theuseofbodylanguageininternationalcommunication文档格式.docx

theuseofbodylanguageininternationalcommunication文档格式.docx

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93%oftheirmessageismadeupofbodylanguage（55%>

andthetoneoftheirvoice<

38%）”（Birdwhistell，1952:

79>

.Bodylanguageisalsointerlinkedwithspokenlanguageandawholepatternofbehaviorfromaperson.Aswellas,variousbodylanguagesignscancomplementeachothertomakeaparticularmeaningclearorstrengthenthemeaningofwhatweconvey.Thusbodylanguageisverycrucial.Becauseeveryculturehasitsspecialbodylanguage,learningtheapplicationofbodylanguageindifferentculturebackgroundsbecomesincreasinglyessential.

Thispaperintendstopresentitsmeaningandclassification,functions,aboveall,displaysitsapplicationindifferentcountries,sothatwecanimproveourcommunicationskillsandabilitiesbyunderstandingitwell.Whensomeonecommunicateswithforeigners,hecanknowtheirrealthoughtsfromtheirbodylanguage.

Allinall,languageisthecomponentpartsofculture.Studyingandunderstandingbodylanguageishelpfultostudylanguageofforeigncountriesandavoidmistakesininterculturalcommunication.

1LiteratureReview

Whenpeoplespeakofthecommunication,firsttheythinkoftheverballanguage.Actually,bodylanguageisusedearlierthanverballanguage.Sotheresearchofbodylanguageisalsoimportant.

Theresearchofbodylanguagecantracebackto1872whenCharlesDarwin（1872>

publishesthebookTheExpressionsofEmotionsinManandAnimals.Hethinkshumanwillgraduallyobtaincommunicationcapacitythroughbodyinformation.Afterwards,peoplearebeginningtorecognize,inthefoundationofthelanguage,thegroup’smembersthroughfacialexpressions,gestures,posture,andspeechtorelaytheinformationtoeachotherandcompletelanguageandnonverballanguagedecodingprocess.Intheearlyof20thcentury,Kreteschmer（1925>

writesPhysiqueandCharacterandVariationofHumanPhysique,aswellasEfron（1941>

writesGestureandEnvironment.Therebookarethereformationoftheresearchofbodylanguage.ThenG.L.Trager（1948>

andE.T.Hall（1948>

proposethatpeopleneedtolearnculturalcharacteristicsintheothercountriesininternationalcommunication.R.L.Birdwhistell（1952>

asthefounderofKinesics,pointsouttheconceptofKinesics,whichisthestudyofnonlinguisticbodilymovements,suchasgesturesandfacialexpressions,asasystematicmodeofcommunication.Andin1970,headvancesthetheorythathumancommunicationneedsandusesallthesenses.Theinformationconveysbyhumangesturesandmovementsiscodedandpatterneddifferentlyinvariouscultures,andthesecodescanbediscoveredbyscrutinyofparticularmovementswithinasocialcontextinKinesicsandContext.

InChina,HuWenzhong（1988>

writesCross-culturalSocialIntercourseandEnglishStudy,TheCross-culturalSocialIntercourseChoosetoRead,CultureandSocialIntercourse,whichanalyzesbodylanguageincross-culturalcommunicationandexplaintheimportanceofit.Inaddition,HuangXianjinexploresthedifferenceofnon-verbalcommunicationunderdifferentculturalbackground.AndCaoHejianresearchestheeffectofbodylanguageinthewords’meaning.

Todaythoughthemankind’slanguagesystemhasbeenhighlyflourishing,thestudyisstillgoingon.Bodylanguageisoneofthemostusefulwaysininterculturalcommunication.

2InformationaboutBodyLanguage

2.1Definition

Asakindofcommunicativetool,bodylanguagetakesacomplementaryroletohelppeopletransferinformationtoimprovecommunication,whichisanindispensablepowertobreakuplanguageobstaclesininterculturalcommunication.Bodylanguage,alsocalledKinesics,isthecomplementaryoflanguageandbelongstothescopeofnonverbalcommunication.Itcooperateswithverballanguagetoexpressinformationmoreaccurately.

2.2FunctionsofBodyLanguage

Thestudyofpsychologyshowswhentwopeopledoface–to-facecommunication,morethan50%informationofcommunicationarefinishedbymutebodylanguage.Moreover,becausebodylanguageisinternational,peoplecomingfromdifferentcountriescancommunicatebybodylanguageeveniftheycan’tspeakeachother’slanguage.Whydopeopleseethisphenomenon?

Itisbecausebodylanguageplaysanimportantroleinrepeating,complementing,regulating,contradicting.

