肢体语言与跨文化交际

学 位 论 文

英文论文题目：Study on Body Language in

Intercultural Communication

中文论文题目：肢体语言与跨文化交际

姓 名： 黄宇霖 Huang Yulin 学 号： 200910618862 学习中心： 奥鹏大钟寺学习中心 专 业： 英语

指导教师： 张利华 Zhang Lihua

二〇一一年七月

毕业论文承诺书

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签 名：黄宇霖 日 期：2011-7-17

北京语言大学 本科生毕业论文评阅书

论文题目 Study on Body Language in Intercultural Communication 肢体语言与跨文化交际 学生姓名 黄宇霖 指导教师 评语： 学 号 所在院系 专 业 英语 国 籍（留学生） 中国 200910618862 继续教育院 指 导 教 师 成绩： 意见 评语： 指导教师签字： 日期： 年 月 日 评阅人意成绩： 见 评阅人签字： 日期： 年 月 日 教务处制

北京语言大学

本科生毕业论文指导记录表

论文题目：Study on Body Language in Intercultural Communication 肢体语言与跨文化交际 学生姓名 黄宇霖 指导教师姓名 指导时间 第一次指导： 我认为你所选题目很有意义，可写性很强。你开题报告的写作上付出了很多努力。不足之处是拟写大纲中提供的各部分的细节少，令人尚难以充分了解论文内容的整体安排。你可以在开始写作的同时发现问题，并补充一些内容。祝写作顺利。修改意见请详见上传的稿件。 国籍（留学生） 所在院系 专 业 英语 入学时间 0909 中国 张利华 继续教育院 指导教师职称/学历 2011.7-10. 指导地点 在线 指导方式：（请选择） 电子邮件 指导教师签字： 日期： 年 月 日 第二次指导： Sorry for delaying reading your thesis plan for the third time because on one hand I am quietly busy recently and on the other hand I think your second draft is good enough. I have just finished reading your plan and made some changes, but just for your reference, but I am confident that I can be some help in handling the topic. I appreciate the right attitude you take towards your essay writing and I am looking forward to reading your first draft, hopefully, you will not encounter too much trouble in accomplishing your thesis. 修改意见请详见上传的稿件。 指导方式：（请选择） 电子邮件 指导教师签字： 日期： 年 月 日 第三次指导：

我仔细阅读了你的论文初稿，可以看出你下了很大的功夫去研读有关身体语言的文献，从而使你的论文在研究结果的引用上很详实。整体来看，论文内容安排尚合理，语言流畅，极具可读性。存在的问题如下：1涉及的有关身体语言的的方面过多，相比之下，2.51 和2.52部分对问题的分析和解决问题的办法部分内容稍显不够，而该部分应是需要详细分析、讨论和论述的；2论文中涉及的身体语言的细节或例子过多，应繁.简搭配，有些内容不必展开来叙述，以便突出主要内容，减短论文的篇幅。3个别句子语法上不够规范，如：mean一词后应是名词，而非形容词。此外，应尽量少用祈使句从而使论文更加正式、规范。涂红的地方是我修改过的，仅供参考。涂蓝的地方有错误或语言表达不清楚。修改意见请详见上传的稿件。 指导方式：（请选择） 电子邮件 指导教师签字： 日期： 年 月 日 第四次指导： 我再次细读了你提交的稿件，可以看出你下了很大的功夫去修改初稿，我很欣赏你严肃认真的态度。整体来看，论文质量较初稿有了很大的提高。目前，论文已成形，如若精益求精，可以考虑从以下方面修改：1细读论文尽量删去内容重复的句子或段落；2为了使论文更加规范，有些简单句可以合并为复合句，力求精炼；3我仍然认为你论文内容中对一些身体语言的现象分析较多，可以考虑删掉一些次要的内容。比较而言，2,51、2.52 的内容稍显欠缺，有些观点可展开来论述，该意见仅供你参考。修改意见请详见上传的稿件。 指导方式：（请选择） 电子邮件 指导教师签字： 日期： 年 月 日 第五次指导： 我再次仔细阅读并修改了你的论文二稿，可以看出你确实花费了很大的功夫，按照批阅中的要求去修改了论文，我很欣赏你认真的写作态度。目前，论文已经比较成熟，论文整体的质量在此前的基

础上有了很大的提高。存在的问题：1尚需在一些细节上下功夫，如：文中引言和参考文献的格式，引言周围句子的时态使用。2请对照学校的模板，核对论文各部分的字号是否符合要求，总之，要做好版面的工作。预祝你取得好成绩！修改意见请详见上传的稿件。 指导方式：（请选择） 电子邮件 指导教师签字： 日期： 年 月 日 教务处制

北京语言大学

本科生毕业论文答辩记录表

论文题目 Study on Body Language in Intercultural Communication 肢体语言与跨文化交际 学生姓名 学 号 所在院系 专 业 国籍（留学生） 黄宇霖 200910618862 继续教育院 答辩地点 英语 中国 指导教师 答辩时间 答辩记录 答成员姓名 职称/学历 专业研究领域 所在单位 签 名

