The Body Language in Intercultural Communication 跨文化交际中的身体语言.docx

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1、The Body Language in Intercultural Communication跨文化交际中的身体语言AbstractAs a communicative tool, language is very important in many situations. However, body language also takes a complementary role to help people transfer information to improve communication, which will be an indispensable power to brea

2、k up language obstacles in intercultural communication. In the 21st century, as the economic and cultural exchanging of all countries becomes more and more frequent, there appear more obstacles caused by the differences of language and culture. In intercultural communication, one of the most useful

3、ways to deal with the obstacles is to master the meaning of body language. However, even if we understand the meaning of some general body language, there are also some difficulties to master. Because even the same body language have great differences in different couture background. Using body lang

4、uages wrongly not only makes you fail in interpersonal communications, which would cause conflict in international communication. So what are the differences of the same body language in different country? How to apply body language correctly? In this essay, after borrowing and studying the experien

5、ce of the forefathers, the author analyzes the various usages and functions of body language in different culture background.Key WordsBody language; intercultural communication; cultural difference摘要语言是一种交流工具，但是起辅助作用的身势语在人类交流中也起着不可忽视的作用。在跨文化交际中它帮助人们传情达意，突破语言障碍，促进交流。21世纪， 随着国际经济文化交流的加深，由于语言，文化的差异而产生的

6、障碍随时都可能存在，在跨文化交际中，消除障碍的最有效的方法就是了解身势语的含义。 然而即使我们对常用的身势语有所了解，我们仍然面临着一些困难，身势语含义千变万化，即使同一身势语在不同的文化背景都有不同的含义。错误地用身势语不仅会使我们在跨文化交际中失败，而且会造成和外国朋友之间的冲突，所以怎样正确地使用身势语，怎样理解身势语的差异都非常重要，该篇论文中作者在借鉴前人成果的基础上分析了各种身势语在不同文化背景下的用法和功能。关键词身势语；跨文化交际；文化差异；IntroductionIn modern society, most countries in the world communicat

7、e with each other frequently, at the same time, the people speaking different languages have different cultural background, way of living, faith of religion, personal values and so on, which take intervene to the communication of people coming from different country.When a Chinese meet an American f

8、riend, would the kissing each other be offensive for the Chinese? If two young friends of the same sex walk with their arms around each others shoulders would this be regarded as being proper by English-speaking people? Does nodding head mean yes and shaking means no in all cultures? Im afraid nobod

9、y can give a positive or negative answer about the above questions .because the same behavior in different culture has different meanings. Language is an important tool in intercultural communication, but not the only communicating means, when people talk with each other, there always accompany with

10、 some gestures and poses, which we call body language, which is composed of body distance, facial behavior, eyes contact and so on. So the study of body language should not only be the complementary to the study of language but also can help us go out of misunderstanding zone in intercultural commun

11、ication.The traditional culture and national spirit of every nation come out from specific culture environment, we cant copy simply. We must understand the specific meaning under their background of culture firstly, and then we can understand the meaning of body language under different culture back

12、ground. Some Information about Body LanguageWhen talking about body language, people often think about standing, sitting, and lying. In fact people can make over 1000 kinds gestures. The commonly used body languages include eye contact, physical contact, sound, facial behavior and so on. Western sch

13、olars have made a lot of definitions about it, the most vivid and specific definition is that body language is the non-verbal language which can express information that language cannot express and the actions most people can understand. Body language is the complementary of language, and it coopera

14、tes with language to express information more accurately.A. Functions of Body Language Although language is a chief tool to help people communicate, yet body language cant be replaced by verbal language, especially in interpersonal communication. The study of psychology shows when two people do face

15、to-face communication, more than 50% information of communication are finished by mute body language. Moreover, body language is international, so people coming from different countries can communicate with each other by body language even if they cant speak each others language. someone find that t

16、he time of a man on an average talking with the others each day takes up 10% of his total communicating time with others, at the same time, when people communicate with others, they always communicate by body language now and then. Sometimes people even find body language can express all information

17、. (Zhao yanping, 56)B. The Important Role of Body Language in CommunicationMr. Freud had ever said that “nobody can keep secret completely, if his lip keep silent he will talk by his finger, every gesture of his body will betray him”. (Claire Kramsch, 102). His words mainly explain the important fun

18、ction of gestures during conversation. A famous psychologist have ever advanced a formula: emotion expression = 7% language + 39%voice +83%expression behavior,(Cao Hejian,56) which also illustrated the important role of body language in interpersonal communication. Some scholars think it is not only

19、 the indispensable complement of language, but also mutually dependent on each other. Language is the component parts and carrier of culture. Studying and understanding body language is helpful to study language of foreign countries and avoid mistaking in intercultural communication.C. Necessities o

20、f Studying Body Language in Intercultural CommunicationWith the further opening to the outside world, more and more people go abroad or stay in motherland to go in for the work of intercultural communication. In intercultural communication people often feel confused and baffled because they cant imm

21、erge into the same background of culture and then result in failure in communication.This “body language” just like verbal language is also a part of culture. The specific meanings of body language originate from specific culture background. people can take advantage in conversation if only they mas

22、ter it well. In most situations, nodding ones head means agreement yes. Waving an outstretched hand with open palm is the gesture for goodbye. Leaning back in ones seat and yawning at a talk or lecture shows lack of interest, boredom. The meanings of these gestures have come to be accepted by most p

23、eople, at least by Chinese and Americans. But the same gesture or body languages have different meaning in different background of culture. Even nodding the head may have a different meaning. To Nepalese, Sri Lankan, some Indians and some Eskimos it doesnt means “yes” but “no”. So if somebody wants

24、to succeed in international business, if they want to have a good personal relationship with the foreign friends, and if they want to go out of mistaking zone, they must learn and master the practical skill of dealing with people coming from different background of culture. Because body language is

