體態(tài)語在跨文化交際中的意義英語專業(yè)畢業(yè)論文

1、 職業(yè)技術(shù)師大學(xué)本科生畢業(yè)論文體態(tài)語在跨文化交際中的意義差異Semantic Difference of Body Language in Cross-culture Communication27 / 34Statement of OriginalityI declare that the work presented in this thesis is to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text, and that the material has not been

2、submitted in whole or part for a degree at this or any other university._ (Signature)ContentsAbstract in English.iiAbstract in Chinese.iiiI. Introduction .1II.Functions and Characteristics of Body Language22.1 Functions of Body Language.22.2Characteristics of Body Language.3III.Types of Body Languag

3、e33.1 Distancebetween conversationalists.43.2Facial expression.53.3Eye contact.6 3.4 Physical contact.73.4.1Handshake.73.4.2 Hug and kiss.7 3.5 Gesture.7IV.The Relationship between Body Language and Culture .8 4.1 Cultural influence on body language.8 4.2Comparison ofChinese Culture and American Cul

4、ture104.2.1The core factors ofChinese culture.104.2.2The core factors of American culture.11 4.3 Comparison of body language inChinese and American Culture.114.3.1 Posture.124.3.2 Gesture.124.3.3 Touch.134.3.4 Eye contact.144.3.5Facial expression.15V. Conclusion.16Notes.18Bibliography.19Acknowledgme

5、nts.20AbstractThe fast development of science,technology and economy brings about more international contact and exchanges.The communication between people from different cultures and countries is also increasing, not only of language communication but also of nonverbal communication. People often e

6、xpress the thoughts with body language for more sooth communication. Body language is strongly connected with the culture and it plays a very important role in nonverbal communication. In intercultural communication, the same body language may mean different things.Under the different cultural backg

7、rounds, the significance of the body language is not the same. In order to avoid misunderstandings in cross-cultural communication, we should know the body language of eachculture.Thispaperdeals with exploring the similarities and differences of body language from different cultures,especially throu

8、gh comparing of Chinese body language and American body language, from which we can know the cultural differences better and avoid misunderstanding and embarrassment in cross-culture communication.Keywords:nonverbalcommunication；body language；cross-culture communication摘 要隨著科學(xué)技術(shù)和經(jīng)濟(jì)的快速發(fā)展，人們有了越來越多的機(jī)會(huì)能

9、和來自不同背景的人溝通和交流。這種跨文化跨區(qū)域的交流日益頻繁。我們彼此之間不僅可以通過語言也可以通過非語言進(jìn)行溝通。借助肢體語言，人們能夠在流暢的交談中更好的表達(dá)思想。肢體語言作為一種文化紐帶是非語言交際的重要組成部分。在跨文化交際中，同樣的身體語言所表達(dá)的意義也可能大相徑庭。不同的文化背景下，身體語言的意思也存在差異。為了避免在跨文化交際中的誤解，我們應(yīng)該對不同文化中的肢體語言有所了解。本文通過比較研究中國和美國的身勢語差異來闡述肢體語言在跨文化交際中的重要性。如果我們知道這些文化差異，才能與時(shí)避免這些不必要的尷尬。 關(guān)鍵詞：非言語交際；肢體語言；跨文化交際I. IntroductionWi

10、th the quick development on science, technology and economy，there are more and more chances for people from different cultural backgrounds to contact each other. For the reason that the world is becoming smaller and smaller, it has been called global village. It is obvious that people from various c

11、ountries and cultures communicate with each other more frequently. People communicate through a variety of channels. Interpersonal communication can be carried out not only through verbal communication but also through nonverbal communication, for example, body language. However,in our daily life, n

12、onverbal communication is used quite frequently. In modern society, people have to communicate with each other very frequently, at the same time, in different cultural backgrounds, the living style,religions, and that such of personal values can play part to the change of communication of people. In

13、 order to have a successful cross-cultural communication, both the verbal speech as well as nonverbal communication is needed for us to understand the meanings of people to a high degree.In a strict sense, body language is not one of the verbal languages. In fact, it is a broad term for communicatio

14、n using body movements, gestures, facial expressions and eye contacts in comparison with sounds, verbal language, and other forms of communication. Some scholars regard body language as an equivalent to nonverbal communication. Different people have their own ways to communicate according to culture

15、 and society diversity. Therefore, the meaning of the same body language can be very different without taking cultural elements into consideration. When in cross-culture communication, understanding the body language can help us obtain more correct information.II. Functions and Characteristics of Bo

16、dy Language2.1 Functions of Body LanguageAccording to scientific research, Scientists now believe that body language is more frequently and often more accurately used than words. Often it is believed that around 65% of all communication happens using body language without words. Our expression,eyes,

