The Comparison between Chinese and Western Business Body Language Etiquette.doc

广东岭南职业技术学院毕业设计广东岭南职业技术学院毕业设计 论文 论文 The Comparison between Chinese and Western Business Body Language Etiquette 中西商务肢体语言礼仪对比研究 学生姓名 胡文意 指导教师 李晓敏 李阳 专 业 商务英语 班 级 11 商务英语 2 班 二级学院 外语外贸学院 2014 年 04 月 Contents Statement of Authorship 1 Acknowledgments 2 Abstract 3 摘要 4 1 Introduction 5 2 The Characteristics of Chinese and Western Business Body Language 6 2 1 The Characteristics of Body Language in China 6 2 2 The Characteristics of Body Language in the West 7 3 The Ways of Chinese and Western Business Body Language 7 3 1 The Ways of Body Language in China 8 3 2 The Ways of Body Language in The West 9 4 The Influences of Chinese and Western Business Body Language 11 4 1 The Influences of Body Language in China 11 4 2 The Influences of Body Language in the West 12 5 Conclusion 13 References 14 0 Statement of Authorship Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or part from a thesis presented by me for another degree or diploma No other person s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any tertiary institution Signed Date 1 Acknowledgments There are a number of people to whom this dissertation and its author owe a great deal over a long period of time Professor Li Xiaomin my supervisor spares no time and energy out of her heavy load of office work teaching and research commitments to provide substantial guidance on my career as well as on this dissertation I still feel sorry that he had to read through the first draft on the Spring Festival holiday During the preparation of this paper the detailed advice and constant help from her have been both academically authoritative and generous I also wish to take this opportunity here to thank him for opening up before me a world of wonders in English literature and a world of surprises in literary criticism Professor Li Xiaomin has been giving me continual encouragement for any originality I could have To her I own not only the present dissertation but also my first published paper on Lord of the Flies Her handling of the classroom discussion always inspires me to ask and answer for myself I need also to thank her for her patient help on the format of this dissertation Professor Li Xiaomin has introduced me to the golden treasure of English poetry Her role playing explanations of the English poems bring me to a fuller and deeper appreciation If the method of analysis in this dissertation is somewhat transplanted from criticism in poetry it is because I strongly wish to expand my interest in poetry appreciation and criticism raised by Professor Li Yang to the other area of literary interpretation My special thanks should also go to Professor Li Yang whose lectures on the structure of English drama have created in me a strong interest for the structures of literary work Without his strenuous efforts at enlightenment I could not have chosen to write on the structural aspect of Lord of the Flies Finally I wish to thank Professor Li Yang and Professor Li Xiaomin whose lectures have made me fully aware that language is not transparent as a system of signs at the first year of my study in literature Their lectures have greatly helped me in my search for the author and the audience and the additional meanings in the form of language itself and I hope this is reflected here 2 Abstract Body language is a kind of body movements or gestures rather than the forms of communication or it is a complement to the verbal language as a voice It also can be other forms of a wide range of communication for a long time On the other hand it is a kind of auxiliary language which describes all forms of nonverbal communication of the human beings In the communication of daily life body language plays a role which can not be ignored Since different cultures have different body language etiquettes This paper analyzes the differences of the Chinese and western business body language from the perspective of the characteristics of Chinese and western business body language ways of Chinese and western business body language and the influences of body language on Chinese and western business From the three aspects we can better understand and learn different cultures and etiquettes to strengthen communication and understanding facilitating the mutual understanding and identity of different cultures thus facilitating business communication and cooperation with the west Key Words China west business body language characteristics ways influences 3 摘要 身体语言是一种用身体动作或手势 而不是几种交流形式 或作为一种声音 口头语言的 补充 或其他形式的广泛的长期的交流 反过来 它是一类副语言 它描述了人类一切非语言 形式的交流 在日常生活的交流中 肢体语言起着不可忽视的作用 由于不同的文化有不同 的肢体语言礼仪讲究 本论文是从肢体语言的特征 交流方式以及肢体语言对中西方的影 响等三个方面论述中西方商务肢体语言的差异 更好地了解并学习不同的文化和礼仪 加 强沟通与认识 促进不同文化相互理解与认同 促进与西方的商务交流与合作 关键词 中国 西方 商务 肢体语言 特点 方式 影响 4 1 Introduction All the human beings on the earth despite differences in their background and culture engage in common events every minute to communicate When people discuss the human communication they will think of the verbal communication immediately Verbal communication is a very important process in communicating but not the single means Anyone can never neglect the other part in communication nonverbal communication In fact the whole process of the human communication consists of two parts that is to say nonverbal communication and verbal communication Sometimes nonverbal communication is more important than verbal communication The former mainly produces the vocal effects while the latter will lead to vision sense and touch effects In many communicational situations these effects of the nonverbal communication are more obvious than that of the verbal communication Body language is an important part of nonverbal communication People could express their feelings and attitudes through facial expressions gestures eye contact and physical contact and so on Silent language expresses more information than verbal language Because it contains much