英语毕业论文The-Analysis-of-the-Application-of-Body-Language-in-Nonverbal-Communication.doc

浅谈身势语在非语言交际中的应用

The Analysis of the Application of Body Language in Nonverbal Communication

Contents

Abstract…………...........................................................................................1
Key Words………………………………………………………………….1
1. Introduction…….………………………………..………………………2
2. The Necessity and Importance of Learning Body Language in
Nonverbal Communication……………..………………………………2
3. The Concrete Types and Application of the Body Language…… 3
3.1 Types of Body Language…………………………..………………… 3
3.1.1 Distance between People Conversing ……………………………….. 4
3.1.2 Physical Contact………………………………….………………. 4
3.1.3 Eye Contact……………………………….…………..……...…….5
3.1.4 Smiles and Laughter………………………………..……..…..…...7
3.1.5 Gestures ……………………………..………………..….…….…8
3.2 Application of the Body Language…………..……………………… 7
3.2.1 Greetings ……………………………..………………………...8
3.2.2 Signs of Affection ………………………..……………………….8
3.2.3 Physical Contact ……………………….………………………..9
4. A Comparative Study of Chinese and American Body Language….9
4.1 Different Body Languages, Same Meanings…………..…………………10
4.2 Same Body Languages in Two Cultures but with Different Meanings….....11
4.3 Body Languages and Meanings in One Culture; No Equivalent in Other
Cultures………………………………………………………………11
5. Conclusion ………………………………………….……………..…....12
References………………………...………………………………………...13

The Analysis of the Application of Body Language in Nonverbal Communication

The Analysis of the Application of Body Language in Nonverbal Communication

Abstract: “Body language” is a kind of nonverbal communication with the richest meanings and great functions. Like verbal language, it is also a part of culture. But not all body languages mean the same thing in different cultures. Different people have different ways of making nonverbal communication. So in order to communicate effectively in a foreign language, one should know also the gestures, body movements, mannerisms and etc. that accompany a particular language. A comparative study of Chinese and American body language shows a number of similarities and diversities of body language. Observation shows that a truly bilingual person switches his body language at the same time he switches languages. This makes communication easier and better. So in this paper, the author will explore the functions of nonverbal communication in cross-cultural communication, significance of nonverbal communication and puts forward some similarities and diversities of body language so that people can avoid and deal with the conflicts or misunderstanding when encountering people from different cultures.
Key words: nonverbal communication; body language; culture

摘 要：“身势语”同语言一样，都是文化的一部分。在不同文化中，身势语的意义并不完全相同。各民族有不同的非语言交际方式。因此，要用外语进行有效的交际，在说某种语言时就得了解说话人的手势，动作，举止等所表示的意思。而通过中美身势语对比研究表明，两者有相似的地方，也有差异的地方,可见，真正掌握两种语言的人在换用另一种语言说话时也要换用另一种身势语。这样才能达到更好的交际效果。本文探讨了不同文化中非语言交际手段的作用，在交际中的重要性，以及中美身势语言的共性及个性，以此来帮助我们避免和解决跨文化交际中的冲突和误解。
关键词: 非语言交际;身势语;文化

1. Introduction

When a Chinese converses with a Canadian or American friend of the opposite sex, would it be indecent to be looking at the other person?
If two young friends of the same sex walk with their arms around each other’s shoulders or hold hands, would this be regarded by English-speaking people as proper?
Does nodding the head mean “yes”, and shaking the head mean “no” in all cultures?
There are not questions about language, but about body language, about nonverbal communication.
Nonverbal communication, composed of pictures, dresses, eye contact, spatial signals, gestures and so on, is as important as verbal communication.
People communicate in many different ways. One of the most important ways, of course, is through language. Moreover, when language is written it can be completely isolated from the context in which it occurs; it can be treated as if it were an independent process.
Like all animals, people communicate by their actions as well as by the noises they make. It is a sort of biological anomaly of man, which is as important as verbal language. Language is obviously essential for human beings, but it is not the whole story of human communication. According to Dr. Alexander Loven, “once people know how to interpret body languages, there would be no verbal language that can express more clearly than they can.”
The study of nonverbal communication should be complementary to the study of language. The understanding of one should be helpful in the further understanding of the other. Some authorities feel that the two are dependent on each other. This is certainly true in most situations. But it is also true that in certain situation body action contradicts what is being said, just as the spoken words may mean something quite different from what nonverbal communication communicates. When this occurs, one must try to get further information, or guess the meaning from the context of the situation. In a case, all nonverbal communication should be interpreted within a given context; to ignore the overall situation could be misleading.

