语言文化论文-浅谈非言语交际及其在交际中的影响.doc

语言文化论文浅谈非言语交际及其在交际中的影响AbstractSincelanguagehasbeencomeintobeing,itplaysacommandingroleasameansofcommunication,butnottheonlymeansofit.Nonverbalcommunicationtakesplacewithverbaloneatthesametimeinthecommunication.However,verbalcommunicationconveysthemessageinaconvenientanddirectwaywhichmakespeopledependmoreonsuchcommunicativemeanswhileneglectthenonverbalone.Soitisnotsurprisingthattraditionallylanguagestudieshaveemphasizedverbalandwrittenforms,butrecentlynonverbalcommunicationhasreceivedmoreandmoreattentionandbecomeayoungsciencewhichisrelatedtomanyothersubjects.Afterbrieflyreviewingachievementsmadeinthestudyofnonverbalcommunication,thisthesisintroducesthedefinition,classification,function,andculturaldifferencesoncrossculturalnonverbalcommunication.Aimingtopointthesignificanceofnonverbalcommunication,itfocusesontheinfluenceofnonverbalcommunicativeapproachincommunication,especiallyinteachingwiththeimplicationtoit.Inreality,nonverbalcommunicationhasbeenwidelyusedinmanyfields,soitisnecessarytolearnsomethingaboutitinordertoimproveourcommunicativequality.KeyWordsnonverbalcommunicationculturaldifferencefunctioninfluenceteaching【摘要】自从语言产生以来，言语交际便在人类交际中扮演最主要的角色，但并非是交际的唯一手段。在传播过程中，非言语交际与言语交际是同时进行的，然而言语交际较为快捷地传递信息，因此人们较多依赖于此种交际手段而忽视非言语表达。难怪对于语言的研究，传统上较重视口语及书面语这两种言语交际形式，而很少顾及非言语交际形式然而近年来，非言语交际手段越来越受到语言学家们的关注，成为一门跨学科的新兴科学。本文简述了非言语交际的研究成果，从定义、基本分类、功能、跨文化非言语交际的文化差异这几方面对其作了简要介绍。为了指出非言语交际的重要性，着重论述非言语交际在交际中的影响尤其对教学产生的影响，从而得出对教学的启示。在现实生活，非言语交际被广泛应用于许多领域，因此为提高交际质量有必要对非言语交际作一些了解。【关键词】非言语交际文化差异功能影响教学IntroductionSincelanguagehasbeencomeintobeing,itbecomesthemostimportantcommunicativetoolforhumanbeing,butnottheonlyone.Whenweareinvolvedincommunicating,weneedtomobilizeourfacialexpression,bodymovement,intonation,temperature,color,smell,clothingandbodydecoration,time,spaceandmanyotherwaystocommunicatewitheachother,besidesusinglanguagetotransmitinformation.Thesemeansforcommunicationwithoutwordsaresocallednonverbalcommunication.TraditionallyLanguagestudieshaveemphasizedverbalandwrittenforms,andrecentlynonverbalcommunicationhasreceivedmoreandmoreattention.InmypaperIllpresentsomebasicconceptions,functions,culturaldifference，andinfluenceonteachingespecially.1.AbriefreviewofnonverbalcommunicationstudiesTheearlieststudyofnonverbalcommunicationcouldbetracedbacktothatofvariousschoolsofthinkersinpreQinDynastyandGreekphilosopherAristotle.ConfuciuspaidmoreattentiontoappearanceandpostureindifferentoccasionsandAristotleanalyzedexpressivewaysofbehaviorsinhisworks.1P10ThescientificstudyofnonverbalcommunicationprimarilystartedafterWorldWarII.OneofthemostinfluentialpretwentiethcenturyworkswasDarwinsExpressionoftheEmotionsinManandAnimalsin1872.Thisworkspawnedthemodernstudyoffacialexpression,andmanyofhisobservationsandideashavebeenvalidatedbyotherresearchers.Inthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury,thestudyofnonverbalcommunicationstillremainedunsystematicfortherewereonlyisolatedstudiesofvoice,physicalappearance,dressandfacialexpressions.ThethreeinfluentialworksduringthisperiodwereKretschmersbookPhysiqueandCharacterin1925,SheldonsbookTheVariationsofHumanPhysiquein1940,andEfronsbookGestureandEnvironmentin1941.In1950s,therewasasignificantincreaseinthenumberofnonverbalresearchefforts.BirdwhistellsIntroductiontoKinesicsin1952andHallsSilentLanguagein1959weretwomilestonesofthisdecade.In1956,RueschandKeesproducedabookentitledNonverbalCommunicationNotesontheVisualPerceptionofHumanRelations.Thiswasthefirstbooktousethetermnonverbalcommunicationinitstitle.1960sproducedanuclearexplosionofnonverbalstudies.Duringthistime,theclassictheoreticalpiecewasEkmansandFriesensarticleontheorigins,usage,andcodingofnonverbalbehavior.The1970sprovedtobeatimeofsummarizingandsynthesizingonnonverbalstudies.ItbeganwithJuliusFastsBodyLanguagein1970.ThisbookwasthebestsellingvolumeatthattimeandithasnowbeentranslatedintoseveralChineseversions.The1980swereatimeoffurtherdevelopmentofnonverbalcommunicationstudies.Somenonverbalresearchesofthisdecadefocusedonidentifyingthewaysavarietyofnonverbalsignalsworktogethertoaccomplishcommoncommunicativegoals.Theresearchonnonverbalbehaviorinourcountrybeganfrom1980s.ScholarssuchasHuWenzhong,BiJiwan,DengYianchangandLiuRunqinghavedonesomeresearchwork.2P4041Whywebegantheresearchonnonverbalcommunicationlaterthanwesterncountries,sofarasIknow,thereresomereasonsforit.SinceJosephStalinhadcriticizedthegestureofMarin1950,thescholarsinourcountrywhostudiedlinguistictheoryconsidereditasguidingprincipletoconfirmthefunctionoflanguagecommunicationabsolutelywithoutconsideringthepositionandfunctionofnonverbalcommunicationincommunication.Asaresult,therangeofstudyisonlylimitedtolanguageandcommunicativetoolbasedonlanguage.1P1Andduring1960s1970sCulturalRevolutionhappenedinourcountrybringingadisastertothestudyofthisfield.2.DefinitionandclassificationofnonverbalcommunicationTherearevariousdefinitionsfornonverbalcommunicationamongdifferentscholars.AccordingtoKnapp2P41thephrasenonverbalcommunicationreferstocommunicationeffectbymeansotherthanwordsassumingwordsaretheverbalelement.Whendefiningnonverbalcommunication,SamovarandPorterproposethatnonverbalcommunicationinvolvesallthosenonverbalstimuliinacommunicationsettingthataregeneratedbyboththesourceandhisorheruseoftheenvironmentandthathavepotentialmessagevalueforthesourceorreceiver.Inthisdefinition,theroleoftheenvironment,themessagevalueofnonverbalstimuliandthecommunicationsettingareemphasizedasthreeimportantfactorsinnonverbalcommunication.2P41Inshort,nonverbalmeansforcommunication,whichisconsideredassilentlanguage,expressesmeaningsorfeelingswithoutusingwords.Asdifferentlinguistsdescribenonverbalcommunicationindifferentdimensions,thereisnogeneralagreementinclassificationasyet.HereweonlyproposesomeofthecommontopicsmostcommunicationtheoristsaddressthemselvestoNonverbalcommunicationconsistsofallsignalingsystemsthatdonotusewords.3P1811bodymodesofnonverbalcommunicationkinesicsposture,gestures,eyecontact,facialexpressions,appearance,smell,shiftsinskincolor,usesofclothingandbodydecoration,bodyorientation,anyothermovementofanyotherpartofthebody2spacelanguagebodydistanceorproxemicsbodytouchandbodydistance3paralanguagevoicemodulationspeed,pitch,volume,pause,intonation,etc4timelanguagetimeorientationpast,present,andfuture,monochromicMtimeandpolychromicPtime5environmentalcommunicationinterrelationshipbetweenpeopleandtheirenvironmentsarchitecture,object,color,lighting,odorsetc6communicationofgeneticcharacteristics,whichareconsideredbysomescholarsasnonverbalcommunication7variousartformsandmediasuchaspainting,architecture,music,film,ballet,andmime3.FunctionsofnonverbalbehaviorincommunicationInsometypesofcommunicationpeopleexpressmorenonverballythanverbally.OnestudydoneintheUnitedStatesshowedthatinthecommunicationofattitudes,93ofthemessagewastransmittedbythetoneofthevoiceandbyfacialexpressions,whereasonly7ofthespeakersattitudewastransmittedbywords.4P122Nonverbalcommunicationissignificantinhumaninteractionbecauseitisusuallyresponsibleforfirstimpression.Thinkforamomentforhowoftenyourfirstjudgmentsarebasedonthecolorofapersonsskinorthemannerinwhichheorsheisdressed.Moreimportant,thoseinitialmessagesusuallyinfluencetheperceptionofeverythingelsethatfollows.Nonverbalbehaviorsandverbalcommunicationinteractincommunicationprocess.Forsimplicity,nonverbalcommunicationservestorepeat,complement,reinforce,substitute,regulateorevencontradictourverbalbehavior.4P1371393.1RepeatingNonverbalcommunicationcansimplyrepeatwhatwassaidverbally.Forinstance,verbalstatementsofagreementordisagreementareoftenaccompaniedbyanodorshakeoftheheadtoconveypositiveornegativefeelings.Wemightholdupourhandinthegesturethatsignifiesapersontostopatthesametimeweactuallyusethewordstop.Orwemightpointinacertaindirectionafterwehavejustsaidwhentellapersonthewaytotherailwaystation,yougenerallyaddalittleinformationbypointingintheproperdirection..Thesecouldbeconsideredrepetitionbecausetheyindicatethesamemeaningastheverbalmessages.3.2ComplementingCloselyrelatedtorepeatingiscomplementing.Althoughmessagesthatrepeatcanstandalone,complementinggenerallyaddsmoreinformationtomessages.Nonverbalsignalscanmodifyorelaborateonverbalmessages.Theactorsoractressesofcomedyorskitorshortcrosstalkaregoodatperformingbodylanguagetomaketheirperformancelivelyandmoreeasilyattracttheattentionofaudiences.Ifyoutellyourfriendthatyouhavenomoneytolendhim,youmayturnoutyourpocketstoshowyoursincereregret.Youcantellsomeonethatyouarepleasedwithhisorherperformance,butthismessagetakesonextrameaningifyoupatthepersonontheshoulderatthesametime.Theseimportantactionshelpustocomplement,completeourverbalbehavior.Youcanseehowanapologybecomesmoreforcefulifyourface,aswellasyourwords,issaying,Imsorry.Thisfunctionofnonverbalcommunicationindicatesthatnonverbalcommunicationissupplementarytoverbalbehaviorincommunication.Ifitseparatesfromverballanguage,themessageconveyedbynonverbalsymbolswillfailtobeunderstoodwhichresultsinfailureofperformingnormalhumancommunication.BritishPrimeMinisterWinstonChurchillstressedtheartofspeech.Onceinhisspeech,hesaid,Thelevelofourlifenowhasexceededanytimeinhistory,forweeatsomuch.Tothispoint,hestoppedonpurposelookingattheaudiencesforawhile.Thenhecontinuedwiththefingerpointingtohishugestomach,thisispowerfulevidence.Churchillusednonverbalapproachtwicetoassistverballanguage.Atfirst,heintentionallyusedpausetoattracttheattentionofthemassthenheskillfullyusedthebodylanguagepointinghisbeerbellytoreceivevivideffect.5P17Soonlywhenlinguisticcommunicationsystemmixeswithnonverbalcommunicationcanitformacompletecommunicativesystem.Ifitbreaksawayfromthecooperationandassistanceofnonverbalbehavior,itishardtoattaineffectivegoalofcommunication.3.3ReinforcingNonverbalsignalsmaybeusedtoemphasizeaportionoftheverbalmessage.Peoplefrequentlyusemovementsoftheheadandhandssuchasnods,blinks,squints,andshrugs,tohelpaccentorpunctuatetheverbalmessage.IfyousayIloveyoutosomeoneyoucareabout,ahugorkissisusuallyfollowed.Reinforcingcanalsobeachievedbychangingthepitchorstressonawordorgroupofwords.Ourentiremeaningreliesmoreheavilyonwordsthatareaccented.Forinstance1Iwanttotalkwithhim.Thesentencemeaninglaysemphasisonthepersonwhowantstotalk.2Iwanttotalkwithhim.Thesentencemeaningreliesontheactionthatthepersonwantstoperform.3Iwanttotalkwithhim.Thesentencemeaningputsstressontheconversationalpartnerwithwhomthepersonwantstocommunicate.3.4SubstitutingWeusesubstitutioninnonverbalcommunicationwhenweperformsomeactioninsteadofspeaking.Quiteafewnonverbalmessagesarecommonlyusetotaketheplaceofwords.Ifyouseeaveryspecialfriend,youareapttoenlargethesizeofyoursmileandthrowopenyourarmstogreethimorher,whichisasubstituteforallthewordsitwouldtaketoconveythesamefeeling.Ifagroupofpeopleisboisterous,youmightplaceyourindexfingertoyourlipsasanalternativetosaying,PleasecalmdownsothatIcanspeak.Sometimes,whenwearetoosadorexcitedtosayanything,wejustkeepsilent.Oursilencemayreplaceanyverbalmessages.Insomesituationverbalwordsareunnecessaryforsilenceatthemomentsurpasseswords.6P12BeforeIraqwasintrudedbytheUS,IraqiexpresidentSaddamHusseinfiredtowardtheskyinthepresenceofthemasstoshowtheangerandthedecisionoffightingagainsttheUS.fromTVreportTheactionthepresidentshowedwouldbemorepowerfulthanwordsthatcalledontheIraqipeopletocounterattackAmericantroops.Fordeafmutes,borntobeunabletocommunicateverballylikenormalpeople,thesignlanguageorgestureprovidesopportunityforthemtocommunicatewithothersinthesilentworld.Inthiscase,nonverbalcommunicationreplacesthefunctionofverbalone.Fornonverbalcommunicationtoactassubstitution,itmustbeinterpretedinspecificculture.HerearesomeexamplesIfwetrytouseourculturesnonverbalsubstitutesinanotherculture,misunderstandingsmayoccur.Arabmenoftengreetbykissingonbothcheeks.InBuddhismcountriesofSoutheastAsialikeThailand,peoplegreetwithbothhandsclosedinfrontofchest.InJapan,mengreetbybowing,andintheUnitedStates,peopleshakehands.AmericanswhosayIbypointingtotheirchestswouldnotbeunderstoodinJapan,whereIissymbolizedbypointingtoonesnose.3.5RegulatingWeoftenregulateandmanagecommunicationbyusingsomeformofnonverbalbehaviorwenodourheadinagreementtoindicatetoourcommunicationpartnerthatweagreeandthatheorsheshouldcontinuetalkingorweremainsilentforamomentandletthesilencesendthemessagethatwearereadytobeginourspeech.Nonverbalbehaviorsusuallyrepresentthemostefficientandleastoffensivemeansofregulatinginteraction.Tosay,Shutup,Tommaytriggerahostileanddefensivereactiontopresentthesamemessagebyeyecontactorgestureisamoredesirableway.NoddingandeyecontactaretwotypicalnonverbalhintsthatmeanIwanttotalkandItsyourturntotalk.Whenwewanttoindicatewehavefinishedspeakingandtheotherpersoncanstartinaconversation,wemayincreaseoureyecontactwiththeotherperson.Conversely,ifwewanttokeeptheotherfromspeaking,wemaydecreaseeyecontactandperhapsraisethevolume.Whenwedonotwanttotakeaspeakingturn,wemightreinforceourheadnodsandmaintainattentiveeyecontact.Rapidnodsmaysignalthespeakertohurryupandfinishwhileslowandsilentnodsusuallyindicatethespeakerstalkingwillcontinue.3.6ContradictingThetermcontradictingincludesavarietyofwaysverbalandnonverbalsignalsarenotinagreementwitheachother.Ayoungwomantoldherpsychologicaldoctorthatshewasdeeplyinlovewithherboyfriendwithshakingherheadatthesametimethatunconsciouslydisapprovedwhatshesaid.7P3Hethathaseyestoseeandearstohearmayconvincehimselfthatnomortalcankeepasecret.SigmundFreud3P181Thatistosay,ournonverbalactionswouldtellthetruthsthataretriedtocoverbyverbalmessages.Youtellsomeoneyouarerelaxedandatease,yetyourvoicequaversandyourhandsshake.Thecontradictorymessageoccursbecausepeopledonotwanttotellthetruthandtheydonotwanttolie.Inmostcases,wedontliketocontradictothers,hurttheirfeelingorletthemloseface.Whenafriendgaveaterriblepresentation,wemaysayYoudiditquitewell.butourvoice,faceandbodymaynotsupportthewords.Onotheroccasions,peopleevenusecontradictorymessagestocommunicatesarcasmorirony,sayingonethingwithwordsbutmeaningtheoppositewithvocaltoneorfacialexpressions.Becausepeoplerelymostlyonnonverbalmessageswhentheyreceiveconflictingdata,weneedtobeawareofthedangersinherentinsendingopposingmessages.4.SomenonverbalbehaviorsindifferentculturesMuchofourdifficultywithpeopleinothercountriesstemsfromthefactthatsolittleisknownaboutnonverbalcommunication.Formaltraininginthelanguage,history,government,andcustomsofanothernationisonlythefirststepinacomprehensiveprogram.Ofequalimportanceisanintroductiontothenonverballanguagewhichexistsineverycountryoftheworldandamongthevariousgroupswithineachcountry.Cultureisallpersuasive,multidimensional,andboundlessitiseverywhereandineverything.Thesameisalsotrueofnonverbalbehavior.Ourclothesandjewelry,thecountlessexpressionswecanreflectwithourface,thehundredsofmovementswecanmakewithourbodies,whereandhowwetouchpeople,ourgazeandeyecontact,vocalbehaviorssuchaslaughter,andouruseoftime,space,andsilencearejustsomeofthebehaviorsinwhichweengagethatserveasmessage.4.1GeneralappearanceanddressIninterculturalcommunication,appearanceandobjectsareimportantbecausethestandardsweapplyandthejudgmentswemakearesubjecttoculturalinterpretations.IntheUnitedStates,peopletendtovaluetheappearanceoftall,slenderwomen.InJapan,diminutivefemalesaredeemedthemostattractive.Clothinghowmuch,howlittle,andwhatkindisalsoareflectionofaculturesvalueorientation.Forexample,modestyishighlyvaluedamongArabs.Muslimgirlsusuallywearscarvestocovertheirheads,andinmostinstances,girlsarenotallowedtoparticipateinswimmingclassesbecauseoftheprohibitionsagainstexposingtheirbodies.4.2GesturesGesturesrefertospecificbodymovementsthatcarrymeaning.Handscanformshapesthatconveymanymeaningsthatmaydifferamongcultures.Whatisacceptableinoneculturemaybecompletelyunacceptableinanother.Oneculturemaydeterminethatsnappingfingerstocallwaiterisappropriateanothermayconsiderthisgesturerude.Forinstance,theOKgestureintheAmericancultureisasymbolformoneyinJapan.ThesamegestureisobsceneinsomeLatinAmericancountrieswhileforChineseorpeopleintheSouthofFranceiszeroornothing.6P13Thesamemovementwithdifferentmeaningincrossculturalcommunicationwillleadtomisunderstandinginminordegreeotherwisetocourtdisaster.ThegestureforapplaudingovertheheadinAmericausuallymeansarrogancetodefeatthecounterpart,whileinRussiaitisasymboloffriendship.WhentheSovietPremierKhrushchevvisitedAmerica,heperformedsuchgesturetoindicatefriendship,butthismademanyAmericansfeeluncomfortable.6P134.3PosturePostureandsittinghabitsofferinsightintoaculturesdeepstructure.InmanyAsiancultures,thebowismuchmorethanagreeting.Itsignifiestheculturesconcernwithstatusandrank.InJapan,forexample,lowpostureisanindicatorofrespect.Althoughitappearssimpletotheoutsider,thebowingritualisactuallyrathercomplicated.Thepersonwhooccupiesthelowerstatusbeginsthebow,andhisorherbowmustbedeeperthantheotherpersons.The