17、 tone of voice, facial expression and other body movements often convey our real meaning,no matter what words the person says. At the same time, we may misread the story that is told by someone from another culture, even if we understand the words. Body language is a more natural part of communicati

18、on without the use of words, which helps verbal communication more efficiently. “Body language has three major functions: assisting, substituting and expressing or hiding emotional feelings.”1During the communication, people act by using the body language of nodding, eye contacting, waving, and so o

19、n. According to the statistics of psychologists, these ways can strengthen and also complement the usage of the verbal language.Body language expresses emotions, feelings, and attitudes, often even contradicting the messages conveyed by the spokenEnglish language or the words used. 2.2 Characteristi

20、cs of Body LanguageBody language assists verbal languageto strengthen the communicative effect of language. The study of psychology shows that in the face to face communication, the most information or point of direct speech is often finished by mute body language. This indicates that the body langu

21、age plays a very important role in a communication, although it is only supportive.In reality, the body language is often used by people in their daily life. We often use some simplest gestures to express ourselves instead of using words. For example, waving hands with open palm often stand for good

22、bye.The body language is incidental, instinctive and helpful. In the complex social life, language is often disguised. Body language is a way to reflect peoples changes of their inner feelings and emotions. In different culture backgrounds, body language is often endowed with different meanings. For

23、 instance, Chinese people make a praise with a thumbs-up, contempt with the little finger. But Japanese use a thumbs-up to mean “father” and the little finger “l(fā)over” and at the same time a thumbs-up in the UK is a way to ask for a ride. III.Types of Body LanguageAlthough body language is most often

24、 instinctive and incidental, its meaning is indicated by a whole range of actions, including distance between conversationalists, facial expression, eye contact, physical contact, gesture and so on.3.1 Distance between conversationalistsPhysic distance is an important factor when people go on a comm

25、unication. It can tell us the relationship and psychology of the communicators, and it can reflect their different cultural characteristics.It is found by psychologists that people need their own personal space, and the acceptable distance is diverse because of the differences in cultural background

26、s, personal characteristics and environments. When people from different countries or regions with different languages talk with each other, they usually have a sense of keeping a distance and not getting close to invade the personal space of the other . There are four kinds of keeping the distance

27、in American and European countries. They are social personal distance, intimate distance, public distance and social distance, which are used in different situations. Personal distance is about 45 to 120 centimeters and is suitable for friends, acquaintances and relatives. Intimate distance is about

28、 0 to 45 centimeters and used for the most private relations such as lovers. Public distance is farther than any of the above and is about 360 to 750 centimeters, generally for informal get-together. Social distance is about 120 to 360 centimeters, which is common in the working fieldand it is also

29、kept during the conversation at social gathering.From the examples above we can see that the distances are kept because of different personal relations and cultures.In English-speaking countries, people do not like to be close to each other during the communication, and they prefer to keep a certain

30、 distance. On the contrary, the Arabians and Spanish would like to stand close to the person whom theyare talking to.“Western culture focuses on the individual intimacy, but eastern culture does not pay much attention to it .”2It is important to keep in mind that most Englishspeaking people like to

31、keep some distance. Being too far apart, of course, may also make people feel or act awkward, but being too close makes people uncomfortable and may invade the space of the other, this is calledpersonal space. We need to know the information well so that we can keep a proper distance when talking wi

32、th others. It really means a lot in our daily and everyday communication to people. 3.2 Facial expressionFacial expression is the most common and also most direct way to express peoples emotions or feelings. We unceasingly read expressions from peoples facial cues, which is one of the most intrinsic

33、 sources of nonverbal communication. Different facial expressions such as smiles, yawns, frowns and winking can have extremely different consequences.Peoples mood and attitude can be distinguished easily by facial expressions. Facial expressions are also different according to the different cultures

34、. Reasonably, Chinese people welcome their friends with a big smile.On the contrary, native Americanswill burst into tears in the same situation. Facial expression is a common but very useful body language, and one should understand better how to apply it properly to achieve effective communication

35、with others.Facial expressions are innate and universal. Therefore,the expressions for happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, anger, and surprise (the six basic emotions) are recognized by most culture groups as the same meaning.However, some variations may also exist. Some facial expressions and their

36、types of interpretations may vary from one culture to another culture.3.3 Eye contactIt is well-known that eyes are the windows of the soul. In the other word, peoples minds could be read through their eyes. Keeping a certain eye contact with others during a communication is very important. We can f