2. The necessity and importance of learning body language in nonverbal communication

Although we may not realize it, when we converse with others we communicate by much more than words. By our expressions, gestures and other body movements, we send messages to these around us a smile and an outstretched hand show welcome. Nodding one’s head means agreement—“Yes”. Waving an outstretched hand with open palm is the gesture for “goodbye”. Leaning back in one’s seat and yawning at a talk or lecture show lack of interest, boredom. These gestures have come to be accepted in general as having the meanings mentioned, at last to Chinese and Americans. There are parts of the way in which we communicate. This “body language”, like our verbal language, is also a part of our culture.
But not all body language means the same thing in different cultures. Different people have different ways of making nonverbal communication. The answers to the questions at the beginning of this chapter are all “no”. Even nodding the head may have a different meaning. To Nepalese, Sri Lankans, some Indians and some Eskimos it means not “yes”, but “no”. So in order to communicate effectively in a foreign language, one should also know the gestures, body movements, mannerisms and etc. that accompany a particular language.
Body language is an important media through which people communicate with each other. It refers to the patterns of facial expressions and gestures that people use to express their feelings in communication. The specialist on body language research—Fen. Lafle. Angles, once said: "Once it was lost, a baby couldn’t have grown into a normal person". It s also true to the juveniles. In school education, body language plays a positive role in cultivating the students characters.

3. The concrete types and application of the body language

From the above we have known the necessity and importance of body language in nonverbal communication, it is the best way for people to exchange their emotions and ideas. Body language includes postures, eye contact, facial expressions, smiles and laughter, physical contact, gestures and so on. But in different cultures, people have different ways of making nonverbal communication. So in order to reduce the cultural barriers and communicate effectively, we must learn some application and difference of body language. The following will focus on some certain body languages as well as their application.

