels of communication not clearly seen otherwise. The study was joined by several other anthropologists, including Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson. Drawing heavily on descriptive linguistics, Birdwhistell argued that all movements of the body have meaning (ie. are not accidental), and that these non-verbal forms of language (or paralanguage) have a grammar that can be analyzed in similar terms to spoken language. Thus, a "kineme" is "similar to a phoneme because it consists of a group of movements which are not identical, but which may be used interchangeably without affecting social meaning" (Knapp 1972:94-95). Birdwhistell estimated that "no more than 30 to 35 percent of the social meaning of a conversation or an interaction is carried by the words." (Birdwhistell, 1985: 158). He also concluded that there were no universals in these kinesic displays - a claim disproved by Paul Ekman's analysis of universals in facial expression. A few Birdwhistell-isms are as follows:

Social personality is a temporo-spatial system. All behaviors evinced by any such system are components of the system except as related to different levels of abstractions.

Even if no participant of an interaction field can recall, or repeat in a dramatized context, a given series or sequence of body motions, the appearance of a motion is of significance to the general study of the particular kinesic system even if the given problem can be rationalized without reference to it. All meaningful body motion patterns are to be regarded as socially learned until empirical investigation reveals otherwise. No kineme ever stands alone.

Modern applications
In one current application, kinesics are used as signs of deception by interviewers. Interviewers look for clusters of movements to determine the veracity of the statement being uttered. Some related words may be:

Emblems - Substitute for words and phrases Illustrators - Accompany or reinforce verbal messages Affect Displays - Show emotion Regulators - Control the flow and pace of communication Adaptors - Release physical or emotional tension

Kinesics are an important part of non-verbal communication behavior. The movement of the body, or separate parts, conveys many specific meanings and the interpretations may be culture bound. As many movements are carried out at a subconscious or at least a low-awareness level, kinesic movements carry a significant risk of being misinterpreted in an intercultural communications situation.
The code of facial touching/itching

If a person touches, itches or leans on the areas of the face below, as a reaction to a situation or question the context of thoughts becomes evident. (discovered by Dean Abel)
Face Area eyebrow Eye area Temple Cheekbone Nose Lips Chin Jawline Meaning "Its not so bad, I can handle this," coping Remembering, information retrieval Comparing, imagination "This is serious," concentration, focus Being surprised, by internal reaction unsure, unpreparedness "Why?", calculation Sadness, low mood, deflated center of forehead please/frustration