Sveiki! Kā[â] tev iet? -The second phrase means “how are you”.
This week I decided to show you how to say “how are you” in Latvian, since the different possible responses to this question segue us into today’s topic about nonverbal cues and how they give away our true feelings and emotional state. Feelings and emotions are hard to hide in general, they make up our personality and help create our identity.
We recently learned about identity. Each of us have multiple identities, and we show each identity at different times. To help understand which identity we are at each moment we have identity cues, which enable us to signal who we are to potential interaction partners. These cues can be divided into “cues given” and “cues given off”. “Cues given” are the obvious ones, like what we say and what we do, “cues given off”, however are more discreet, they are nonverbal cues, that aren’t obvious such as body language, facial expressions, etc. I’ve always found it fascinating trying to read people’s body language, I thought of it as a sort of lie detector superpower, so, after learning about “cues given off” I remembered this article I read a while back, which discusses all of the things that body language can reveal.
It talks about “microexpressions”, which we unknowingly reveal through subconscious facial expressions, as well as all the other possible movements we make with our bodies, when feeling a certain way. This raised the question- how easy or hard is it to hide these subconscious acts with the help of social media?
Of course it depends on the media you use, if we use texting or a phone call, there is no way of telling if you are hiding something. However, many forms of social media such as- Snapchat, FaceTime, Skype, Instagram, even Facebook- can give us a chance to spot and interpret the “cues given off”, while not actually coming into contact with the person.
In order to keep in touch with my family back home I usually use Whatsapp, which can easily both hide these “cues” and help exhibit them. Because of the need to keep in touch, combined with the time difference, I’ve noticed how I am actually subconsciously aware of these “cues” and take them into account, when communicating with my family. Whenever I have little to no energy, I always resort to texting, because I don’t want them to see me in a bad mood or tired, because I know that even if I video-call them and try to smile, they’ll be able to still tell, based on my facial expression, that it’s fake. However, whenever I’m in a good mood, and the time difference works out, I always resort to calling them.
It’s interesting to think about how obvious “cues given off” are to different people. Could two people meeting for the first time tell if the other was happy about the conversation or just faking it? Maybe it’s better if we can’t tell? Can you tell which of these photos seem genuine and which don’t as much? Why? What are the “giveaways”?
Latvian in Portland 
Anna, its very hard for me to tell whether the facial expressions of new people can give of cues that seem fake because I am not familiar with that person. Also I would not agree that it is good that we can’t tell because if we are talking with an unfamiliar individual, it must be of some importance which means you would want to know the degree to which they are engaged or interested in what you have to say. Great topic for your blog keep it up!
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Sometimes I think about what if I had the ability to accurately read microexpressions, I’d be so much better at social interactions! But the truth is very few people can accurately read these expressions and they may vary from person to person. For example standing with your hands crossed apparently means you’re not open to talking but for me that’s just a comfortable way of standing!
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Do you find yourself acting as a different person when interacting with other Latvians compared to people in the US? I like to think that my social media presence isn’t too far removed from me in real life, but I know that when around different groups that can change. Just wondering how other cultures effect your identity.
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Yes, definitely. It’s actually a very interesting question, because I have thought of this, but never too deeply. I think that language, culture and people you surround yourself with plays a major role of how you interact. Because I’ve noticed that with my Latvian friends back home I’m much less politically correct when I speak ,because no one back home is, and boy and girl relationships are a lot more flirty; with my American friends I often forget words, so I feel a bit more limited and I’m shier at first; with my international friends I’m way more emotional, louder, more affectionate and live in the moment more often. What about you? Do you interact differently around different people?
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