比较中美文化中肢体语言的异同

浅谈中美文化中肢体语言的

异同

李贤凤

A Comparative Study of Body Language in Chinese and American

Culture

Li Xianfeng

Abstract: Body language is an important way of non-verbal communication; it has effect and implications which can not to be neglected in people's daily lives. Nowadays, body language is used broadly in cross-culture communication, so it is necessary for us to study body language.

This paper focuses on the comparative study of the body language in Chinese and American culture. First is the brief introduction to body language. Then, in part two and three，the author illustrates the differences and similarities of body language in Chinese and American culture. And the conclusion will be given in the last part. Through the study, the author hopes that a better understanding of the cultures of the two countries and an effective communication will be achieved.

Key words: body language; differences and similarities; effective communication

摘要：肢体语言是非语言交际的一种重要方式，在人们的日常生活交际中有着不可忽视的作用与影响。目前，在跨文化交际中，肢体语言的运用越来越广泛，为此我们有必要研究肢体语言。

这篇文章主要对比研究中美文化中肢体语言的异同，第一部分是对肢体语言的简要介绍，在第二和第三部分，作者通过举例子来强调中美文化中肢体语言的异同，最后一部分是结论。作者希望通过研究能让我们对两国文化有更好的了解，从而能达到更有效的交流。

关键词：肢体语言，异同，有效交流

Outline

1. Introduction

1.1 Definition and functions of body language 1.2 Classifications of body language

2. Differences of body language in Chinese and American cultures 2.1 Eye language and facial expressions 2.2 Sign language (gestures) 2.3 Postures

2.4 Body language with distinctive features in two cultures 3. Similarities of body language in Chinese and American cultures 3.1 Eye language and facial expressions 3.2 Sign language (gestures) 3.3 Postures 4. Conclusion

1. Introduction

Body language is an important means of non-verbal communication. Scholars reckon that “Body language is information”. It is first created by an American psychologist Birdwhistell who is the leader in study of body language in the west. He believes that among all means of expressing emotion and attitude, more than sixty percent is finished by facial expression, gestures, postures, etc.(贾玉新1997:449---456) The psychologist, David Abercrombie also points out “We say with our phonetic organs, but we talk with the whole body.” (贾玉新1997：448). In China, Yang Xiaoli once analyses the Chinese phases and gets a conclusion that more than one hundred and sixty Chinese phrases are used to represent the context of body language and they can convey emotion and intention separately. So many scholars have studied on body language in many aspects, which better illustrates the important of body language. This paper focuses on the contrast study of the body language in Chinese and American culture. First is the brief introduction to body language. Then, in part two and three，the author illustrates the differences and similarities of body language in Chinese and American culture. And the conclusion will be given in the last part. It aims to enable us to better understand the Chinese and American cultures, thus to achieve an efficient communication.

1.1 Definition and functions of body language

Body language, also called kinesics, is the means to use the body movements or actions to replace or assist the sound, oral language, or other means of communication to communicate with others. Psychologists believed that the information delivered by a person’s appearance and actions is much more than that of a person’s words.

“Albert Mebrabian, after a long-time study, he concludes a formula: the total impact of message = verbal (7%) + vocal (38%) + facial (55%).” (张健青 2004:33).That is to say body language can help verbal-communication achieve more effective communication. Body language can reveal people’s hidden mind and emotion, Birdwhistell indicates that all parts of human body, all organs can express and exchange information, emotion and attitude; moreover, these can make efforts that words cannot obtain(贾玉新 1997:449-456). And through people’s body language we can get some information about their own culture. Due to space limitations, here only gives a brief description about the function. 1.2 Classifications of body language

The context of body language is very comprehensive. Psychologists believe that body language includes the following aspects:

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