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摘 要

体态语是人类交际中一种非语言交际手段。在特殊情况下, 它比有声语言和文字语言更富有表现力。因为文化的差异，相同的动作也有着不同含义。所以在人们的日常交际中还存在着另外一种重要的交际手段--非语言交际。非语言交际主要包括体态语、服饰文化和体距等。其中最为重要作用最为明显的一项就是体态语。体态语是一种用肢体动作来表达情感、交流信息和说明意向的沟通手段。包括姿态、手势和其他非语言手段。与言语交际不同，非语言交际可以随着使用者的不同而产生变化。本文在探讨中西方文化异同的基础上，深入研究体态语在日常生活中的重要性和对跨文化交际的影响。

关键词：体态语；文化差异；相同; 根源；

Contents

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………….1

2. Literature Review…………………………………………………………1

2.1 Researches on Body Language……………………………………………2

2.2 Researches on Culture………………….……………………….….3

3. Concept and Functions of Body Language.. …………….…………….….3

3.1 Concept of Body Language……………………………………………3

3.2 Functions of Body Language .............……………………………………5

1. Cultural Similarities and Differences of Body Language between China and Western Countries ……………………………………..…….…..........9

4.1 Similarities of Body Language between China and Western Countries….. ..9

4.2 Differences of Body Language between China and Western Countries….... 9

1. Causes for the Differences of Body Language between China and Western Countries ………………………………………………….………...11

5.1 Culture……………………………………………………………………...11

5.2 Religion Impact………………………………………………………….....12

5.3 History Influence………………………………………………………...12

6. Conclusion………………………………………………………………….13

Works Cited………………………………………………………………….15

1. Introduction

There are almost no more than three languages in people’s communication: spoken language, written language and body language. Somehow, people who are speaking different languages, from different places or with different cultural backgrounds, may communicate with each other effectively by using body language. However, such use of body language may seem like some born ability. In other words, it is something they do not have to learn, for example, laughing when they are happy and crying when they are sad, as well as the spontaneous action that people learn without even clear awareness of their actions, such as crossing arms before chest, crossing legs and so on. But most body language is acquired, which is deeply influenced by history and tradition of one’s country, nation or region. If we do not know about the cultural differences, we may make misunderstandings. A well-known situation is concerning Nikita Khrushchev, the unqualified officer of the U.S.S.R. in the late 1950s and early 1960s. At the period of his trip to America, he caused considerable amount of argument by a quantity of his opinions and many of his actions. One of his arguable behaviors was lifting his closed hands in a kind of handshaking over his brain, which means a regard and a symbol of friendliness; however, it did not work out well with a lot of people who met him privately or through watching TV. The posture was very common in America—the symbol of success after a boxer has defeated his enemies. Khrushchev had expressed former assertion on the defeating of American capitalism, and a lot Americans viewed his as a self-aggrandizing posture which means that he had already succeeded. A lot of people, definitely, were affronted (Deng Yanchang amp; Liu Runqing, 2007:135-136). Due to the fast advancement of the world, cross-cultural exchange has become more and more frequent. And as China attended WTO, the communication between China and western countries is more and more constant. It is important for us to know about the cultural differences of body language. This thesis will mainly analyze the cultural similarities and differences of body language between china and western countries, aiming at avoiding misunderstanding in cross-culture communication.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Researches on Body Language

Sine Aristotle, the famous philosopher, first made an analysis on expressions and actions of human beings; body language has developed into an independent subject concerning several fields, such as biology, sociology, communicative science and so on.

From the 1950’s, many works on body language came out. In 1959, in the United States, Edward T. Hall’s book The Silent Language came off the press, which explored the importance of cultural factors and is regarded as the milestone in the decade (Hall, 1959). And in 1973, Julius Fast explained the meaning of some nonverbal behaviors in his book Body Language( Fast, 1973). Scholars of China have also made a great contribution to the study on body language and they can be roughly divided into three categories, namely, the theoretical study of body language, the analysis of body language in terms of cross-cultural angle as well as the application of body language to practical use such as classroom teaching and public speech. The two outstanding books are Introduction to Body language in 1988 by Geng Erling and Intercultural Communication by Jia Yuxin in 1997. Bi Jiwan published his Intercultural Nonverbal communication in 1999, and Hu Wenzhong edited and translated a series of books on intercultural communication, such as Introduction to Intercultural Communication and so on（Hu Wenzhong 1999）. Some recent study on body language includes A Brief Study of Language in Effective Communication by Hu Mengrong(2008) and An Analysis of Body Language by Li Qidong（2002）.

All the studies above prove that study on body language has been very comprehensive and propounding. There is still, however, areas slipping the attention of researchers attention, like the proper use of body language in cross-culture communication.