辩小组成员 答辩小组评议意见/成绩： 组长签字： 院（系）学位委员会审核意见： 签字： 日期： 年 月 日 教务处

Outline

1. Introduction 2. Main Body 2.1 Body language

2.1.1 Interpretation and Classification of body language 2.1.2 The Emergence of Body Language

2.1.3 The Cultural and Social Natures of Body Language 2.1.4 Function and Importance of Body Language

2.2 Some Analysis of Similarities of Body Language in Cultures 2.3 Some Analysis of Differences of Body Language in Cultures 2.4 Some Analysis of Body Language Based on Classifications 2.4.1 Facial Expressions and the Movements of Head 2.4.2 Gesture 2.4.3 Posture 2.4.4 Body Touch

2.5 Problems in Intercommunications and Some Tentative Solutions 2.5.1 A Summary of Some Problems Concerning Body Language 2.5.2 Solutions to the Problems 3. Conclusion Bibliography

Abstract

Body language is vital to the success in communication. It always accompanies our verbal expression as it helps us express ourselves and understand others. It shows and/or contributes to the relationship between people. It, however, sometimes makes trouble for us. Body language is complicated as well, yet acquirable.

Statistics shows that body language has been comprehensively studied since the 1950s. The research findings have been widely applied in the fields of politics, diplomacy, cultural exchange, business, and even among common people. However, many problems caused by body language show that its popularizing work is far from being satisfactory. People’s understanding level of it is still to be raised. The research and popularization of body language need further promoting and enhancing.

This paper tries to introduce body language in relation to its emergence, meaning, nature，function and importance, highlighting the differences among cultures and the problems with regard to body language, analyzing it based on the existing research findings, its classifications and the writer’s own knowledge in the field for the purpose of providing some solutions to the problems. Finally it concludes that body language plays a significant, or even crucial, role in communication within a culture as well as between cultures, and it is very meaningful and helpful to learn about it and manage to apply it correctly and/or advantageously in actual contexts.

The paper is also expected to contribute, more or less, to the enhancement of people’s awareness and understanding of body language and to its popularization and skills in its application in society, with an aim to help people succeed in their actual communications.

Key words: body language; nonverbal communication; movements of the body 身体语言 肢体语言 非语言沟通 身体动作

Introduction

Study on Body Language in Intercultural Communication

1. Introduction

Body language is important as well as complicated, particularly in intercultural associations. It nearly always accompanies our verbal expression. Sometimes it conveys more and helps or spoils our intending expression. In international contacts, the differences of body language in different cultures often cause problems. Body language is an important form of communication that we cannot avoid or ignore anyway.

From the 1950s, researchers started to conduct a comprehensive study of body language and have attained brilliant achievements so far. In 2006, The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan Pease & Barbara Pease was published by the Bantam Dell Pub Group, which omni-directionally introduces body language and attentively explains its practical applications. “Albert Mehrabian, a pioneer researcher of body language in the 1950s, found that the total impact of a message is about 7% verbal (words only) and 38% vocal and 55% non-verbal” [Pease 2004: 9]. In 2008, a video program called Secrets of Body Language was published by the American History Channel, which vividly displayed and thoroughly analyzed body language, in which were used some videos of American presidents such as those of Bush, Clinton, etc. Doctor Lillian Glass, a body language expert and professor of the University of Southern California, affirms that exact messages can be acquired by seeing through the codes of facial expression, speech, voice and body language. Many other experts and scholars have made great achievements in the field, as well.

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Introduction

In the world today, body language, as a form of nonverbal communication and a kind of social knowledge, is increasingly stressed by more and more people. It is widely applied in all fields of life and culture, especially in formal situations. However, problems arise in body language applications, particularly those between cultures. Some people find themselves in troubles just because of their misuse or misunderstanding of body language. This mainly comes from the complexity of body language itself and people’s low level of understanding it.

Body language is complicated. Firstly, there exist differences among the body languages in different cultures. Secondly, body language is often applied in combinations instead of a single one to express ideas or feelings. Thirdly, some body languages are so slight and vague that they are fleeting and not easy to catch. Fourthly, body actions are often constrained by the objective conditions. It is true that some body languages are easy to apply and understand, and some are even universal over the world, but we can not always judge a body action in isolation, or we will make mistakes or troubles. In fact, even within the same culture, some body languages are not easy to interpret, let alone those from different cultures. To correctly employ and understand body language, we need to gain enough relevant knowledge, or even get some special training.

Some people simply believe that body language is universal and can be used based on one’s own habit. This belief may arise from lack of knowledge of world cultures. In fact, the popularization work of body language is not satisfactory. Admittedly, some body languages are universal; even so, we can not take things for granted. The similarities and differences of body language in different cultures deserve our careful learning for the obvious reason that people from different cultures may interpret the same body language differently and that different body movements may be used to convey the same idea, feeling or emotion.

