A Brief Discussion on Body Language 浅谈身体语言.docx

A Brief Discussion on Body Language 浅谈身体语言.docx

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ABriefDiscussiononBodyLanguage浅谈身体语言

ABriefDiscussiononBodyLanguage

[Abstract]Bodylanguageisanimportantpartofnonverbalcommunicationanditisconnectedwithculture.Inordertomakesuccessfulexchangeincross-culturalcommunication,weshouldknowthebodylanguagefromdifferentcultures.Andweshouldrealizethatbodylanguage,likeverbalcommunicationandculture,alsohasmanysimilaritiesallovertheworld.However,bodylanguagefromdifferentcultureshasmanydifferencesbecauseofdifferentregions,racesandculturalcustoms.Anditisrestrictedbyitscultureandhasdifferentculturalconnotations.Thatistosay,thesamebodylanguagehasdifferentmeaningsindifferentculturesandhasdifferentsocialfunctions.Thisarticledevotestoacomparisonandcontrastofbodylanguageindifferentculturesintermsofeyelanguage,gestures,postures,facialexpressionsandtouch.Itaimstoillustratethedifferencesandsimilaritiesofbodylanguageandputforwardtheprinciplesofreducingbarriersincommunicationsoastoachieveefficientcommunicationandtoavoidmisunderstanding.

[KeyWords]NonverbalCommunication;BodyLanguage;CulturalDifferencesandSimilarities;Principles

1.Introduction

Peoplecancommunicatewitheachotherthroughnotonlyverbalcommunicationbutalsononverbalcommunication.Moreover,thelatterplaysanessentialroleinhumancommunication.Nonverbalcommunicationisconnectedwithculturesanditistheresultofcultures.Butmanypeoplepaygreatattentiontotheacceptanceandcorrectnessoftheverbalcommunicationandoverlooktheinfluenceandculturaldifferenceofnonverbalcommunication.Thenthemisunderstandingandculturalcrashoftenoccurinthecross-culturalcommunication.Sointheprocessofcommunication,itisnotacompletecommunicationwhileignoringtheculturaldifferencesofnonverbalcommunication.AfamousanthropologistE.T.Hallpointedout“Silentlanguageexpressesmoreinformationthanverballanguage.Becauseitcontainsmuchinformation.”Accordingtosomeresearchersabroad,inpeople’sdailylife,nonverbalcommunicationtakespartover65%inallofinformationexchange.Andbodylanguageisanimportantpartofnonverbalcommunication.Manyexpertshaveshowntheimportanceofbodylanguageinthecross-culturalcommunication.“Apsychologistproposedaformula:

thetotalimpactofmessage=7%verbal+38%vocal+55%facialexpressionsandbehavior.”[1]p89Itisclearwithoutbodylanguagewecan’tfinishourinformationalexchange.Bodylanguage,likeverballanguagecanexpressemotions,exchangeideasanddeliverinformation.Sowemustknowtheculturaldifferencesofbodylanguagetoachieveefficientcommunication.

2.DefinitionandFunctionsofNonverbalCommunication

2.1DefinitionofNonverbalCommunication

“Nonverbalcommunicationisaprocessinwhichcommunicatorsusethenaturalfeaturesoftheirbodiestodeliverinformationandexpressspecificmeaninginstinctivelytotheothercommunicator.”[2]p90Thestudyofnonverbalcommunicationcoversthreemajorparts:

Proxernics,KinesicsorBodyLanguage,andParalanguage.Proxernicsrefersthatpeoplekeepcertainspacewitheachotherwhentheycommunicateandthemeaningitsuggests.Forexample,ArabiansliketokeepclosewhileEnglishmenliketokeepacertaindistance.Itisfunnytoseetheyareinconversation.ArabianswillcomecloserandcloserbutEnglishmenwillwithdrawfurtherandfurther.Whentheyfinishtheconversation,theyarefarawayfromtheplacetheystood.Kinesicsisalsocalledbodylanguage,whichstudiesthemeaningsofthemovementofallpartsofbodyanditincludesmanynonverbalbehaviorsuchaseyelanguage,gestures,postures,facialexpressions,touchandsoon.Wewilldiscussitindetailslater.Paralanguagereferstoallkindsofsoundsignalsmadebymouth,whichcanexpresscertainemotionsandideas.Paralanguageisnotthephrasesandsentenceswithclearmeanings.Itistotransforminformationbysound,suchas“Ouch”.Besidesthis,thepitchoftoneandloudnessorquietnessofvoicealsobelongstoparalanguage.Andsomeresearchersbelievethatclothingbelongstoparalanguage,too.

2.2FunctionsofNonverbalCommunication

Nonverbalcommunication,likeverbalcommunicationisalsoapartofcultureandthecarrierofacertainculture.Thefunctionofnonverbalcommunicationinthewholecommunicationcan’tbeoverlooked.“Inthedailycommunication,wecanseepeoplecan’tcommunicateefficientlybyverballanguagealone.Andnonverbalcommunicationwillexpressclearmeaningsinacertaincontext.Andacertainnonverbalcommunicationshouldbeconnectedwithverbalcommunicationortheothernonverbalcommunicationtoprovidecorrectinformation.”[3]p37Soincommunicativeactivities,nonverbalcommunicationalsoplaysagreatrole.Ofcourse,weshouldpaycloseattentiontothefunctionsofnonverbalcommunication.“Inanycase,whenverbalcommunicationconflictswithnonverbalcommunication,peoplearewillingtoaccepttheinformationnonverbalcommunicationdelivers.Becausenonverbalcommunicationsoundsmorenatural,moreinstinctiveanditishardtopretend.”[4]同[1]p90Obviously,weshouldmakefulluseofnonverbalcommunicationtoachieveefficientcommunication.Now,wewilldiscussthefunctionsofnonverbalcommunication.

