Transferring conditions, sentiments and spirits from talking to writing

This article is presented to the audience in two parts:

Introduction
Interview with the active and influential or present elements in historical events is the most important method through which is used in oral history for registering and keeping the history.
Today like the past decades, the devices of recording the sound of the interviewee is the most public and possible way for interviewing. In other words, voice recorders and today digital recorders which is commonly called as "recorders" has the responsibility of paper and pen in order to make talking enduring. Thus, the entire remarks and statements of the interviewee and interviewer are kept and saved by such mentioned devices. Therefore, what is said during the interview is kept and saved in the main or secondary memory of such devices. So, we can find out the quantity and quality of the statements made by the interviewee through listening to the recorded voices. We can understand the ups and downs of their voices, listen to their bass and high voices, understand their laughter and crying and on the whole, we can feel and touch the excitements and sentiments expressed during the interview. In other words, the highest conditions, spirits, sentiments, anxieties, sufferings, enthusiasm, and joys and angers of the interviewee can be received during the interview and find out what has been his or her mental and even physical situation. Also through retelling the past memories by the interviewee, we can understand what impacts they have had on him or her and what conditions he or she has challenged with.  
I have used the phrase "the most" since I believe that some of the issues can be expressed and transferred only both by image and voice. Thus, in the single voice and without image, some of them cannot be recognized and realized. The muscular motions of the face at the time of expressing sentiments, sweat, anger or being calm can only be seen and understood through image and it cannot be transferred only by the voice.

Raising a question
If we accept that the clearest form of interviews in oral history is finally the interviewee's written and transcribed text and is sometimes accompanied by the interviewer's remarks and questions, then we should think that all what is heard will turn into text. In other words, do the entire voices coming out of the interviewee's mouth in expressing spirits and mentalities turn into written text entirely so that the reader understands the whole atmosphere ruling over interview, interviewee and interviewer during the interview?  Or is it basically possible to transfer the stated issues from voice to text namely from talking in the interview to text in the book? The author of the article is trying to present logical answers to such questions.

At first, we need to recognize various kinds of different unwritten voices and motions of the interviewees, then seek to find the answers of the questions. In general, it can be said that there are two kinds of certain actions namely voices and motions which cannot be turned into talking, thus text. In other words, there are a series of voices and motions which are expressed by the most interviewees in order to represent another part of their excitements, mentalities and spirits or physical and mental situation while telling memories. Parts of face, hands and feet are the organs which create these two kinds of actions (voice and motion) and each of them expresses certain meanings. The interviewees make their considered meanings more certain for the listener or interviewer through creating and expressing them namely the interviewee uses the motions of his or her organs and creating some voices in order to express his or her sayings or to transfer his or her verbal phrases to the listener or interviewer and finally the reader very better and more precisely in a way that he or she express his or her intention totally. So, it seems now that the interviewee or all of the interviewees intend to express their intention correctly and totally through such effort so that the interviewer and the listener as well as the reader understand it completely and precisely and not to be misrepresented on one hand and are completely put in the physical and mental atmosphere of the interviewee on the other hand, isn't it necessary that we make a serious attempt to distinguish these voices and motions and try to transfer them to the audience?  Thus, we need to recognize different kinds of the mentioned motions and then find a way to transfer them. In a precise recognition, it seems that the interviewees use the following voices and motions for expressing their conditions and intentions:

1- Moving the hands and feet and the existing members in the face and head generally and repeatedly for expressing intentions better which is considered as "Body Language".  The rate of using the body language and its importance in expressing the meanings is so much that this artistic method is used publically and in various applications. So, we find out that most people use it in order to express their intentions better, more precisely and clearly. Therefore, it is necessary to pay enough attention to the interviewees' body language and try to transfer it in different textual or verbal forms. 
 
2- Opening and closing the eyes which represent the internal states of the interviewer, like at the time of high surprise or extreme anger or staring at a close or remote point which can be the sign of boiling internal emotions especially the feeling of wistfulness or an effort to concentrate nerve branches and the mind; or rolling the eyes showing the anxiety and insecurity of the atmosphere for the interviewee.

3-  Using the muscles of the face, moving the lips and cheeks or bloating the lips and then its ventilation at the time of expressing anger and happiness.

4- Raising and dropping the eyebrows and the temples' muscles which can be the sign of frowning or expressing irritation and surprise.

5- Scratching some parts of the body like head and face or other parts.

6- Squeezing hands and feet at the time of showing horrible excitements or joyful and distressing sentiments.

7- Biting the lips which is apparently used more when expressing sadness and surprise. 

8- Gnashing which is frequently used for expressing anger.

9- Touching and playing with the hair, eyebrows, beard and moustache which are mostly used at the time of concentrating.

10- Touching and squeezing the neck and ears.

11- Fixing the clothes like the collar of the shirt, sleeves, buttons and trousers legs in men and in women the scarf and chador in certain times. Such moves are used more for concentration in order to express a certain issue.

12-  Coughing and clearing the voice frequently for improving the voice of talking which in most cases is a way for following the considered issue better.

13- Long or instant and periodic silence, crying or choking with emotion which can be voiced or voiceless. It represents various issues such as wistfulness, regret, love, penitence, happiness and other ones which can be useful for more recognition of the interviewee.

14- Laughing, smiling or guffawing which is said to have 24 kinds and each kind is special for certain persons. It can be expressed in certain times. In other words, it has a psychological factor. So, paying attention to the laughter of the interviewee can have lots of findings for the interviewer and even for the listener and reader.

15- Emergence of nerve and emotional tics by moving some parts of the body like hands and feet or the muscles of face or a combination of them, winking repeatedly, shrugging which is sometime used for expressing surprise. Touching hair, beard, moustache and eyebrows, nose and other numerous cases are also among them.

Given the above mentioned cases, it can be understood well that in addition to the interviewee's saying and statements, a large part of untold issues and meanings are expressed through motions and voices, and their understanding, recognition and transfer from the interview's atmosphere to outside in audio and visual and textual forms can be of great importance for those who use such interviews.   

Jafar Golshan Rowghani
PhD Candidate of Islamic Iran History
Translated by: Mohammad Baqar Khoshnevisan