2. Main Body 2.1 Body language

2.1.1 Definitions and Classifications of body language

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Human beings began to note body language long time ago. William Shakespeare wrote, “There is language in her eyes, her cheek, her lip” [宋莉 2004: 189]. R. Don Steele told us “the science of kinesics…was formalized by Dr. Ray Birdwhistell in the early 1950s” [1999: 3]. Since then, researchers have had lots of valuable findings in their systematic research into it and given many a definition to it. In general, they call it a form of nonverbal and usually unintended communication and widely accept that it refers to any kind of body movements, expressing ideas, feelings, emotions and attitudes. “Everything is body language – tone of voice, clearing our throats, rubbing our eyes, crossing our arms, tapping our toes, touching our nose – everything except the words we say” [Steele 1999: 22]. They find that body language can express meanings without the aid of words and voice. Body language is a special item in the big family of language and is also called a silent language. “Actually, the Silent Language is a translation not from one language to another, but from a series of complex, nonverbal, contexting communications into words” [Hall 1959: VII]. Every part of our body, either in motion or stillness, conveys something depending on specific physical, social and/or cultural context. It expresses “how one feels by the way one sits, stands, moves, etc rather than by words” [李北达, ed. 2002: 145].

According to the features, researchers have classified body language into three categories: open, closed, and neutral. Open body language means no crossing, no covering and no hiding, such as open arms, open hands and visible palms, relaxed smile, eye contact, nodding, handshaking, etc, which express positive meanings and make one look like an open, accepting and friendly person and be attractive. Closed body language means just the opposite of the open one. Neutral body language, such as the acts of habitual tension, joy and consoling oneself, or actions in special objective conditions, etc, has no special meaning. It should be interpreted on the concrete conditions.

Specifically, in terms of the movements of different body parts, body language is divided into facial expressions, movements of head, gestures, postures, body touches, and so on.

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2.1.2 The Emergence of Body Language

How do we gain our body languages? Research finds that they come to us in different ways. “Non-verbal signals are inborn, learned, genetically transferred or acquired in some other ways” [Pease 2004: 18].

From lots of observations, experts have found out that “Most primate babies are born with the immediate ability to suck, showing that this is either inborn or genetic” [Pease 2004: 17]. The human babies who were born deaf have the inborn immediate ability to cry. Those who were born blind can nod for “yes” and shake head for “no”. The many basic body movements that people from different cultures own to express the similar or the same ideas, feelings and emotions are called universal body languages. They also prove that human beings own inborn or genetically transmitted body languages.

With the formation of different cultures and their traditions in the world, there appear differences in body language from cultures. With the development of international contacts, people from different cultures exchange and accept each other’s cultures and traditions, including body languages. This part of body language is called acquired body language. Studies indicate that we acquire some body languages after-birth by learning from both inside and outside our own culture.

2.1.3 The Cultural and Social Natures of Body Language

“Culture controls behavior in deep and persisting ways, many of which are out side of awareness and therefore beyond conscious control of individual” [Hall 1959: 15]. Our behavior is conditioned by culture and culture is inherited from generation to generation. Every culture has its own distinctive beliefs, traditions and norms of behavior. This is reflected in the differences of body language among cultures. Professor Chen Wenhua (陈文华) pointed out that every language itself is a kind of culture at the same time when it carries the culture with different features… and that many body languages are also conventional within the ethnic group and have their own cultural meanings and historical backgrounds [2006: 59-60].

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It is just because of the cultural nature that body language has been endowed with the nature of society. Thus, culture exists in connection with society. Culture has developed and edified society whereas society provides culture a platform for its development. As a cultural phenomenon, body language can be fully meaningful and functional on the condition that it is socialized in its real sense. Language, either verbal or nonverbal, began to serve our social activities as soon as it appeared and it has developed along with the development of human society all the way.

Moreover, body languages are likely to be applied not only within its own cultural background but also cross-culturally, thus their similarities and differences are worth finding and studying to serve our intercommunication.

2.1.4 Function and Importance of Body Language

As the main part of nonverbal expression, Body language accompanies verbal expression, acting the roles of complementation, replacement, repetition, emphasis, contradiction, adjustment, etc. It can also express meanings alone.

When we welcome or greet someone, we not only say ‘Welcome’, or ‘How are you’, but also complement our words with a pleasant smile. When we are telling someone the way to a certain place, we not only verbally tell them the route but also repeat the same meaning with our hand pointing to the direction. When we want to stop a noise, we may just put our index finger across our lips replacing the words ‘Be silent’. When we are saying something important, we often point our index finger upward and continuously wave the hand forth and back a few times to emphasize our words. When we intend to express the meaning that we are strong or determined, we raise a fist or fists to the height of our brows with curved arms to emphasize the meaning. When an American is talking with an Arab, he/she keeps stepping back a little while the Arab keeps stepping closer to him/her a bit at intervals to adjust the distance between them because Arabs enjoy standing very close while Americans dislike it very much.