2.2 Researches on Culture

It is difficult to find even a single definition of culture on which scholars may have agreements since culture is in fact a rather huge and evasive notion which is rather hard to define. The anthropologists define it as: common knowledge, perceptions and values that constitute the foundation of social, economical and religious institutions in a society. It is reported that there have already been more than one hundred and fifty definitions of culture, but none of them is likely to be capable to reveal us all on culture^.

But, to put it in a simple way, “culture” indicates a team or a community with which we have similar experiences that produce the methods we perceive the world. Most professionals view culture as being the sum total of beliefs, rules, techniques, institutions, and artefacts that characterize human beings^. In other words, culture consists of socially created and learned patterns of behaviour shared by members of a given society—a unique lifestyle of a particular group of people.

From the above, we know that culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes one group or category of people from another^. Since China is a developing country while America is a developed country, they have their unique styles in the traditions of culture and customs. They are different in many aspects of their life and production which produce a big influence on their body language. When coming to the definition of culture, we should take the cultural backgrounds of two countries’ history, customs and literature into consideration; meanwhile, we also should take the cultural factors into consideration when we are taking part in cross-cultural communication. By acquiring the basic theoretical conceptions of body language and culture, we will go further for the study on the meanings of body gestures under different cultural backgrounds in China and western countries in the next part.

3. Concept and Functions of Body Language

3.1 Concept of Body Language

The body language is a set of imagic symbol sent by body, which can express one’s feeling and meaning, and it contains eye language, gestures, postures, facial expressions, manners and behaviors and touch and so on, which also is one of human’s important communication means (Zhou Guoguang ,1997: 1).

According to some foreign researcher’s views, in people’s daily life, nonverbal communication accounts for more than 65% in all of information exchange. And in nonverbal communication, the body language is an important part. A smile and an outstretched hand show welcome to everybody and everything. A frown is a indication of unhappiness. Nodding someone’s head indicates acknowledgement—“Yes”. Wield an extended hand with open hands is the behavior of “goodbye”, it means that bid farewell to somebody. Sitting back in someone’s position and oscitancy at a speech or lesson means lack of interest, vapidness. At least to Chinese and Americans, they are generally accepting as having the meanings mentioned, and these gestures are part of the way in which we communicate. This “body language”, as our verbal language as, is also a part of our culture (Deng Yanchang amp; Liu Runqing, 2007: 127-128).

Our postures tell lot information on the way we regard ourselves. A speech deliver announces self-assurance with stands erect and appears confident, but there have many speakers who slump and shamble will be likely to suggest, “I’m not rather confident of myself.” We also adopt body gesture and action to communicate moods. Such as somebody who is going fast with a determined facial motion seems more resolute than somebody who strolls together with an unfocused look. We sit stiffly while we feel anxious and use a eased gesture while we sense no formality. The interests are showed by audiences by their alert body postures.

Body postures and gestures could tell if we are willing to exchange. Delivers who keep backwards podiums and see references usually are regarded as less open than delivers who exchange more vigorously with spectators. Somebody who sits with arms crossed and looks at the ground is likely to suggest, “Don’t disturb me.” That’s also a common method students at some time adopt to keep tutors from asking them questions in class. To indicate that we are willing to communicate, we watch at other people and at some time laugh to them.

We also express with gestures how we feel about others and situations. We say “okay” with one hand gesture and adopt a distinct gesture to express contempt. In 1968 Olympics which is held in Mexico, which were held at the height of the civil rights movement, two American track medal winners, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, lifted black-gloved fists on the success stage, a posture of Black unity. This action enraged the International Olympic Committee, which browbeaten to kick out the whole American group unless Smith and Carlos got punished. They were abeyant from the American group and given 48 hours to keep away from the Olympic position.

Our faces are complicated informers. The face is quite capable to tell more than numerous different emotions that produced by differences in lean of head and motions of eyebrows, eyes, and mouth. Our eyes could hit sticker of rag, deal with threats, tell skeptical sense, or express love. The face is especially good at transfer fondness and reactivity. A lot of delivers laugh that may tell they are active and friendly.

How close we place ourselves to other people can tell our sense toward them. Work groups, friends and companies are usually getting together, and maintain distance with competitors typically. Dissatisfied couples use few smiles and eye gazes to keep their distance and exchange. Smiles and warm gazes indicate that we are fond of other people and are willing to be around them. Americans usually put legs crossed while they are sitting, but this is rather insulting based on cultural principles in Ghana and Turkey.

Poets consider the eyes as the “mirrors of the spirit”. Our eyes transfer significant and complicated information on how we sense, and we often evaluate their feelings, honesty, hobbies, and self-certainty through look at others’ eyes. This gives reasons for why frequent eye contact to audiences will improve the reliability of public delivers in Western nations. It can also account for why consumers give more tips to workers who keep eye contact when serving them. But eye contact is not always seen as positive. In Hasidic Jews tradition, for instance, men are required not to watch into females’ eyes.

