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论文完成3稿范文 On theCulture Differencesof BodyLanguages Between English and Chinese Abstract:With therapid developmentof thesociety andglobalization of the economy,people havemore opportunitiesto municate with the other peopleing from different cultures,at the same time，there appearmore andmore obstaclescaused by the differences of language and culture.In intercultural munication,one of the mostuseful waysto dealwith theobstacles isto masterthe meaning of body language.Body language,like verbal language,is also a partof culture.Different cultureshares differentbody languagesexcept someworld-known ones.In intercultural munication,the same body language may meandifferent things.Using body languages wronglynot onlymakes youfail ininterpersonal munication,but alsocauses conflictsin intercultural munication.So what are the differences of the samebody languagein differentcountry?How toapply body languages correctly?This paper,after borrowingand studyingthe experienceof theforefathers,devotes toa parisonand contrastof body languages between English and Chinese interms of eye language,facial expressions,gestures,postures,touch,and physical distance.It aimsto illustratethe culture differences of body languages between Chineseand Englishin orderto makepeople fromChina and English-spoken countriesunderstand each other betterand municatemore effectively.Key Words body language;interculturalmunication;cultural differences摘要随着社会的飞速发展，经济的全球化，人们的跨文化交往越来越频繁，而且由于语言和文化的差异出现了越来越多的障碍。 在跨文化交际中，消除这些障碍最有效的方法之一，就是了解身势语的含义。 身势语与言语一样，都是文化的一部分。 除一些世界公认的身势语外，不同的文化还有各自的身势语。 跨文化交际时，相同的身势语可能具有完全不同的意义。 错误地使用身势语不仅会使我们在跨文化交际中失败，而且会造成和外国朋友之间的冲突，所以怎样正确地使用身势语，怎样理解身势语的差异都非常重要，该篇论文在借鉴前人成果的基础上,从目光语，面部表情，手势语，身体姿态，体触语和身体距离方面对中英的身势语进行对比。 目的在于通过列举中英身势语的文化差异，从而促进有效交流，避免误解。 关键词身势语；跨文化交际；文化异同Introduction Peoplecan municate with eachother throughnot onlyverbal municationbut alsononverbal munication.Moreover,the latterplays anessential role.Some psychologistsestimate thatsixty toeighty percent of allmunication ispassed throughnonverbal munication.That isto say,nonverbal municationplays animportant rolein interculturalmunication.Birdwhistll,an expertof body language researchin thewestern world,considered thatmore than65percent of the expressionof emotionsis finishedby postures,gestures,facial expressions,eye managementand otherkinds of body languages.He also pointed outthat mancould makeout about250,000kinds ofexpressions onhis face.Some studiesin Americaindicate thatin expressingemotion and attitude,intonation andfacial expressioncan expressmore thanniy-three percent of informationwhile languagecan onlydeliver sevenpercentofinformation.Compare with the municativefunction of verbal language,non-verbal municationcan transmitmuch moreinformation andemotion.（Pan ke,xx）Body language,as ameans of non-verbal munication,varies withculture and society.Because ofdifferent culture,the samebody languagehas differentmeanings andmunicative functions,which causes a lot of troublein interculturalmunication.Therefore,in interculturalmunication,it isvery importantfor usto understand the body language.1.Some Informationabout BodyLanguage Nonverbal munication is a processin whichmunicators usethe naturalfeatures of their bodiesto deliverinformation andexpress specificmeaning instinctivelyto the other municator.The study of nonverbal munication coversthree majorparts:proxemics,kinesics orbody language,and paralanguage.Kinesics is also calledbody language,which studiesthe meanings of themovement of all partsof bodyand itincludes manynonverbal behaviorsuch as eye language,gestures,postures,facial expressions,touch andso on.When wespeak,we usemuch more than justwords.We alsomunicate withour face,our hands,and evenour ownbodies.This kind of municationcan becalledbody languageornonverbal munication.Samovar oncesays that“Kinesics is the systematicstudy of body languagemovements and action,”and throughthe study,kinesics makesthese actionand behaviorsformalized andencoded.In Websters NewDictionary,kinesics isdefined as“to systematicallystudy nonverbalbody action(such asblush,eye movements,etc)and munication.”Hu Wenzhongsays thatspace andorientation,and seatingarrangement arealso partsof body language.Collins EnglishLanguage Dictionarygives thefollowing definition:Body languageis the way in which youshow yourfeeling orthoughts toother peopleby meansof theposition ormovement ofyour bodyrather thanwords.Aording toValdes,there arethree