Sometimes our body language expresses more than what our conscious thinking wants to and agrees with or contradicts it, such as a strained look with voice

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quavering and hands shaking will deny the verbally-told relaxation or ease. “Body language is an outward reflection of a person’s emotional condition. Each gesture or movement can be a valuable key to an emotion a person may be feeling at the rime” [Pease 2004: 11].

The functions of body language just speak for its importance. Every function is a reflection of the importance. It is easier to control a verbal language than a nonverbal one because nonverbal expressions are too natural and spontaneous. “You, cannot not communicate. No matter what you do, or don’t do, you broadcast your emotional state. Even if you put on a poker face and sit perfectly still, you loudly announce, ‘I’m trying to hide what I’m feeling” [Steele 1999: 22].

2.2 Some Analysis of Similarities of Body Language in Cultures

For some reasons, the codes of the basic human body languages, which help us express and understand better in communication, are nearly the same over the world. They are called universal or similar body languages. “In the late 1800s, Charles Darwin noted that the meaning of many human gestures was the same the world over. He also noted that some human gestures had the same meaning for the apes as they did for us” [Steele 1999: 3]！

Smile and laugh mean happiness, but weep means sadness, sorrow or heartbreak; pulling a long face often means unhappiness, and anger together with frowning and glaring. When one feels bored, stressed or worried, he/she would repeat one or more actions over and over again, mostly meaninglessly. It is accepted that arms crossed on chest means defense, caution or protection; chin resting on a palm or a few fingers indicates criticism, suspicion and negation towards someone; tapping fingers means being agitated, anxious or bored; and fast breath is the symbol of being nervous or angry. In most cultures, when a young child lies, he/she would hide his/her hands behind, or quickly covers his/her mouth with hand/s after lying. A teenager would also move his/her hand towards mouth after lying, but just to rub around the mouth with fingers instead of covering it. Adult liars also raise their hand after lying, but they finally only touch their nose, chin or ear with the raised hand instead of rubbing

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around or covering their mouths, and then let it down quickly. When a person is hurt, he/she would cry, often with a quivering voice, to express the painfulness. In most places of the world, people wave their hands with the palms outward to mean “Good bye”; the body movement of raising head high with eyes looking into sky is regarded as being conceited.

These are only a small part of the similar body languages in the world. We might see them everywhere in the world and understand them well to help our communication. There are still many more of them for us to learn. The more we learn about them, the more we will benefit from our knowledge about it. Moreover, we must always remember the rule that we should never take things for granted in using similar body languages.

We have similar body languages because human beings are multiplied from the same ancestor and own the similar genetic genes. It is not surprising to find that some similarities rooted in the same start of human culture and others formed in the similar living environments adjacent to ours over the Earth.

2.3 Some Analysis of Differences of Body Language in Cultures

Similarities of body language help us express ourselves and understand others well but its differences are likely to cause incomprehension, misunderstanding or trouble, sometimes even serious conflicts.

Research has found that we have much more differences than similarities in terms of body languages in different cultures. On the one hand, the same body language may be interpreted quite differently in different cultures and sometimes the interpretations may be just opposite, aggressive or even insulting. On the other hand, different body movements may be used in different cultures to convey the same idea, feeling or emotion. For example, in the U.S. people stretch out their hand with the palm up and move the fingers back and forth to beckon someone to come near, but in many Asian countries such as China, Pakistan, Thailand, etc, people do it by moving their fingers back and forth with the palm down. Sitting with one’s legs crossing is a common sign of being relaxed in the U.S., but it is considered impolite or offensive in

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China, and even a social taboo in Korea. Normally, people welcome visitors with a smile, but American Indians begin to cry to visitors to express their welcome.

Once a Chinese employee made a serious mistake in his work and caused a big loss to his boss, an Englishman, who got very angry. The employee felt sorry and upset and went to his office to make a formal and sincere apology to him. Unfortunately, his action irritated the Englishman simply because the employee made his apology with a big smile all the time. As we know, smile means happiness in the English natives’ eyes.

The differences of body language have much to do with the differences in cultures, traditions and beliefs of different nations, which, to some extent, are caused by the differences of the living environments and the long-term lack of contact in history. “Lack of communication has given rise to differences in language, in thinking, in systems of belief and culture generally. These differences have made hostility among societies endemic and seemingly eternal – Isaac Asimov” [Samovar 2009: 1].

2.4 Some Analysis of Body Language Based on Classifications 2.4.1 Facial Expressions and the Movements of Head

Facial expressions and the movements of head are discussed together here because they all appear on the same part of body - head though they do not belong to the same classification. We notice them first and most frequently in communication.

Facial expressions refer to the expressions of emotional states through the changes of the ocular muscles, facial muscles and mouth muscles. They are very rich and important in all cultures. The movements of head mainly refer to the acts of nodding and shaking head.