3.2 Functions of Body Language

Body language is also a part of culture and the carrier of a certain culture. The function of body language in the whole communication cannot be overlooked. In daily communication, we can see people can communicate efficiently by verbal language. While body languages can express clear meanings in a certain context, some body languages should be used together with verbal communication to provide correct information. In some cases, body languages can do the job even better than verbal communication when information given in a verbal communication conflicts with that provided by body languages, because people are willing to accept the information body language delivers, in that body languages seems to be more natural, more instinctive and scarcely lie. Obviously, we should take full advantage of body language to achieve efficient communication. Generally speaking, body language has the following functions.

First, body language helps us to judge our communicators’ identity. Based on body languages, we can deduce about another’s intelligence, gender, age, tastes, values, socioeconomic status, cultural background, personality, occupation, and even preferences and attitudes. There are some studies that consider the relationship between clothing and an observer’s perception of that person. It has been proven that clothing can affect other’s impressions of the wearer’s status and personality traits. Decent excellent-quality clothes are often connected with good tastes and high socioeconomic status while indecent shabby ones usually leave on the observer the impression that the wearer is slothful, has bad tastes and in low socioeconomic status. Low-cut gowns are not the choice of shy women; bright colors are avoided by reticent people.

Second, body language sends messages about the nature of the relationship between participants. By looking into two people involved in talking, we can tell whether they are socially close or distant. For those who are on intimate terms, they are more likely to use body movements and facial expressions to convey their meanings. They are go in for more touching and eye contact. Their voices are more variable. Status and power differences can be indicated through body cues. Such as when your boss is speaking, you will refrain from interrupting him or her. In contrast, your boss is more likely to interrupt you when you are talking. It’s all right for your boss to pat you on the back for a job well done, but it’s improper for you to pat back.

Third, the body language are used, because we should express our emotional states and read the emotional states of others. Our emotions are reflected in our posture, face and eyes, so we can express them without even uttering a word. By observing other’s body behavior, we can make judgments about their feelings. A clenched fist and a grim expression tell us that this person is unhappy, while a smile and a fast, high-pitched voice is often linked to happiness and excitement.

Forth, when we interact with other people, we often try to influence or persuade them. Nonverbal messages can be used to enhance our persuasive abilities by exhibiting expertise, power or similarities. If a person or an audience perceives you to be knowledgeable, or an expert in an area, there is a strong possibility that they are be persuaded by you. Such perception can be created by proper use of body language. For instance, dressing to fit the part is essential to make the impression of being an expert, of which advertisements make fullest use. To promote a new medicine, the spokespersons in the advertisement often dress in lab coats to give them the look of scientific vigor. It is much easier for people who are powerful or who have authority to persuade us. Proper use of body language can help people take on the air of being powerful or authoritative. Uniforms, such as police uniforms, serve as a display of power and authority. Finally, we are sometimes persuaded by people we perceive to be similar to us. In the political election, in order to win more support, the candidates change their appearance to match the environment in which they campaign. In a factory, the candidate will have rolled-up sleeves. In an agricultural area, you’ll see plaid shirts and open collars. At the bankers’ convention, the candidate’s conservative suit will match all the other conservative suits in the room.

Fifth, in human interactions, especially in face-to –face communications, we scarcely use verbal language or nonverbal language alone. Actually, we often combine them to accomplish our communicative goals. The two work hand in hand, and influence each other. Nonverbal cues work in conjunction with the words that we utter in the following ways: to repeat, to supply, to replace, to emphasize, and to adjust. Each of these functions helps interaction and understanding more effectively.

Sixth, body language can repeat language information already given by verbal language. When we say, “stop”, meanwhile we also make gesture that means the same. Or when we say, “The station is in front”, we will point to the direction with our finger; when we ask for two glasses of drinks, we will put out two fingers to repeat the information we’ve already sent. In making a pubic presentation, a speaker might hold up one, two, and three fingers to signal to listeners that he or she is moving from the first to the second and the third point of a speech. On such occasions, body language and verbal language play equal important roles, mutually repeating and reinforcing the content expressed.

Seventh, some body languages are in line with the information going with, repeating, strengthening or clarifying the language information. Sometimes body language can add another meaning to the discourse. Such as when we say, “Thank you very much”, we make corresponding facial expressions or gestures. When you see a friend, you might say “I’m glad to see you” and underline the verbal message with a smile. Here, body language is a complement to the discourse and will make this appreciation more sincere.

Eighth, when we want to replace language of movement, the replacing function of body language will be in effect. Such as when the classroom is noisy, we will erect index finger before the lips with a serious facial expression to say, “Quiet, please!” Another example, you might roll your eyes to indicate that you disapprove of something. Such movements can replace verbal language, but they can express the same meaning as verbal language does.