classesof nonverbalbehavior-body language,object language and environmentallanguage;and body language includesmovement,gesture,posture,facial expression,gaze,touch anddistancing(Valdes,1986).2.The RelationshipBetween BodyLanguage andCulture Likeverballanguage,body languageis alsoconnected withculture.In orderto avoidmisunderstandings in cross-culturalmunication,we shouldknow the bodylanguagefromdifferent cultures.Because thesamebodylanguagemayhave greatdifferences in differentculturebackground.So beforelearning andstudying bodylanguage peoplemust understand the relationship between bodylanguageand culture in interculturalmunication.In orderto understand the relationship between bodylanguageand culture,we shouldhave a good understandingof culture.What is culture?This is not aneasy questionto answer.Some anthropologistsdefine cultureas thewhole way of lifeof apeople orgroup.In thiscontext,culture includesall thesocial practicesthat bonda groupof people together anddistinguish themfrom others.Aording toPeck (1998),culture is the aeptedand patternedways ofbehavior of a munity.Culture andbodylanguage are handeddown fromgeneration togeneration,and thelong historicalandcultureheritage of a societyform a mon habit.Aording toSamovar etal (1981),there areseveral characteristicsabout therelationshipbetweenbodylanguageandculture:firstly,culture andbodylanguageare closely related and cannot beset apart;secondly,many body languages are the resultof culturalacquisition;thirdly,the shapingand theeffect ofpeoples bodylanguagearealways determinedby acertain culturalenvironment.Therefore,understanding therelationshipbetweenthem isessential.If we dont,it ispossible that we canmake mistakesininterculturalmunication.3.The DifferentFunctions of Body languagesBetweenEnglish and ChineseBody languageis animportant partof nonverbal munication.Some scholarseven consideredit as the basisof the nonverbal munication.Birdwhistll,an expertof bodylanguage researchin thewestern world,considered thatmore than65percentof the expressionof emotionsis finishedby postures,gestures,facial expressions,eye contactand otherkind of bodylanguage.Mr.Freud hadever saidthat“nobody cankeep secretpletely,if hislip keepsilent hewill talkby his finger,every gestureof hisbody will betray him”.Body languagehas threemajor functions:assisting,substituting andexpressing orhiding emotionalfeelings.For example,when wetell peoplehow toreach thenearest station,we notonly tellthem thedirection butalsopointto thedirection withhands.Besides,we oftensuggest thatour talkis overby ourtone,eyes,head noddingand otherbodylanguage.For instance,the managerstands up to showthe endoftheinterview.However,bodylanguagehas theirrespective functionsindifferent cultures.Often,body movementsthat areunderstandable in one culturemake nosense in another.Yet oftenenough,frequently usedbody movementsinone culture may be highlyoffensive inanother culture.People fromChina advocatemodesty,tolerance,mutual-support andresponsibility for the group.But Americanpeople admireindependence,self-respect,free development,and requireindividual spaceandso on.If wewant toavoid troubleor conflictsduring interculturalmunication,we needto learnthe culturedifferences ofbody languagesbetween English and Chinese.4.The ComparisonofBodyLanguages BetweenEnglishand Chinese Aseconomy andculture beemingled,many countriesmunicatewitheachothermore andmore frequently,and the world beessmaller andsmaller.We oftencalled it“Global Village”inwhichthe culturalmeaning ofbodylanguagetends to be similar.A parativestudyofbody languagesbetween Englishand Chineseshows a number ofsimilarities;for instance:a handshake is themost monlyused gesturethat goeswith a greeting;men dont hugor embracewhen theymeet;a frownshows unhappiness,waving ahand means“goodbye”;and thewrinkling of ones noseis a sign ofdislike,disgust ordisapproval;nodding means“yes”,and shakingones headmeans“no”;a paton the back ofa manor boysuggests approval,praise,encouragement;gritting ones teethmay expressanger,fury,or determination.However,there arealso many differences ofbodylanguagesbetweenEnglishandChinese.Different beliefsare thecauses ofthedifferencesofbodylanguages.Aording to the theoriesproposed byAmerican anthologistsBart Pearce,Verrion Cronent,peoples behavior,thewayof thinkingis affectedby theirbeliefs.And every culture has its ownbelief system.A normalaction inthis culturemay be abnormal inanother one.A positivebehavior inoneculturewillbenegative inanother.For