Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication during the Restrictive Measures of 2020 in Italy

The present work aims at studying the current state of both verbal and non-verbal communication in Italy under the influence of restrictive measures necessary to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease. The imposed restrictive measures, namely wearing face masks in public places, keeping social distance and staying in self-isolation, are proven to negatively affect human communication. Having conducted an analysis, it was found that wearing masks curbs not only our nonverbal means of communication, precisely facial expressions and emotions, but also the verbal component of communication, i.e. language, creating a muffled sound of speech. It compromises the quality of the communication act, which leads to a general decrease in the effectiveness of implementation of the communication goals. In addition, the fact that Italian culture, which encompasses traditions, communicative means and everyday practices, forms the national identity of Italians makes the given study even more relevant. Being unable to communicate freely, and thus realize their needs, Italians risk losing their national identity. To study the impact of restrictive measures on both Italian communication and society, a survey was conducted among native citizens from different regions of Italy. The results proved the negative impact of restrictive measures on Italian communication, which has led to significant changes in communication of Italians. Firstly, Italians are forced to avoid using nonverbal signals in their daily interaction, which constitutes one of the factors of irritation. Secondly, the restrictive measures force them to appeal to online communication instead of meeting in person, thus, undermining other long-standing traditions. Thirdly, the pandemic has contributed to the phenomenon of human creativity, which has led to the emergence of new communicative nonverbal cues that are practically safer during the ongoing pandemic. The present findings, illustrating the modern state of Italian communication and its features, may be applied in further research in linguistic, paralinguistic and cross-cultural studies.