Our eyes not only convey emotions but also exchange ideas. As the saying goes, “The eyes are the windows of soul”. Eye language is an important part of facial expressions, including eye changes, eye placement and eye contact. Eye changes indicate the physical changes of eyes and their conjoint facial parts. Eye placement means where we place our sight when we meet or talk with someone. Eye contact refers to the meeting of each other’s sights. Eye language, some of which are

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universal while others are different, tells a lot.

From eye changes, we know that widely-opened eyes with an open mouth indicate surprise, excitement or fear; glaring with frowning means anger or dissatisfaction; looking with slitting eyes means arrogance or salacity; side-glance is considered being disdainful and sinister, etc. The changes of pupils also tell something. When one is stimulated by disgusting things, his/her pupils constrict; a pleasant stimulation causes a dilatation of the pupils; panic or excitement even causes a dilatation of the pupils up to four times its usual size. From the information revealed by the eyeballs we know that a person is sincere if his/her eyeballs are comparatively stable whereas one whose eyeballs keep rotating is likely to be dishonest.

Research has found that eye placement also tells something. Often looking down indicates being respectful, submissive or embarrassed; keeping looking away means dissatisfaction, uninteresting or expecting something else; glancing at a watch frequently means that one is absent-minded or wants to stop the talk; closely looking into the partner’s face or eyes indicates interest in him/her or what he/she is saying.

Eye contact is a popular expression in English-speaking countries. People there are told “not to trust anyone who won’t look you in the eye” [宋莉 2004: 189] and their children are encouraged to do the same. If not, they will be regarded as lacking enthusiasm or confidence. “Your eye contact, or lack of eye contact, communicates” [Steele 1999: 22]. To look at or not, whom to look at, when to look at or how long to look at is often a big question.

English natives believe that eye contact in conversation means gentility. Take Americans for example, they exchange eye contact nearly every few seconds in a conversation and they normally look at each other for about one minute in an eye contact and then look away, which show their respect, honesty, interest, attention and confidence. However, to Americans, eye contact is entirely different from gaze. They believe that gazing means being intimate between two people but rude when it is done to unrelated people. When they see a man and a woman gazing at each other, they believe that they are lovers. When they see two men or two women gazing at each other, they believe that they are homosexuals. When they see someone gazing at

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unrelated people to him/her, they believe that he/she is rude, crazy or insane. Once, a few Americans traveled to a remote village. The villagers were so curious and interested that they all came out and watched them, but the Americans got unhappy and annoyed, thinking them rude as they gazed at them as if they were freaks.

Eye contact does not mean the same in the world. Arabs enjoy it, but unlike Americans, they do it for a long period, just like gazing. They believe that it shows strong interest and helps assessing the truthfulness of what is being told. In the Middle East, it is extremely provocative for a woman to let a man catch her eyes, let alone returning his gaze. Frenchmen like to look into eyes attentively, but with admiration instead. In the Far Eastern countries, it is considered impolite, disrespectful, challenging, rebellious or threatening to look into others’ eyes, especially when a younger or inferior looking into an elder or superior’s eyes. People from Latin American and Caribbean cultures avoid eye contact as a sign of respect.

The changes of mouth express something. Normally depressing the corners of mouth means sorrow or heartbreak while turning up the corners indicates happiness. We pout our lips when being wronged while we widely open our mouth with a stiffen tongue when being stunned or surprised. When one is grinding his/her teeth, he/she might feel resented and when one is biting the lower lip, he/she might be bearing pain.

Smile and laugh are globally used to express happiness, but people smile or laugh for different reasons. In the Far Eastern countries, smile or laugh means not only happiness but also apology, understanding, forgiveness, contempt, making fun of, embarrassment or avoiding answering questions, etc. When a Chinese person steps on one’s feet by accident, he/she would say “sorry” with a smile, but an English native would feel confused by the “sorry” with the smile. Westerners always feel puzzled about the Far Eastern smile. A German friend of mine told me that he once broke a glass full of beer in a restaurant in Guangzhou and felt very embarrassed, but the Chinese people around just all smiled at him, and the waitress who came up to clean it also smiled at him, which made him not only embarrassed but annoyed. He just could not understand the smiles!

Nodding and shaking head are universal actions but they do not always mean the

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same, though. In most cultures nodding express agreement, understanding or active listening while shaking head means disagreement, misunderstanding or incomprehension, but in Bulgaria, parts of India, Greece and Turkey such actions may imply just the opposite. The Turks express their disapproval by quick lifting their chin with a tongue click. In China, nodding has one more function, greeting.

2.4.2 Gesture

Theoretically, professor Fan Xingli (范杏丽) thought that gesture means the expression of ideas and feelings by the movements and shapes of our hands and fingers instead of verbal language [2000: 123]. Gestures are so rich, colorful but complicated that it is difficult to list all of them in a thesis, but many are so often used and so meaningful and helpful to us in communication that they are truly worth carefully studying.

