To tell and to show: The interplay of language and visualizations in communication

Summary

The use of imitation, gestures and pictures has played a very important role in the evolution of human cognition (Zlatev et al., 2005; Persson, 2008). Another important strand of research has studied the human ability to communicate multimodally, by using a combination of language, mimics, gestures, pictures, and body movements (Allwood, 2002).

Let us have a closer look at the use of various types of visualization that accompany language in communication. Imagine a group of friends involved in a lively conversation about their holiday adventures. Whether they talk about a dangerous bungy-jumping experience, hiking in the mountains, or enjoying the beach and pub life, they behave in a similar way. They do not only use language to describe events and things; they also use gestures, draw sketches, imitate voices, and engage their whole body to re-enact events. In short, when narrating, they not only tell but also show their experiences, tales, or stories.

Since Plato and Aristotle, these two activities are called diegesis (narrators describe things) and mimesis (narrators show things). In the following, we will be concerned with mimesis in more detail, following the distinctions made by Clark (2004). The term mimesis has been taken by Plato from music theory and applied to designate scenic performance where actions of persons are imitated and re-enacted. In other words, mimesis is a re-production based on imitation of an action. In communication, mimesis is important for both speakers and listeners. It is a means of showing actions to make them visible (and audible) to the listeners. By using voice, gestures, and drawings, the speakers create scenes, embody and dramatize events, and thereby involve their partners. “Mimesis gives us the sense of reality in fiction, the illusion of access to the reality of personal experience” (Lodge, 1990: 144). The more effective the imagination, the better the possibility for the audience to visualize the speaker's experience.

There is, however, an important distinction to be made between two ways of “showing”: on the one hand we can indicate something by pointing at an object, on the other hand we can demonstrate things with the help of our voice, hands, or body.