SudyonBodyLanguageInInerculuralCommunicaion肢体语言与跨文化交际_开题报告

Introduction

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. 

 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. 

Literature Review

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. 

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. 

Outline

1. Introduction

2. Body language

 2.1 Interpretation and Classification of body language

 2.2 The Emergence of Body Language

 2.3 The Cultural and Social Natures of Body Language

 2.4 Function and Importance of Body Language

3. Some Analysis of Similarities of Body Language in Cultures

 3.1 Some Analysis of Differences of Body Language in Cultures

4. Some Analysis of Body Language Based on Classifications

 4.1 Facial Expressions and the Movements of Head

 4.2 Gesture

 4.3 Posture

 4.4 Body Touch

5 Problems in Inter communications and Some Tentative Solutions 

 5.1 A Summary of Some Problems Concerning Body Language 

 5.2 Solutions to the Problems 

6. Conclusion

7. References

References

[1] Pease, Barbara & Allan. 2004, The Definitive Book of Body Language, Australia：Pease International.

[2] Hall, Edward T. 1959，The Silent Language，New York：Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

[3] Glass, Lillian. 2002, I Know What You’re Thinking, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

[4] Samovar, Larry A., Porter, Richard E. & McDaniel, Edwin R. 2009, Communication Between Cultures, Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

[5] Steele, R. Don. 1999, Body Language Secrets: A Guide During Courtship And Dating, The USA: Steele Balls Press.

[6] 陈文华 (Chen Wenhua)，2006，论肢体语言的民俗性，《浙江师范大学学报》(社会科学版). 第3期，第31卷。

[7] 范杏丽 (Fan Xingli), 2000, 不同文化背景下的非语言交际对比,《华中理工大学学报》, (社会科学版). 第2期，第14卷。

[8] 郭江虹 (Guo Jianghong)，2009，中外非语言交流的差异性，《中国教育与社会科学》. 第4期。

[9] 李北达 (Li Beida)，ed.，2002,《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》，北京：商务印书馆。

[10] 赛弥·莫尔肖著，陈国鹏 (Chen Guopeng),黄丽丽 (Huang Lili)译 2008，《身体语言使用手册》，北京：国际文化出版公司（在线）网址: ://book.qq.com/s/book/0/13/13686/。