3.1 Types of body languages
3.1.1 Distance between people conversing
Watch an Arab and an Englishman in conversation. The Arab, showing friendliness in the manner of his people, will stand close to the Englishman. The latter will move back. The Arab will then move forward to be closer; the Englishman will keep moving backward. By the end of the conversation, the two may keep quite a distance from each other; the two may be quite a distance from the place where they were originally standing!
Here, distance between the two is the key factor. Different people have different ideas about the proper distance between people conversing. According to Dr. Hall, it seems there are four main distances in American social and business relations: intimate, personal, social, and public. Intimate distance ranges from direct physical contact to a distance of about 45 centimeters; this is for people’s most private relations and activities, between man and wife, for example. Personal distance is about 45—80 centimeters and is most common when friends, acquaintances and relatives converse. Social distance may be anywhere from about 1.30 meters to 3 meters; people who work together, or people doing business, as well as most of those in conversation at social gatherings tend to keep a distance is farther than any of the above and is generally for speakers in public and for teachers in classrooms.
The important thing to keep in mind is that most English-speaking people do not like people to be too close. Being too far apart, of course, may be awkward, but being too close makes people uncomfortable, unless there is a reason, such as showing affection or encouraging intimacy. But that is another matter.
3.1.2 Physical contact
The appropriateness of physical contact varies with different cultures. Figures from a study offer interesting insight into this matter. Pairs of individuals sitting and chatting in college shops in different places were observed for at last one hour each. The number of times that either one touched the other in that one hour was recorded, as follows: London, 0; Gainesville, Florida, 2; Pairs, 10; San Juan, Puerto Rico, 180. These figures speak for themselves. (Robinett, 1978)
In English-speaking contries, physical contact is generally avoided in conversation among ordinary friends or acquaintances. Merely touching someone may cause an unpleasant reaction. If one touches another person accidentally, he/she usually utters an apology such as “Sorry, Oh, I’m sorry, Excuse me.”
A common complaint of western mothers in China is that Chinese often fondle their babies and very small children. Such behavior—whether touching, patting, hugging or kissing—can be quite embarrassing and awkward for the mothers. They know that no harm is meant, and that such gestures are merely signs of friendliness or affection, therefore they cannot openly show their displeasure. On the other hand, such actions in their own culture would be considered rude, intrusive and offensive and could arouse a strong dislike and even repugnance. So the mothers often stand by and watch in awkward silence, with mixed emotions, even when the fondling is by Chinese friends or acquaintances.
Going beyond the milder forms of touching, we shall take up the matter of hugging and embracing in public. This practice is fairly common among women in many countries. And in most of the more industrialized countries, it occurs frequently between husband and wife and close members of the family when meeting after a period of absence. Hugging and embracing among men, however, is a different matter. Among Arabs, Russians, French, and in several of the east European and Mediterranean countries, a warm hug and a kiss on the cheeks are a standard way of welcome. The same is true with some Latin Americans. In East Asia and in the English-speaking countries, though, the practice is seldom seen. A simple handshake is the custom. The story is told of what happened not long ago when the Japanese prime minister at the time, Mr. Fukuda, went to the U.S. on a state visit. When he stepped out of his car in front of the white house, he was greeted by the American president with a “bear hug”. The prime minister was flabbergasted; others of the Japanese delegation were amazed; many Americans were surprised—it was so unusual and so unexpected. If the president had bowed low in Japanese fashion, it would have been less a surprise than to be greeted in a way so uncommon in either country!
The matter of physical contact between members of the same sex in English-speaking countries is a delicate one. Once passed childhood, the holding of hands, or walking with an arm around another’s shoulder is not considered proper. The implication is homosexuality, and homosexuality generally arouses strong social disapproval in these countries.
3.1.3 Eye contact
Eye contact is an important aspect of body language. One could draw up quite a list of “rules” about eye contact: to look or not to look; when to look and how long to look; who and who not to look at. These passages from the book Body Language (Fast, 1971) are amusing as well as informative:
“Two strangers seated across from each other in a railway dining car have the option of introducing themselves and facing a meal of inconsequential and perhaps boring talk, or ignoring each other and desperately trying to avoid each other’s glance. A writer, describing such a situation in an essay, wrote, ‘they’re reading the menu, they fool with the cutlery, they inspect their own fingernails as if seeing them for the first time. Comes the inevitable moment when glances meet, but they meet only to shoot instantly away and out the window for an intent view of the passing scene.’ ”
He points out that with people who are unfamiliar:
“We must void staring at them, and yet we must also avoid ignoring them… We look at them long enough to make it quite clear that we see them, and then we immediately look away”.
There are different formulas for the exchange of glances depending on where the meeting takes place. “If you pass someone in the street you may eye the oncoming person till you are about eight feet apart, then you must look away as you pass. Before the eight-foot distance is reached, each will signal in which direction he will pass. This is done with a brief look in that direction. Each will veer slightly, and the passing is done smoothly.” (Fast, Julius. 1971.)
“The language of the eyes”—one of the most common and ancient ways of exchanging feelings between boys and girls, men and women—is especially elaborate in the United States. Much study has been made of this: 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 different ways than women; there are differences of age, class or social status and geographical region; there are differences of 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 although she had a good record, the principal decided she