Repetition.Forexample,whenwetellpeoplehowtogettothenearesthospital,wearenotonlytellingthemthedirectionbutalsopointingtothedirectionwithhands.Supplement.Forinstance,wegreetpeoplewithasmile.Smilefunctionsasasupplementtothepleasureofmeetingpeople.Replacement.Whenwecommunicatewithothers,wewillfrowninsteadofaskingdirectlytohintthatwedon’tunderstandandexpectrepetitionorexplanation.Emphasis.Whenwearetalkingormakingaspeech,weoftenraiseourvoicetostressthecontent.Andsometimes,wesay,“Itismyfault”whilehungdownourheads.Wesmileandsay,“Welcome”.Weshoutouttothepeoplewhilewavingourfists.Allthenonverbalcommunicationhereemphasizeswhatwesay.Adjustment.Weoftensuggestthatourtalkisoverbyourtone,eyes,headnoddingandothernonverbalcommunicativebehaviors.Forexample,themanagerstandsuptoshowtheendoftheinterview.

3.ClassificationofBodyLanguage

Wehavediscussedtheimportanceofnonverbalcommunication.Andwealsoknowbodylanguagereflectsacertainculturalbackground.Ontheonehand,inacertaintradition,bodylanguageisdeterminedbyitscustomsandtraditions.Violatingthemwillcausecommunicativedisconnectionandmisunderstanding.Ontheotherhand,themeaningsofbodylanguageinacertainculturearedevelopingandchanging.Withthedevelopmentoftechnology,trafficandcontactallovertheworld,themeaningsofbodylanguagearerenewingeveryday.Inthisessay,weintendtomakeacomparisonandcontrastofthesimilaritiesanddifferencesonbodylanguageinordertoavoidmisunderstandingandmakeefficientcommunication.

Ingeneralsense,thestudyofbodylanguagebeganin1950s.Andduring1970s,thestudyofbodylanguageenteredafullydevelopingperiod.Fromthelateof1970stotheearlyperiodof1980s,bodylanguagecontainedmorecontents,andhadagreatinfluenceontheotherfields.AndDoctorR.L.BirdWhitellistherepresentiveofstudyofbodylanguage.Hisresearchindicated:

eyebrowscouldchangefor23positionsandpeoplecouldmake250,000differentfacialexpressions.“AndpsychologistDavidAberconbiealsopointedout:

‘wespeakwithverbalorgansbutwetalkwithourbody.’”[5]p34Bodylanguagecontainseyelanguage,gestures,postures,facialexpressions,mannersandbehaviorsandtouchandsoon.Asthemostimportantpartofnonverbalcommunication,bodylanguage,likeverballanguage,hasnotableculturalfeatures.Somepartsofbodylanguageareinnate,someareacquiredandothersareconscious.Forexample,

（1）Ababycancrywhenitisborn.Itcansuckitsfingerswhenitishungry.Whenweareexcited,ourpupilswillenlargedistinctively.Oureyebrowswillmoverapidlywhenwegreet.Andwewillfrownwhenweareunsatisfied.Weareyawningwhenwefeelsleepy.

Andacquiredbodylanguageisgreatlyaffectedbysocialenvironmentandacceptedthroughcommonpractice.Itoftenbecomesadistinctiveculture.Everycountry,everynation,andeveneveryregionhasitsownhistoricalandculturalbackground.Sothebodylanguagepeopleuseisquitedifferent.Forexample,

（2）Americansliketoshrugwhentheyhavenoideaaboutsomething.ButChinesedon’tdothesamething.Stretchingoutone’stonguemeanscontemptinAmerica,butinChinaitmeanssurpriseandrespectforguestsinTibet.

Wecancontrolsomebodylanguageandwecandosomeposturesconsciously.Forexample,

（3）Ifapublicspeakerisfiddlingwithapencilorwithhisglassesallthetimewhileheistalking,heistellingquiteclearlythatheisnervous.Butsomeexperiencedspeechmakerwillpretendwellandshowconfidence.

4.CulturalDifferencesofBodyLanguage

Differentbelievesarethecausesofthedifferencesofbodylanguage.AccordingtothetheoriesproposedbyAmericananthologistsBarnetttPearce,VerrionCronent,people’sbehavior,thewayofthinkingandsoonareaffectedbytheirbelieves.Andeveryculturehasitsdistinctivebeliefsystem.Anormalactioninthisculturewillbeabnormalinanotherone.Apositivebehaviorinoneculturewillbenegativeinanother.Peoplefromeasternworldadvocatemodesty,tolerance,mutual-supportandresponsibilityforthegroup.Butwesternpeopleadmireindependence,self-respect,freedevelopment,andrequiringindividualspaceandsoon.Next,wewillgotothedifferencesofbodylanguagefromfiveparts.