information According to some researchers abroad in people s daily life nonverbal communication takes part over 65 in all of information exchange Many experts have shown the importance of body language in the cross cultural communication A psychologist Birdwhistell proposed a formula that total impact of message 7 verbal 38 vocal 55 body language 1 The misunderstanding and cultural crash often occur in the cross cultural communication due to unfamiliar with the body language of another culture Business Communication differs from communication in general It is unique in its purpose One communicates internally with his team members his boss his peers and others He communicates externally with customers competitors and service providers outside the organization In both cases his communicate with one very specific purpose to create his business So in the process of business communication it is not a complete communication while ignoring the cultural differences of nonverbal communication The author will first discuss the 5 characteristics of Chinese and western business body language then author will focus on ways of Chinese and western business body language At the last the author will talk about the influences of Chinese and western business body language From the three aspects we can understand the difference between the Chinese and western business body language So that we will have a better expression in business communication Due to the current economic globalization more and more people are frequently involved in the business communication business negotiation is one of the most common activities under the condition of market economy Successful business negotiations require negotiators should not only know the negotiation principle and related law and business operations and to master negotiating skills Body language as an important part of business negotiations also plays an important role in business negotiations In this paper the characters of body language aims to highlight the role of body language in business communication 2 The Characteristics of Chinese and Western Business Body Language 2 1 The Characteristics of Body Language in China In daily life and in business communication the Chinese people often hide their body language They don t look at each other or keep on looking out of the window motionless to refrain from showing any emotion they often try not to let oneself have any physical action Or they will always keep smile keep on watching you silently Obviously they use body language to cover up their inner thoughts Some Chinese people think too much physical action will give each other a bad impression in business communication and in daily life so they try to keep yourself in a state of quiet Or they do the illusion make other misunderstand them Such situation may result from the tradition of Chinese culture Because Chinese people worship modesty and reservation it is often the case that Chinese people are not good at expressing and showing themselves Even though it is normal to speak and show it 6 out Chinese people are more inclined to choose to restrain themselves That is to say the opportunity should come to the other party during communication and interaction 2 2 The Characteristics of Body Language in the West The western people in daily communication and business activities when language communication obstacles people will through the actions of the body language to convey emotion They are not ashamed for body language They will hug you kiss you shake hands Sometimes their body language is more exaggerated Compared with people in China westerners often use eye contact during the communication with others They believe that eye contact is also a kind of language which may help them to be better understood From the expression in the eye contact they can get the information of what the other one is thinking thus facilitating the success of communication On the contrary if you do not look into their eyes when having a conversation it is regarded as not respecting and polite From this perspective body language is a common tool in the communication of the westerners This is closely related to the personality of the people in the west Since most of the westerners are open outgoing and confident they dare not to express and show themselves Perhaps what they behave is too eye catching and arrogant in the eyes of Chinese people but this is the way they like As far as they are concerned body language is just a effective way to shorten the distance between people a helpful way to express them well and a useful tool to better communication 3 The Ways of Chinese and Western Business Body Language Body language is a kind of symbol and is also a solid expression of one s culture China and Western countries have their own different social soil and cultural atmosphere They have their own long history of independent development and special space and each of them has its own distinct ethnic characteristics Body language reflects the characteristics of a nation it not only includes the nation s historical and cultural background it also contains the attitude for life of the nation it 7 is a concrete manifestation of people s lifestyle and way of thinking Cultural differences have clearly reflected in their body language between China and the Western countries Everyone involved in intercultural communication must understand the differences of body language between westerners and Chinese be aware of the manners and the standards in order to avoid communicative barrier or even failure Since the cultures in different countries are different the same gesture would have different meanings in different countries Curled finger to ask someone to come is common used in western countries while it s rude in Asian countries Raising your hands up means stop in western countries while in some Asian countries the gesture is used when asking for permission to speak