Verbal language and non-verbal language

Verbal language and non-verbal language these are terms very present in linguistic studies. That's because the language, as a human activity, can be manifested in different ways, depending on the intention we have at the moment of communication. As presented by Evanildo Bechara in Modern Portuguese Grammar, language is any system of symbolic signs used in social intercommunication for express and communicate ideas and feelings.

Researchers in this area of ​​knowledge, linguistics, usually divide language into two large groups: verbal and non-verbal. Knowing how to recognize and use this important tool, in whatever modality, is extremely important for us to carry out efficient communicative acts.

Traffic signs are clear, everyday examples of non-verbal texts.

Verbal language

Verbal language is one that is structured through the word - oral and written. This information is very important, because many still think that the word “verbal” is related to “verbalize” in the sense of orality. However, when writing, we use a structure configured in its relationship with a particular

code, which must be understood and recognized, both by the sender and the receiver, for communication to occur.

Thus, it is correct to say that, in order for us to make use of verbal language, it is essential that we are speakers/users of a tongue, which consists of a representation system (socially and historically constructed), formed by linguistic signs.

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• Example

This type of language manifests itself in our speech, in our texts that we write, in those we read in the media, as well as in advertisements, works literary and scientific, and in so many other situations. See, below, a snippet of a news, textual genre which is constructed through verbal language.

Airline passengers want more technology when traveling

The use of biometrics to streamline the boarding processes and the maximum time of 10 minutes for baggage collection and immigration processes were also identified as priorities

Internet access with Wi-Fi on board aircraft, more control over the journey from your smartphone and monitoring, in real time, the location of baggage are the priorities identified by these passengers. The information is contained in the 2019 Global Passenger survey, published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) last week.

The use of biometrics to streamline the boarding processes and the maximum time of 10 minutes for baggage collection and immigration processes were also identified as priorities.

Most respondents said they would like to use smartphones more to control travel procedures, from booking to baggage handling. This item was identified as important by 83% of respondents. [...] |1|

Read too:Difference between language and language

non-verbal language

The human being needs to communicate. It is through this process that we build ourselves socially, that we produce knowledge, that we live together. In this sense, we use different ways to establish these contacts, which are not limited to the use of verbal language.

O our body, our facial expressions and the silence itself, sometimes make more sense than speech or written text. Just remember that look of a mother, when scolding a child without even saying a word.

And that's why we also use the call nonverbal language in our communicative acts, a type of language that is not established through words, but often through indexes, icons and symbols, for example.

This language is so important that even if we're communicating with someone who doesn't share the same code with us, we can often carry out communication through mimes, the way we post our body, or even using a smile.

• Examples

Mimes, drawings, paintings, sculptures, choreographies, traffic lights, traffic signs... There are countless modes of occurrence of non-verbal language. See, below, a cartoon, a genre that is constructed using this type of language.

The cartoons present social denunciation as one of their most striking features. [1]

Read more: Humorous texts: see different text genres that use humor

mixed language

We say that the language is mixed, when there is a simultaneous use of verbal and non-verbal language for the construction of the message. We were able to observe this occurrence well when we read comics, for example. The idea when using this type of language is to expand the communicative possibilities, since, in certain communicative acts, just the verbal or just the non-verbal ones are not enough, being, therefore, necessary to unite the two.

• Example

In the text below, we can see that verbal and non-verbal language complement each other.

Charges, cartoons and cartoons are genres that can present a mixed language. [1]

solved exercises

Question 01 - (Enem 2013)

Married and Independent

A new IBGE survey shows that the number of marriages between people in their 60s has grown, since 2003, at a rate 60% greater than that observed in the Brazilian population as a whole…

Graphs display statistical data through verbal and nonverbal language. In the text, the use of this feature
A) exemplifies the increase in the population's life expectancy.
B) explains the growing trust in the institution of marriage.
C) shows that the Brazilian population has increased in the last five years.
D) indicates that marriage and employment rates grew at the same rate.
E) summarizes the growing number of marriages and occupations in the labor market.

Solution

Alternative E

Question 02 (FUMARC – 2011)

Read the text below.

Following 1 to 4 of the comics, the following language characteristics can be identified:
I. In the first box, there is only oral verbal language.
II. In the second square, one can perceive only the non-verbal language.
III. In the third square, the cartoonist presents a mixture between the written verbal and the non-verbal.
IV. In the fourth box, there is written verbal information.

Mark the correct alternative:

A) only propositions III and IV are true.

B) only propositions I and II are true.

C) only propositions I and III are true.

D) propositions I, II, III and IV are true.

Solution

Alternative B

Image credit

[1] angeli/Newspaper [Reproduction]

Grades

|1| News available at Brazilian mail.

by Sara de Castro

Writing Teacher