体态语在跨文化交际中的意义英语专业

1、 天津职业技术师范大学Tianjin University of Technology and Education毕 业 论 文专 业： 英 语 班级学号： 1003 09 学生姓名： 马玉慧 指导教师： 高莉莉 副教授 二一四年六月天津职业技术师范大学本科生毕业论文体态语在跨文化交际中的意义差异Semantic Difference of Body Language in Cross-culture Communication 专业班级：英语1003 学生姓名：马玉慧指导教师：高莉莉 副教授 学 院：外国语学院2014年6月Statement of Originality I declare

2、 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 submitted in whole or part for a degree at this or any other university. _ (Signature)ContentsAbstract in English.iiAbstract in Chinese.i

3、iiI. Introduction .1II.Functions and Characteristics of Body Language2 2.1 Functions of Body Language.2 2.2 Characteristics of Body Language.3III.Types of Body Language3 3.1 Distance between conversationalists.4 3.2 Facial expression.5 3.3 Eye contact.6 3.4 Physical contact.7 3.4.1 Handshake.7 3.4.2

4、 Hug and kiss.7 3.5 Gesture.7IV.The Relationship between Body Language and Culture .8 4.1 Cultural influence on body language.8 4.2 Comparison of Chinese Culture and American Culture10 4.2.1The core factors of Chinese culture.10 4.2.2The core factors of American culture.11 4.3 Comparison of body lan

5、guage in Chinese and American Culture.11 4.3.1 Posture.12 4.3.2 Gesture.12 4.3.3 Touch.13 4.3.4 Eye contact.14 4.3.5 Facial expression.15V. Conclusion.16Notes.18Bibliography.19Acknowledgments.20iiAbstractThe fast development of science, technology and economy brings about more international contact

6、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 express the thoughts with body language for more sooth communication. Body language is strongly connected wit

7、h 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 backgrounds, the significance of the body language is not the same. In order to avoid misunderstandings in cross

8、-cultural communication, we should know the body language of each culture. This paper deals with exploring the similarities and differences of body language from different cultures, especially through comparing of Chinese body language and American body language, from which we can know the

9、 cultural differences better and avoid misunderstanding and embarrassment in cross-culture communication.Key words: nonverbal communication；body language；cross-culture communication 摘 要 随着科学技术和经济的快速发展，人们有了越来越多的机会能和来自不同背景的人沟通和交流。这种跨文化跨区域的交流日益频繁。我们彼此之间不仅可以通过语言也可以通过非语言进行沟通。借助肢体语言，人们能够在流畅的交谈中更好的表达思想。肢体语

10、言作为一种文化纽带是非语言交际的重要组成部分。在跨文化交际中，同样的身体语言所表达的意义也可能大相径庭。不同的文化背景下，身体语言的意思也存在差异。为了避免在跨文化交际中的误解，我们应该对不同文化中的肢体语言有所了解。本文通过比较研究中国和美国的身势语差异来阐述肢体语言在跨文化交际中的重要性。如果我们知道这些文化差异，才能及时避免这些不必要的尴尬。 关键词：非言语交际；肢体语言；跨文化交际iii Thesis, 2014, Tianjin University of Technology & Education I. IntroductionWith the quick develop

11、ment 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 countries and culture

12、s 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, nonverbal communicat

13、ion 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 order to have a s

14、uccessful 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 communication using body movem

15、ents, 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 and society diver

16、sity. 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 Body Language2.1 Fun

17、ctions 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, tone of voice, f

18、acial 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 communication without the u

19、se of words, which helps verbal communication more efficiently. “Body language has three major functions: assisting, substituting and expressing or hiding emotional feelings.”1 During the communication, people act by using the body language of nodding, eye contacting, waving, and so on. According to

20、 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 spoken English language or the words used. 2.2 Characteristics of Body La

21、nguageBody language assists verbal language to 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 language plays a

22、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 goodbye. The bod

23、y 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 instance,

24、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 “lover” 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 instinctiv

25、e 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 conversationalists Physic distance is an important factor when people go on a communication.

26、 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 backgrounds, person

27、al 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 in Americ

28、an 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 0 to 45

29、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 field and it is also kept dur

30、ing 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 distan

31、ce. On the contrary, the Arabians and Spanish would like to stand close to the person whom they are 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 keep

32、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 called personal space. We need to know the information well so that we can keep a proper distance when talking with o

33、thers. 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 sou

34、rces 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. R

35、easonably, Chinese people welcome their friends with a big smile. On the contrary, native Americans will 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 w

36、ith 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

37、 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

38、feel 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, attitude and emotion can be detected from ones eyes. Eye language can express complicated feelings and it is

39、an important way to judge and also respond to the intimacy of communicators. The eye 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 di

40、fferent. 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 is when they just enter the room, and the second time is when they are leaving. In America, the handshake between men is powerful. 3.4.2 Hug and kissDi

41、fferent 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 ot

42、her.3.5 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 o

43、ne gesture 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 forefinger to convey the meaning of number one, but in Germany raising bi

44、g thumb 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 gestures including different meanings in different cultures, and the natives from different cultures will

45、 express the 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

46、way an American 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 ot

47、her. The body language and culture have a very delicate and subtle relationship. The cultural characteristics of people are reflected by the body language they convey. By analyzing the body language, people also can know the cultures. Different countries have different histories, cultures and custom

48、s, which are all reflected by the body language. For example, Japanese greet by bowing, Arabs by kissing on both cheeks and Chinese people by shaking hands to show “their greeting”. The interesting thing is that in China, people shake hands with both hands in order to show their respect, while in th

49、e culture of Muslims, the left hand is thought to be unclean and people do not use 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 pa

50、lm up and moving the fingers towards the body saying come here. Crossing ones legs is a sign of being relaxed in 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 att

51、ention. In China, kissing 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 E

52、nglish-speakers, they always keep a distance because they dont like to be 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.

53、 Sometimes we cannot make us 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 s

54、ides, However, sometimes the body language may also result in some misunderstanding and dilemmas unexpectedly because of culture diversity. Different culture has its different way to send and understand message. Nodding one's head is generally used to show agreement “yes”, but to Nepalese, and p

55、eople in some Indian countries, it means “no”.4.2 Comparison of Chinese Culture and American Culture 4.2.1 The core factors of American cultureThe USA has a short history of only about over 200 years. For Americans, being casual is fairly common, which can be observed from peoples dress and entertainments. It is a fashion for most Americans 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