2.2.1Repeating

Someofthenonverbalinformationcanberepeatedwithorallanguage.Movementsofheadandhandsarealwaysplayingaroleofstrengthwhentalkingtoothers.Forexample,sometimeswhenyousaythenumber“one”,youputoutoneofyourfingerstohelpyouexpressyouridea.Samovarsaid:

“Themostimportantcommunicationaltoolusedbyhumanbeingsisofcourselanguage。

however,itdoesnotmeanthatlanguageistheonlytool.Italsodependsonmanyothernonverbalbehaviors.Whenoneisspeaking,gesture,eyescontact,postureandfacialexpressionarealwaysaccompanyingvoicedlanguage.Allthemovementsincludingallnonverbalbehaviorsarebehavedasoneaimtodeepentheimpressionofmeaning”（Samovar,1981:

11>

.Ininterculturalcommunication,thisfunctionofbodylanguagehasgreathelp.Thereisasimpleexample,whenpeoplesay,“goodbye”whiletheywavetheirhands.Thisisrepeating.

2.2.2Complementing

Sometimesthevoicedlanguageswerepowerlessandthenonverbalbehaviorsembroideronthesespeechactsbyeyecontacts,facialexpressions,gestures,physicalcontacts,etc.“Thesesilentbodylanguagesgainastartbyremedythepowerlessnessandinadequacies”（Devote,2004:

78>

.Supposeyouareonaphonecall,aforeignfriendcomestovisityou.Younodyourheadorgiveagestureorcasthimaglancetoaskhimtositdownandwaitforyou.Weseesometimesinformationconveyedbynonverbalactshavenorelationwithoralwords.Butthesenonverbalactscomplementwhatyouwant.Thankstothesenonverbalbehaviors,languagebecomesmoresymbolic,emotionalandlively.

2.2.3Regulating

Aperiodofconversationcanbedescribedasaseriesoflisteningandspeaking.Theyarecoordinatedwitheachotherinsomecommunication,suchasstartingchatting,changingtopicsandgivinganendtoit.“Nonverbalbehaviorsareusuallyusedtoregulatesuchkindsofcooperation”（CoesterandSmith,1988:

69>

.Whenthereisaconversation,oneshowsanotherabouthisemotionresponseandattitudewiththehelpofnonverbalbehaviors.Regulatingisusuallyusedtokeeptalkinginaface-to-faceconversation.Itimpliesthespeakerthathecangoontalking,repeatagain,giveafurtherexplanation,speakfaster,speakmorelively,andinviteotherstogiveaspeech,etc.

2.2.4Contradicting

Comparedwithlanguagecommunicativefunctions,bodylanguageismoreauthenticandaccuratetoconveyinformationandrecordthemeaninginsomelanguageenvironment,becauselanguagessometimesareinsincereinone’swordsandnonverbalbehaviorsaretheauthenticfeelingfromone’sheart。

（HuWenzhong,1988>

.Forexample,youhavereceivedapresentfromyourfriendthatyoudonotlike.Thoughyouwillsay,“Ilikeitverymuch”happily,yourfacialexpressionwillshowyouareunhappy.Thatistosay,yourfacialexpressioncontradictedwithwhatyousaid.Tocommunicatewithforeigner,peopleshouldespeciallypayattentiontothispointthatonecan’tliewithforeigners,becausehisbodylanguagewillleakhissecret.

2.3ImportantRoleofBodyLanguageinInterculturalCommunication

Althoughlanguageisachieftooltohelppeoplecommunicate,yetbodylanguagecan’tbereplacedbyverballanguage,especiallyininterpersonalcommunication.“Nobodycankeepsecretcompletely,ifhislipkeepsilenthewilltalkbyhisfinger,everygestureofhisbodywillbetrayhim”（HuWenzhong,1988:

12>

.Hiswordsmainlyexplaintheimportantfunctionofbodylanguageduringconversation.Inaddition,afamouspsychologisthaseverproposedaformula:

emotionexpression=7%language+39%voice+83%expressionbehavior。

（CaoHejian,1997>

whichalsoillustratedtheimportantroleofbodylanguageininterpersonalcommunication.

CharlesDarwinoncesaid,“Humanwouldgraduallyobtaincommunicationcapacitythroughbodyinformation”（Darwin,1872>

.Allinall,bodylanguageisindispensableininterculturalcommunication.Greeting,introductions,farewell,visitingandetchavedifferentbodylanguageineverycountries.Ifonemerchantdoesnotknowthese,hewillsurelyfailinhisbusiness.Therefore,ifsomebodywantstosucceedininternationalbusiness,ifhewantstohaveagoodpersonalrelationshipwiththeforeignfriends,andifhewantstogooutofmistakingzone,hemustlearnandmasterbodylanguagesofdifferentcountriesbecauseitisoneofthemostusefulwaystoleadtosuccessfulcommunication.

3QuestionnaireSurvey

Thepreviouschapterhasshownsomeinformationofbodylanguage.Thischapterwillillustrateanexperimentwhichisdesignedtotestifythedifferenceofbodylanguage.Itwillincludetheresearchproblems,methodologies,suchasparticipants,testingmaterials,andtheprocedures,etc.

3.1ResearchQuestions

Basedontestingmaterialschosenfromther