37、eel the emotion from peoples eyes, because eyes are the most effective way to show ones real wish in mind, such as guilt, excitement, fear, indifference and so on. The changes of ones mood, attitudeand emotioncan be detected from ones eyes. Eye language can express complicated feelings and it is an

38、important way to judge and also respond to the intimacy of communicators. Theeye contact plays a very big role in our communication, and it can not be ignored.3.4 Physical contact3.4.1 HandshakeNowadays, in most countries, handshake has become a common friendly ceremony, but the form of it is differ

39、ent. French shake their hands twice when they visit friends as well as kiss the face four times. The first time they have handshake with friends iswhen they just enter the room, and the second time is when they are leaving. InAmerica, the handshake between men is powerful. 3.4.2 Hug and kissDifferen

40、t cultural backgrounds have great influences on the greetings and etiquettes of different people. In most western countries, it is common for two persons to hug and kiss when they meet each other. However, in Asia, handshake is the main way to greet each other. They rarely hug and kiss each other.3.

41、5 GestureGesture is the movement and manners of hands and fingers in communication and expressing out feelings. In daily life, all people make gestures, but many gestures have more distinct regional and cultural features, therefore, we can not assume that everyone in the world can understand one ges

42、ture in the same way or many can understand in a different way.If somebody likes using the thumb to express number, he or she should mind the overall meaning conveyed by his or her gesture. People often think showing the forefingerto convey the meaning of number one,but in Germany raising big thumb

43、means one, forefinger means two.So if someone wants to drink one glass of beer in Germany, dont forget the local custom of the finger and avoid making a fool.It is clear to see the same gesturesincluding different meanings in different cultures, and the natives from different cultures will express t

44、he same meanings by different gestures. IV. The Relationship between Body Language and CultureEvery culture has its own types of body language, A Frenchman talks and moves in a French way and the way an Englishman crosses his legs and conveys professionality has nothing in common with the way an Ame

45、rican does. 4.1 Cultural influence on body languageCulture has a big influence on body language, which is a big part of body language. Body language communication gets a strong connection with the culture. That is why people in different countries communicate in different ways from each other.The bo

46、dy language and culture have a very delicateandsubtle relationship. The cultural characteristics of people are reflected by the body language they convey.By analyzing the body language, peoplealso can know the cultures. Different countries have different histories, cultures and customs, which are al

47、l reflected by the body language. For example,Japanese greet by bowing, Arabs by kissing on both cheeks and Chinesepeople by shaking hands to show “their greeting”.The interesting thing is that in China, people shake hands with both hands in orderto show their respect, while in the culture of Muslim

48、s, the left hand is thought to be unclean and people do notuse it for food. In Thailand, if you want to guide a person to come by, you should move the fingers back and forth with palm facing down. However, in the United States,you can ask someone to come to you by holding the palm up and moving the

49、fingers towards the body saying come here. Crossing ones legs is a sign of being relaxedin the United States. But at the same time in Korea, its not allowed.Because of the influences based on special cultural traits in some countries, some body languages should attract ones attention. In China, kiss

50、ing and hugging with each other is not normal, except with ones lover. Even close female friends will hold hands for a short period of time or pound softly on the other shoulder. For Arabs, when they are having a talk, it is a good manner to stand close to his friend. But for English-speakers,they a

51、lways keep a distance because they dont like tobe close to another.Every culture in the world owns its special body language.These different kinds of body language are useful and helpful, especially people who have different cultural backgrounds communicate with each other.Sometimes we cannot make u

52、s understood or we cannot understand the others, at that time,we can make it easier by using some gestures. As we all know that shaking hands always means “greetings”. Sometimes, we can express ourselves by these universal gestures instead of the words. Like coin has two sides, However, sometimes th

53、e body languagemayalso result in some misunderstanding and dilemmas unexpectedly because of culture diversity. Different culture has its different way to send and understand message.Nodding ones head is generally used to show agreement “yes”, but to Nepalese, and people in some Indian countries, it

54、means “no”.4.2 Comparison of Chinese Culture and American Culture4.2.1 The core factors of American cultureThe USA has a short history of only about over200 years. For Americans, being casual is fairly common, which can be observed from peoples dress and entertainments. It is a fashion for most Amer

55、icans to wear casual clothes. They like to wear jeans and jackets at home, workplaces, schools, even in offices. Besides, the interaction between people is also informal, even when the two sides are quite different in age or status. In addition, equality and individualism have long been part of Amer

56、ican dream and Americans highlight the value of individualism and personal efforts very much. When the children are young, parents encourage their kids to be independent, sleeping alone in their own bedroom at night, making their own decisions about their life and what to do and so on. When the children are 18 years old, they will leave home and support themselves.4.2.2 The core factors of Chinese cultureChina is an old