Last, body language also can emphasize certain parts of language information. Usually, the discourse will be accompanied with appropriate gestures, eyes, facial expressions to enhance the mood and emphasize the content. Thus, the information of the discourse will be delivered vividly, well and truly.

In some cases, body language may give away you real feeling. For instance, someone has said that he is not tense, but he kept his hand trembling and had strange facial expressions. This time body language conveys contrary information of verbal language. When we discuss an issue and we suggest different opinions with others, though we have said that we agreed, our facial expressions will show the denial of their content. In this conflict, people tend to accept the information conveyed by body language, because compared with verbal language, body language is more natural, instinctive but rather harder to disguise as well.

4. Cultural Similarities and Differences of Body Language between China and Western Countries

4.1 Similarities of Body Language between China and Western Countries

A number of similarities are shown in a comparative study of Chinese and American body language; for example: males won’t hug or embrace while see each other; a handshaking is the most popular posture that deals with a regard; waving a hand is the meaning of expressing “goodbye”; a frown indicates unhappiness, and the creasing of somebody’s nose is a symbol of hate, anger or disagreement; nodding refers to “yes”, and shaking somebody’s head refers to “no”; pouting has the identical indications—unhappiness, evil humor, hate; a slap on the back of a male or boy expresses acknowledgement, commending, inspiring; gritting somebody’s teeth can indicate anger, rage, or resoluteness (Deng Yanchang amp; Liu Runqing , 2007:136). Those postures have got to be acknowledged generally as bearing the indications above, at least in China and America. Besides, some body languages are innate, For instance, a baby could cry while it is born. It may suckle its fingertips while it is hungry. While we feel excited, our pupils would extend differently. Our eyebrows would act fast while we are greeting. Moreover we are yawning when we feel sleepy. If someone is wounded, he/she would adopt cry to indicate pain. Also we laugh while we feel pleasant. Waving somebody’s hand indicates farewell. Even many Chinese and English emotions and their indications are completely identical. For instance, slapping on the back indicates inspiring and praising. Forming a long face suggests unhappiness and rage. Being laughing indicates pleasure; standing with crossed arms suggests indifference and so on.

4.2 Differences of Body Language between China and Western Countries

All cultures use nonverbal behavior in communication and it is generally accepted that the interaction between people is made easier by combining verbal and nonverbal process. Nonverbal cues such as facial expression, head or eye movements and gestures may add support, emphasis, or particular shades of meaning to what people are saying. Being culture-bound, meanings of nonverbal behaviors vary from culture to culture.

Americans are fond of shrugging while they have no thought on something. However, people in China don’t behave the identical way. Stretching out somebody’s tongue indicates scorning in the United States, yet in China it indicates amazing and regard for visitors in Tibet. A Chinese tutor can be amazed at a foreign tutor’s seated on the tutor’s desk or leaning against the window in class, as tutors in China are usually required to behave in a rather traditional way while they are teaching in the classroom. Students in China who are late for class usually knock, then offer an explanation and wait for the teacher’s permission to enter, while American students enter quietly without knocking and sit down. American people tend to feel annoyed at our often changing our plan, for American culture teaches them that “time is money” and should not be wasted, whereas Chinese culture warns its people to think thrice before acting (Chen Zhian, Li Li and Liu Chengyu, 2007:13-14).

Mankind’s body postures are legion. One authority has asserted that the human body is capable of adopting about one thousand different “steady posture,” that is “a static position which can be maintained comfortably for some time.” There are to the large degree culturally determined, learned behavior. For instance, although you are accustomed to sitting in the chair when resting, about one-fourth of the world population has learned to rest in a squatting position. Most westerners look on this as a rather improper, primitive, and childish position. Our children squat very naturally, but though verbal admonishment and constant example we teach them to forgo this highly comfortably position for the sitting posture (Hu Wenzhong，1999:122).

In nations where English are spoken, physical touch is usually removed in talking among common friends or acquaints. Touching someone without other behaviors can introduce an unhappy responding. If someone touches another without intention, he/she often makes an apology such as Sorry, Oh, I feel sorry, Excuse me.

In China, a ordinary blaming of Western moms is that people in China usually stroke their kids and rather little babies. Such actions—whether touching, slapping, hugging or kissing—can be rather embarrassed and unbearable for the moms. They are aware of that no bad effect is indicated, and that those postures are only indications of love or fond, so they are unable to clearly express unhappiness. For another, these movements in their own tradition will be regarded impolite, insulting and offensive and can bring a rather hate feeling and even revulsion. Therefore, the moms usually stand by and see in embarrassed silence, with complicated feelings, even while the fondling is by Chinese friends or acquaints (Deng Yanchang and Liu Runqing , 2007:129-130).

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