Thumbing up, expresses “good” in most cultures, in contrast, means challenge or rudeness in the Middle East and Australia. In North America, besides being “good”, it also means wanting a ride. In Greece, it even carries the meaning “off with you” or “get away”.

The “ok” gesture in the English world means that someone is fired by the boss in Japan, nothing or zero in France, and being vulgar or sexual in Russia, Singapore, Paraguay, Latin America, Germany and the Middle East.

Touching one’s temple with a finger is a popular gesture. Chinese people do it with head shaking to mean being stupid, crazy or insane but with nodding to mean cleverness or intelligence. The Dutch and Americans touch their temple to indicate cleverness or intelligence while touching forehead means stupidity. Chinese people circle their finger round and round their temple to indicate thinking but Americans mean being crazy by the same way.

To signify badness, Chinese people stretch out their little finger, Americans make their thumb downwards, but Japanese hold up their little finger to mean one’s lover.

To point, Germans use their little finger and people in most Asian countries use

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an entire hand with the palm upwards, especially to people on formal occasions. Americans use their index finger, as mentioned before.

When English natives put their hand on their neck to mean they are full, Chinese people would become puzzled and surprised because that gesture means suicide in China, who would express fullness by patting their stomach instead.

A proper gesture helps our expression but an improper one spoils it. “Open hands indicate openness to you. Clenched hands indicate fear or anger. Holding tightly to anything, the arm of the chair, one’s own leg, even one’s wine glass, is literally, holding on to one’s emotions, controlling one’s self. The emotion held back could be anything…” [Steele 1999: 61].

2.4.3 Posture

Posture is the “way in which a person holds himself as he stands, walks or sits” [李北达, ed. 2002: 1147]. It also expresses our feelings and attitudes, giving different connotations in different cultures.

Sitting is a common posture over the world, but how, where, and when to sit means differently in different cultures.

In traditional Chinese culture, to sit or not has to abide by certain rules. Those who could sit at the presence of many people are often the superiors and seniors, showing their special status and the respect from others. On the contrary, in the English-speaking countries, superiors prefer to stand, while the others sit, to show their power and influence and their higher status than others, making use of the difference in height. As for seniors, there is no special rule for them to sit or stand in most western countries.

Another rule has much to do with the way of sitting. Chinese culture stresses “sitting as firmly as a bell” to show that one is healthy, strong, serious, polite and respectful. In the English world, especially in the U.S. people pay more attention to comfort, convenience and liberty, so they usually just casually fall into a chair or sofa and comfortably lean in whatever way, namely, slouch, except on formal occasions.

A third rule of sitting concerns crossing legs. In Chinese culture only the

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superiors and seniors can do so at the presence of other people, or it is regarded as a rude manner. In Ghana and Turkey, sitting with legs crossing is extremely offensive, but in the English world, particularly in the U.S. this is a normal action for relaxation which anyone can do anytime and they can even place their feet on a table or anything else that can stand it while sitting.

Standing is another daily posture. Chinese people value “standing as straightly and firmly as a pine”, which has the same connotation as sitting, but many Americans still just slouch when standing in accordance with their concepts. Many other countries, such as Sweden, Japan, Korea, Germany, etc, seem to have the same convention as China in this respect. The Turks even do not accept the posture of standing with hands in pockets. Besides, the posture of standing expresses other meanings as well. When someone stands with his/her feet apart and hands on hips, we would guess that he/she is aggressive. When the interviewer stands up in an interview, the action often means that the talk is over.

Walking is also a daily posture. It is accepted that walking starts from standing and it should be conducted along a straight line by determined and rhythmic stepping with body straight and stable, eyes looking at the front horizontally and hands moving forth and back naturally with the stepping rhythm. In Western culture, people prefer to make big strides when walking while people in the Eastern countries, such as Japan, Korea, Thailand, Burma, etc, enjoy small steps. Most Eastern cultures specially stress the accepted walking posture, especially on formal occasions, but in the English world, it is not so strict. In the U.S. the President often walks casually, sometimes even jogs onto the platform before a bumper audience, e.g. President Obama often does so.

2.4.4 Body Touch

Body Touch is an important body language that is complicated and delicate. It is the way that people use to express feelings. In human contacts, to touch or not is so sensitive that it often makes people puzzled and/or embarrassed. It signifies meanings so differently in different cultures that embarrassment, jokes and conflicts arise sometimes.

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Experts have classified body touch into five types - functional, social, friendly, loving, and lustful. The scope, occasion and form of touching vary in different cultures.

In northern Europe, body touch is less common. In some cultures, such as Arabian and some Asian ones, body touch is even forbidden, particularly in public and between opposite sexes. Americans are also sensitive at this. They do not like physical touch, especially with strangers. However, Latin American culture is liberal to body touch in association, so people there just feel natural and free to touch each other in contacts. Traditional Chinese culture once strictly forbad body touch between people, especially between opposite sexes. However, in China today people are more open in concepts.

