Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Does Language Guarantee Conversation?

Have you ever thought you were having a conversation with another person only to discover it was not a conversation at all?

You were both talking, but only one of you was really listening?

From the time I was a teenager, I have been told I am a really great listener. If someone had a problem, I was the one to come to. Yup! I listen really great. Actually, I do give feedback while I'm listening, but lots of people just don't hear. Many, many people are too busy talking to really hear the other person.

Conversation? I don't think so.

I was thinking about this and trying to relate it to horse training. With natural horsemanship, there is language developed between the horse and the person. Hubby Honey and I have started calling this horsonage. Horse person lanuage. We started with horslish, but decided English is not the only language humans speak, so it should be something else. So, horsonage.

But is there conversation?

Just because you have a common language does not mean you will have conversation.

How about communication? You can have communication without a common language. Or, is it then a nonverbal language, like what is taught in natural horsemanship?

But again, is there a conversation? A two-way communication with both talking and both listening?

Do you have a conversation with your horse, or just talk?

Do you have a conversation with your child, or do you just talk?

Does your child have a conversation with you, but maybe you don't listen?

Do you have conversation with other people, or does one of you just talk?

Click on the word below to see definitions from Dictionary.com:

language

conversation

communication

If I can't have a conversation with another person, if they are just talking without listening, why should I waste my energy to talk back? Maybe that's why I am considered such a great listener.

Maybe that's why I am here bein a ramblin gamma, I carry on very good conversations with myself.

By the way, I am still trying to relate this to my horses.

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