Americans often touch their temples to express somebody s cleverness But this action means there is something wrong with one s mind or one is stupid to Chinese Chinese are often surprised to see Americans lay their hands on their necks when they are full while it is a suicide action to Chinese who used to express fullness by patting their stomachs People from English speaking countries turn their rings constantly to show their nervousness or uneasiness But if people in China act like this they will be regarded they are showing off richness 3 1 The Ways of Body Language in China Come here the Chinese body language to reach out to the cal lee palms down several fingers while bending a few times Make a joke to show their shame Chinese people forefinger in face scraping few times Stomping in the eyes of the Chinese people it stand for angry Intently watching the Chinese meaning of is curious sometimes surprised Shoot someone s head the Chinese meaning a performance of love for children but for adults or young people to make this kind of action will cause offense is an offensive action but for adults or young people to make this kind of action will cause offense is an offensive action 8 The applause the audience applauded for performance or speech in the eyes of the Chinese people the performer or speaker say thanks to the two sides together to show the friendly to each other Peeing sound Chinese meaning is against other s idea I don t know In china people just shaking the head or waving the hand I am very full after a meal The Chinese would keep one or both hands open lightly patting one s own stomach In China with the index finger little or pointed to one s nose means it s me however in Americans eyes this is funny In China speak with an open hand muzzled Means who is talking about secret things In China handed something with two hands for the guests or others show respect Others pouring or pour wine for themselves open with one hand or two hands on cup beside thanked The Chinese belong to low contractual cultures While in China the concept of physical contact is more unclear than that in America The most common touch behavior is hands shaking and hugs In China people greet with each other with head nodding smile hand shaking and so on In China it s common to see two same sex persons walk arm in arm or hold hands 8 According to Chinese tradition people who are sitting have right to take charge of others Monarch sits and officer stands father sits and son stands leader sits and employee stands and so on So the younger give the old a seat to show respect 3 2 The Ways of Body Language in The West Come here the western people reach out to as people palms up make a fist with the forefinger pitching This action in China appears to be an insult or provocation it is an extremely impolite action Make a joke to show their shame the western people extend the index finger of both hands palms down with an index finger to rub the back of another index finger Stomping it is mean impatient in western people 9 Intently watching the western people impolite embarrassed and uncomfortable The applause in western countries the performers or speakers applauded for their proud performances Peeing sound English meaning is requested quiet In the United States the nail biting expressed worry about what to do the high pressure the major burden of thinking while in western countries they prefer shrugging the shoulders I am very full while the westerners raise their hands to throat fingers extended palm down In the United States wore nose with the thumb and other four fingers bent with challenge the contempt In the United States shaking a finger warning others not to do something they are doing something wrong In the United States put arms on one s chest clenched fists thumbs down to the hem several times expressed opposed to someone expressed strong opposition Blink of an eye to quickly closed one eye smiled and nodded Feelings of the following knowing praise encourage transmission of information expressed solidarity In English speaking countries people used to hug or kiss each other in public between males and females which is unacceptable and only exists between lovers and couples in private in China They even can t accept Americans kissing between the same sexes as manner of greeting not even the opposite sexes They firmly keep feudal ideas that women cannot be close to man in their minds Shaking hands is a kind of friendly expression for Chinese people In China it s very natural that a mother fondle her friends or acquaintances babies or kittle child but such behavior touching hugging or kissing can be quite embarrassing and awkward for western mother They know such behaviors in china are not harmful but a way of expressing of affection friendliness so they cannot openly show their displeasure even if such actions in their culture would be consider to be rude impolite and offensive they would have mixed and embarrassing emotions in their faces if a Chinese friends or acquaintances fondle their children 10 About sitting but in America and Britain people who are in charge of others have tendency to stand They will make use of the height of space to indicate the high status People who have high status choose to sit when they are conversing with you which mean they want to create harmonious and equal atmosphere and less space So adults will bend down when they are talking to children 4 The Influences of Chinese and Western Business Body Language To sum up in international business negotiations have a good body language using its core is to must be in the cultural differences consistency consistency commonality on the basis of the four cardinal principles through the preliminary and the summary of the work form a system of integrated use of body language And focus on each other s body language in negotiation process change regardless of the other party is sorting clothes turn the pen