Handshaking is a popular body touch in association, which is used to express warmth and kindness. Frenchmen tend to shake the host’s hands when greeting and departing. Germans only shake the host’s hand when coming into his house but not when leaving. Africans like to make a sound with fingers after handshaking. People from Eastern Asian countries would shake hands loosely and shortly because they take a tight handshaking as a challenge. North Americans greet each other by shaking hands tightly on formal occasions though many of them dislike body touch between strangers, ordinary friends and acquaintances, and they teach their children so. Arabs like handshaking very much and they can have it several times with the same person on the same day.

In General, there are universal rules for handshaking. First, it is normally the host, the senior, the superior, or the woman who will first offer their hand for shaking, and then the guest, the junior, the inferior or the man should walk up at once to take the offered hand and shake. Second, it must be the right hand rather than the left, the whole hand instead of the fingers only between men, but only fingers between a woman and a man, to have handshaking. Third, it is advisable to have handshaking for 3 seconds or so, not too tightly and not too loosely. Fourth, it is not proper to shake hands with gloves. Fifth, it is polite to gaze at each other’s face and say something with smiles while shaking hands. Sixth, refusing a handshaking is

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considered very rude, so an explanation must be made when a handshaking offer is declined for some special reasons.

Hug and kiss are two other body touches. In many cultures, Hug and kiss are only used among family members, close friends or the same sexes, but nowadays they are widely used on social occasions to express kindness.

Westerners, especially English natives hug and kiss a lot. They do it between any two persons they like on any occasions they think suitable and necessary. For them, hug and kiss are a kind of love between family members and friends, a kind of courtesy between acquaintances, business partners and politicians. Latin Americans do the same as English natives. Chinese people seldom hug or kiss except lovers, but in international contacts, they are increasingly using hug and kiss to express their kindness to their partners and friends. The Japanese are used to bowing to express their kindness, instead of any body touch. In Arabian countries, Eastern Europe, some Mediterranean countries, Russia and France, men often hug each other and kiss the cheeks.

To use and understand hug and/or kiss correctly on different occasions, we should also abide by the rules in different cultures. In general, hug is usually easier and less complicated than kiss. A general rule in use is that hugging too tightly is improper, especially when hugging a female, with the exception of hugging between two lovers, family members, or very close friends, on which occasion people usually hug tightly to express a deep emotion. As for kissing, remember, first, only lovers kiss each other with tongues; second, family members and close friends can kiss each other on the lips but only a little and fast; third, between people of ordinary relationship, kissing the cheeks or “kissing the air” is enough; fourth, in public and on formal occasions, it is never wrong to kiss the cheeks or “kiss the air”.

Body touch, no matter what it is, where it happens and whom it happens to, is a symbol of feelings. As long as we know about and strictly abide by the rules of different cultures on the one hand and exactly follow our own feelings on the other hand, we are not likely to make mistakes in using body touch.

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2.5 Problems in Intercommunications and Some Solutions 2.5.1 A Summary of Some Problems Caused by the Improper use of Body Language

Once, ex-President Nixon of the U.S.A. visited a country in South America and was warmly welcomed by the local people. In the speech he gave there he held up both his hands and made the gesture of “OK” to accompany what he was saying, unluckily which gesture means being vulgar or sexual in Latin culture. The local audience was shocked and became angry. They did not understand why the U.S. president made such a vulgar gesture to them. Fortunately, Nixon immediately realized the wrong gesture he used to the people and made an explanation and apology at once.

Bill Clinton, another American ex-president, also made an improper gesture by pointing at the audience with his index finger in his speech to the university students during his visit to Beijing, which was misunderstood by the Chinese students and caused some unpleasant air because the gesture was believed to be a very rude one in Chinese culture.

One day a Canadian girl was doing some shopping with a few Chinese friends in a supermarket in Shanghai. Suddenly a teenager fell on the ground from the stairs. He struggled to stand up when people around began to laugh. Luckily, he looked all right and hurried away embarrassedly. The Canadian girl was quite puzzled and asked her Chinese friends, “Why did and how could the people around just laugh when someone fell?’ ‘Was that funny?”

It is clear that the problems in the above-mentioned examples were caused due to the misuse of body languages in communication. With more and more contacts with the outside world, many people find that they encounter problems and barriers in communication from time to time, particularly those regarding the application of body language. To achieve successful communication, it is important for us to solve these problems in proper ways.

Communication problems mainly come from the ignorance of cultural

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differences. Normally, verbal expression is not difficult to understand. In comparison, communication problems or barriers mainly arise in non-verbal expression, mostly, in relation to body language because it is much more complicated than verbal language, as discussed above.

In this aspect, some analysis can be given as follows: firstly, it is normally very easy for people to interpret the body movements that they have observed in their own way while neglecting the cultural differences, hence causing misunderstanding. On other occasions, people just forget the differences between cultures though they do know them because one is often magically controlled by one’s own cultural power.