example,the OK-sign maystand for the twolettersoandkin somecultures whileit may be misunderstoodas symbolizingthe numberzero.So thispaper willanalyze theculturedifferencesofbodylanguagesbetweenEnglishandChinese interms of eye contact,facial expressions,postures,gestures,touch,and physicaldistance inan attemptto municatemore efficiently.4.1Eye ContactEye contactis animportant aspectofbodylanguage.The eyes are highlyexpressive inmost cultures.In drama,fiction,poetry,and music,eyes havealways beena fascinatingtopicfrom ShakespearesThou tellst methere ismurder inmine eyeto BobDylansYour eyessaid moreto methat nightthan yourlips wouldever say.Even theevil eyeis more than justan expression.Gaze andglance arespecific use of eye contact.They are important inall cultures,andcansignal manythings,such asinterest,approval,disgust,challenge andsoon.As sayinggoes“The eyesarethewindow ofthe soul”,that isto say,we canread ones mindthrough his/her eyes.Eye languagecan expressplicated feelings.The eyes,associated withmystic power,areimportantsources ofinformation.We canknow whethera person is trustworthythrough reactionsto eachotherseye contact.We sayeyesarethe windowsto thesoul.It is monly believedthat peopleare nottrustworthy orthey arelying when they avoidlooking anotherin theeye.However,this is not necessarilythe case.Sometimes eye contacts maycause frustrationincross-cultural encounters.Chinese donot havemuch eye contact duringconversation because they believethat prolongedeye contactis rude,threatening anddisrespectful.It is a sign of badmanner.Children are often toldto lowertheir eyeswhen talkingto adultsas a sign ofsubmission andrespect.However,in American,the adultsdemand thatchildren lookat themwhile they are speaking,because ina conversationtoo littleeye contactmaybeseen negativelybecause“it conveyslack ofinterest,inattention,or evenmistrust”.The sayingthatNever trustsa personwho cannot lookat youin theeyesconfirms theimportance of eyecontactin conversation.However,American culturedemands that there shouldbe moreeyecontactwhen they are inconversations withpeople whoknow eachother.This appliesto boththe speakerand thelistener.Because eitherone not to lookat theother personcould implya number of things,such asfear,contempt,uneasiness,guilt,indifference.Even in public speakingthere shouldbe plentyofeyecontact.For aspeaker to“bury his nose in his manuscript”,to reada speechinstead oflooking atand talkingto his audience,as some Chinese speakersare in the habit of doing,would beregarded asinconsiderate anddisrespectful.On theother hand,eyecontact between strangersis avoidedin America.Aording toNolan,16to32feet is the areaof“recognition distance”on the street for most urban American whites.Within thisspace,there ismutual avoidanceofeyecontactbetweenpassersby,unless oneperson wantssomething,or unlesstwo peopleknow eachother.Besides,the usesand variationofeyecontact alsodiffer fromculture toculture.That meansthe lengthoftheeyecontactis acultural variable,asitmight extend to beeperceived as aggression whenused for too long,or asuninterested,when perceivedtoo short.Holding aglance toolong orstaring at people isconsidered rudeand improperin English-speaking countries,even whenthe lookmeans appreciation,or beauty,because itmay makepeople feeluneasy andembarrassed.Many Americanstraveling abroadfind thestares ofthe localpeople irritating.They beeextremely angryabout the“rudeness”ofthe people there,not realizingthat thebehavior maybe quitemon in the countryand maybe nothingmorethancuriosity.4.2Facial ExpressionsThe facehas beencalled anorgan ofemotionbecause weconstantly readfacial expressionsto understandwhat othersare feeling.The faceprovides vitalclues toour ownfeelings andthose ofthepeoplearound us.Of allthe nonverbalchannels,the faceis themost importantbroadcaster ofemotions.On mostoasions,facial expressionscan showones joy,fear,boredom,anger andsome otheremotions.Aording toBirdwhistells research,middle classAmericans displaysabout33municative behaviorsare in the facearea.We mayhave learneda listof idiomsconcerning facialexpression,e.g.to facesomebody down,to talkuntil oneis bluein theface,to tellone toones face,to makea faceat someone,to keepa straightface,etc.So facialexpression isexceptionally municative.There aresix categoriesof facialexpression that are generallyagreed uponby researchers:happiness,sadness,surprise,fear,anger,and disgust.The importanceof facialexpressions inmunication iswell established;however,the