Page 64 - CROSS CULTURE

speech. Sometimes the definition is restricted to vocally produced

sounds. The study of paralanguage is known as paralinguistic.

9. Appearance and Artifacts

Personal appearance is a major factor used to judge a person

simply because the first impression of a person is based on

appearance. People can change their appearance b! r changing their
clothing styles, hairstyles, and other accessories or artifacts.

Nonverbal communication confers a meaning that is transmitted by

physical characteristics of' the body, attire, and accessories. The

physical characteristics of the body include facial shape, body shape,
height, skin colour, body colour, hair, deformities, etc, Attire rei'ers

to clothing and accessories refer to other appendages or

manipulability objects in the environment that may reflect messages

from the designer or the user, such as fra,yance, cosmetics, furniture,

art, pets, or other possessions such as glasses, jewellery,
handkerchief, flowers, helmet, and so on.

Today, the purpose of clothing has changed from merely
fulfilling a need to expressing oneself. Clothing and other artifacts

are especially powerful signifiers and convey a great deal of detailed

information about someone's job, personality, values, and Lifestyle.

For example, uniforms of one sort or another are a feature in many,

if not mort, lied’s. Some uniforms are obvious like the army, the
navy, or the air force, the police, schools, and some colleges,

hospitals, etc.

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