Secondly, most people are likely to use their own body movements habitually according to their own cultural connotations without considering other people’s traditions and feelings. Thus problems or troubles arise here in communications as culture is such a magic thing that it cultivates people’s habits and behavior. When one behaves habitually, he/she would feel easy, smooth and comfortable because doing so accords with the cultural guide.

Thirdly, some unique body actions from certain culture, which are rarely seen in other cultures and are easy to be overlooked, are entirely probable to cause problems or troubles and lead to a failure in communication. It is a normal phenomenon that people overlook what they do not know. If something new is not strange and important enough to arouse people’s curiosity and attention, it is often very easy for people to overlook and forget it. Body movements are in such a great number and are so complex that many ordinary people often fail to pay much attention to them.

Fourthly, sometimes some people act strangely in other people’s eyes but it is just that strange action that should draw enough attention from people coming from different cultural backgrounds as it might be expressed by a quite different body action in another culture, and if people are entirely ignorant of such actions, some misunderstanding may appear.

Fifthly, sometimes some specific body movements in a specific environment need special interpretation because they are conditioned by the specific and objective conditions such as the weather, the clothes, the room, or the objects around, etc. If not,

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we will have problems with our communication.

In brief, problems concerning the improper use of body language in communication may appear on all kinds of occasions.

2.5.2 Solutions to the Problems concerning Body Language

To solve or avoid the communication problems and barriers relevant to the use of body language, we should always be alert, careful and cautious of the differences in cultures and their traditions, and try to learn about relevant knowledge of body language. Researchers have found many laws for us to observe and solve the problems and also provide us with much advice in this respect.

Experts advise us to do as the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Thus we should manage to understand and respect each other’s culture and traditions in our contacts with people from different cultural backgrounds. To do this, we should abide by the following rules.

First, we should consciously learn about different cultures and their traditions, the similarities and differences in custom, habits, beliefs, and their ways of thinking, behaving and expressing, including verbal and nonverbal ones. A good mastery of the relevant knowledge is essential and helpful to our success in actual communication, which will help us express ourselves and understand others correctly and properly, avoiding misunderstanding, incomprehension and troubles.

Then we should attentively observe what and how the local people do to express themselves nonverbally in actual situations and manage to master the skills and catch the specific body language in time and reliably. Many body languages are not only different from culture to culture but also often so slight and vague that they are fleeting and not easy to catch, especially when it comes to the changes of facial expressions such as a quick wink, a subtle twitch of muscle, flaring nostrils, a swift eye contact, swallowing of saliva, or an invisible smile, etc.

And next we should initiatively learn from the natives and ask them verbally for advice and clarification when not understanding. When we are not sure or feel curious about a certain body language, we had better ask them for clarification rather than

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guessing at random or leaving us in doubt without attaining a satisfactory explanation.

Fourthly, we must never take it for granted that all body languages are universal and apply them arbitrarily or habitually. We should know that there should always be exceptions to the rule. Paying attention to the exceptions while remembering both the similarities and differences of body language are often the key for us to avoid misuse and misunderstanding.

Fifth, judging a single body action in isolation often causes misunderstanding because body actions are often applied in combination with the expression of ideas and feelings within a given context. To ignore a particular context, we can easily be misled in understanding body languages.

Sixth, the objective conditions must be taken into account when we are judging a body language because body language is often conditioned by them. When a person in his scanty clothes stands with his/her arms folded in a cold weather, the action of folding arms means unnecessarily defense. Instead, it is quite possible that he/she feels cold.

Seventh, it is necessary to get some special train in body language or learn about the relevant knowledge and skills. It is true that we tend to have some inborn body languages but that does not mean that we know all of it. After-birth learning helps a lot.

Eighth, undoubtedly, we should keep our hands and body to ourselves until we become familiar with and confident of how to behave by touching to express ourselves after attentively observing other people in behavior. Body touch is a sensitive language.

Ninth, a mind of understanding, respect and tolerance is the primary in intercultural contacts and intercommunications. With such a mind, we will be in a position to be successful in avoiding incomprehension, misunderstanding, or even superiority, prejudice, discrimination, and conflict.

3. Conclusion

In brief, efforts have been made in this paper to introduce body language in

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relation to its emergence, meaning, nature，function and importance, highlighting its differences among cultures and the problems caused by them, analyzing it based on the existing research findings and my own knowledge in the field for the purpose of providing some solutions to the problems. Finally I would like to reiterate that body language plays a significant, or even crucial, role in communication within a culture as well as between cultures, and it is very meaningful and helpful for us to learn about it and manage to apply it correctly and properly in actual contexts.

I sincerely hope that this paper will contribute, more or less, to the enhancement of people’s awareness of the significance of the application of body language in communication and help promote its popularization work in the society so as to help people achieve success in their actual communications.

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