interculturalimplications ofthese expressionsare difficultto assess.For example,Chinese tendto hide their emotionsinpublic,especially expressionsof negativeattitudes oremotions.Even iftheyareunhappy,distressed or angry,they willnot showthem andtry tomask themwith neutralexpressions.On thecontrary,Americans areready to show theirfeelings.As aresult,Chinese regardsAmericans aschildish orna?ve whileChinese impressAmericans asslow inreaction.The underlyingreason is that Chinese culture highlytreasures harmonyamong peopleand displayingemotion maydisrupt harmonyand causeconflict ininteraction.On theother hand,Americans valuefrankness,so theythink its naturalto show their emotions.Another interestingdifference is the interpretation of smile.For example,to mostChinese arrivingthe USA,the firstimpression is the smile.Most Americans smile easilyat peoplewhen theymeet.People usesmiles tomake othersfeel wele.Americans insome areasofthecountry(outside ofbig cities)smile attotal strangersas theypass on thestreet.In bigcities,Americanssmileat thepeople theysee often.Does everyonesmile“inthesame language”?Most Americansthink so.Americans feelthat wecan municatewith smiles.If someonedoesnt smileback,Americans wonder:Is the person angry?Is hetoo Busy?Do peoplefrom thispersonsculturehate Americans?Is thisperson dangerous?But,whatasurprise!Smiles arenot thesame ineveryculture.A smilecan causemisunderstandings.People fromsome areasin Chinasmile onlyatpeoplethey know.People from that areamay thinkthatasmiling personwants to bee friends.They areconfused when an Americansmiles butdoes not bee friendlier.Smiles andlaughter usuallyconvey friendliness,approval,satisfaction,pleasure,joy,merriment.This isgenerally truein China as wellas theEnglish-speaking countries.However,there aresituations whensomeChinesewill laughthat willcause negativereactions byWesterners.To illustrate,here isan excerptfrom aletter byan Americanon nonverbalgestures thatoften causecross-cultural misunderstanding:“One isthe differentmeaningsoflaughter in China andAmerica.When anAmerican isparking hisbicycle,for example,andthebicycle aidentallyfalls over,he feelsembarrassed athis awkwardness,and isquite angeredand humiliatedwhen Chineseonlookers laugh.I haveseen thesame thinghappen inthe diningroom,whenaforeigner dropsa platequite byaident and feels badlyandChineseonlookers laugh,pounding hisdisfort andcausing angerand badfeeling.”Such laughter,of course,isnotat theperson orhis misfortune-whether hebeaforeigner or a Chinese.It canconvey a numberoffeelings:dont takeit soseriously;laugh itoff,its nothing;such thingscan happento anyof us,etc.However,for peopleunaware thisattitude,the reactionto suchlaughter isusually quiteunpleasant andoften generatesill feelingtowards thoselaughing.Besides,Americans generallylook sadwhen wefeel sad.But peoplein Chinahidetheirsad feelings.Bi Jiwangave such an example:When aforeign studenttells herChinese teacheran unhappyexperience,the teacherkeeps smiling,so she cannot understand it andprotests“Itsnotfunny”.Its beyondthe foreigners prehensionthat theteachers smilingisa kindofforting.Stretching outones tongueis alsoakindof facialexpression.When Chineserealize thattheir behavioris unsuitableandfeelembarrassed,they oftenstretch outtheir tonguesand shrinktheir necksatthesame time,especially girlsand children.But Americansnever doit.They thinkit isrude.4.3Gestures Gesturesare animportant ponentof non-verbalmunication.Without gestures,our worldwould be static andcolorless.In abroad sense,they referto specificbody movementsthat carrymeanings.In anarrow sense,gestures arehand movementsthat arecloselyrelatedto speechand illustrateit.Here westudy on the narrowsense.Gestures can be particularlytroublesome,for aslight differencein makingthe gestureitself canmean somethingquite differentfromthatintended.A wronginterpretationofa gesturecan arousequite unexpectedreactions.For example,Americans oftentouch theirtemples to express somebodys cleverness.But thisaction meansthere issomething wrongwith ones mindor oneis stupidto Chinese.A well-known caseisagesture madeby NikitaKhrushchev,the irrepressibleleader ofthe U.S.S.R.inthelate fiftiesand earlysixties.During histour ofthe U.S.,he arousedquite abitofcontroversy byanumberof hisremarks andsome ofhis behavior.One ofhis controversialgestures wasraising hisclasped handsinasort ofhandshake overhis head.It apparentlywas meanttobeagreetingandasignoffriendship,but itdid notgo overwell withmany whosaw hi