25、one of the most useful ways to salve the problems mentioned above. The Relationship between Body Language and CultureLike verbal language, body language is also a part of culture, which has great influence on the meaning of body language; the same body language also has great difference in different

26、 culture background. So before learning and studying body language people must understand the important relationship between body language and culture in intercommunication. Because both body language and culture are passed from one generation to the next generation naturally, which are common habit

27、s of specific society, formed by years.Body language and culture are inseparable, the forming of body language is decided by a certain culture background, the relationship between them is close and complicated. people can know and understand the cultural value and exclude the narrow feeling of cultu

28、ral superiority by studying the action of body language, and at the same time, they can guess peoples gesture or body language by knowing their culture. The most difficult and meaningful things of studying body language is to solve the culture conflicts. People always pay more attention and show mor

29、e sensibility to the other nations body language than to their own. The misuse of body language can take more serious conflicts than culture can take, and if the speakers speak other nations language frequently but use improper body language, which means they take more serious mistake because body l

30、anguage stand for motion expression. Samovar thinks people must keep some principles in their mind to solve the conflict between body language and culture in intercultural communication. Firstly, people cant forget there are several non-verbal behaviors acting together at the same time and use body

31、language to cooperate with verbal language during communication. Secondly, people cannot remember the meanings of all kinds of body language, but if they can correctly distinguish them and remember the meanings of some often used body language, also can help them understand easily during communicati

32、on. Thirdly, and the most important thing is to understand correctly the non-verbal behavior of their own culture. However, the culture differences take many obstacles to people during intercultural communication. If people want to use body language properly they should learn and remember a lot abou

33、t the ways about body language using in different culture. (Samovar, 45). Analysis on Some Commonly used Body Language in Intercultural CommunicationThere are many body languages with various meaning, and some of them are common in peoples daily life, but which are useful and meaningful to help us t

34、o communicate.A. Eye ContactEyes are important aspects of body language. People often compare eyes to the window of mind, and eye contact plays important part in interpersonal communication, However, There is much knowledge and question during communication about eye contact. For example, could spea

35、kers look at their partner directly when talking? How to look? How long could be looked at ? Which part could be looked at? And which part couldnt to be looked at?1. Indirect and Direct Eye ContactThere are different habits in different nations and areas. For example, when two Arabs talk with each o

36、ther, they like gazing at the partner enthusiastically and directly, in their minds, eyes are keys of two speakers existing. In American, if an orator only bend his or her head during lectures but faces the audiences as what many Chinese do, they would be thought of indifference and impoliteness to

37、audiences. Americans think the people who dont dare to communicate by eyes lack sincerity or dishonesty. Also the educated Englishman takes directly looking at the partners eyes as gentlemen; in public of French, Frenchmen think gazing at ladies as norm of culture.2. Eye Contact in Various Cultures

38、The functions of eye contact are quite rich and various. Eye contact is important way of judging the relationship between two speakers. But the cultures of different countries of eye contact have great differences. Contrary to the above example, the Middle East women believing Islamic will be very a

39、ngry if men look at their eyes, in their daily life, their faces are always covered with black veil. Chinese people are unaccustomed to being looked at directly, which is taken as an impolite action, Indians and Japanese also have such view. So there exit such embarrassing situation that when Chines

40、e people converge with English-speaking people face-to-face, during conversation English-speaking people will be unpleasant about Chinese peoples rarely eye contact, which will make them feel self-contemptuous or be looked down upon by the partner. However, Chinese people feel uncomfortable and unea

41、sy about the partners too much eye contact, because which make them suspect if they make some mistake.“The language of the eyes” also one of the most common and ancient ways of exchanging feelings between boys and girls, men and womenis especially elaborate in the United States. Many studies have be

42、en made: how people of the opposite sex show interest or indifference, encouragement or discouragement, approval or disapproval, affection or aversion. However, there are many differences even within the United States. Men use their eyes in more different ways than women; there are differences of ag

43、e, class or social status, geographical region; and ethnic background.The story is told of a teenage Puerto Rican girl in a New York high school who was taken with a number of other girls to the principal for suspected smoking. Although there was no proof of any wrongdoing and she had a good record,

44、 the principal thought she should be punished and suspended her. “There was something sly and suspicious about her,” he said in his report. “She dared not meet my eyes. She dared not look at me.” When she was questioned by the principal it was true that she kept staring at the floor and refused to m

45、eet his eyes. And in English there is a saying “Dont trust anyone who wont look at you in the eye.” It happened that one of the teachers had a Latin American background and knew about Puerto Rican culture. After talking with the girls parents, he went to the principal and explained that according to

46、 Puerto Rican culture, a good girl didnt meet the eyes of an adult. Such behavior, he explained, was a sign of respect and obedience. Fortunately, the principal accepted the explanation, admitted his mistake and the matter was settled properly. This difference in interpreting a simple eye gesture wa

47、s a lesson in cultural diversity that he would not easily forget.According to the above cases, we can know the rules about eye contact are complicated and various, the meaning of eyes contact can be very different according to countries, districts, ethnics, gender, social status, and ages. The cases

48、 mentioned above are common ones in daily life. We can learn a lot from it. But we still need practice actually.B. Body Distance Psychologists discover any person needs personal space, yet skins are not the boundary of personal space, their personal spaces are encircled by bubbles and other people c

49、ant break in at will.1. The Kind of Body Distance People always carry personal space with them no matter how far they will go, and they always have a kind of instinctive common sense of self-guard. So the speakers talking with him need to keep a distance during conversation to avoid offence. The anthropologist and socialist Doctor Hall advanced 4 kinds of definitions for it. 1. Intimate distance (0-45cm)proper for spouse and lovers; 2.personal di