Abstract Body language, or called gesture language, which some western countries began to study in the early 1950s, and thus it has become a new scientific research. Body language is an important part of nonverbal communication which is closely connected with culture. In order to be successful in cross-cultural communication, we should know some main kinds of body language from different cultures. Body language from different cultures has many differences because of different regions, races and cultural customs. This thesis devotes to a comparison and contrast of body language in different cultures in term of eye languages, gestures, postures, facial expressions, touch, and distance. And it analyzes the meaning of each body language that they represent, the context they are used, and different meanings in different cultures. The thesis aims to illustrate the differences of body language between Chinese and English culture, and to put forward the principles of reducing barriers in communication so as to achieve efficient communication and to avoid misunderstandings.59069

Key words: body language; cultural difference; cross-cultural communication

摘要体态语或身体语言，早在上世纪五六十年代西方一些国家就开始进行研究，并由此发展成为一门新的科学。体态语是非语言交际的重要组成部分，和文化紧密相关，为了在跨文化交际中能够成功的进行交流，我们应该了解不同文化的体态语，语言和文化一样，由于地域、种族、习俗的差异，不同文化的体态语有许多差异。本文致力于从目光语、手势语、身体姿势、面部表情、体距语等方面对不同文化的体态语进行研究，分析各体态语代表的含义，使用的语境，以及在中西方文化中的不同意义等，旨在通过列举中西方体态语的文化差异，提出交际中遵循的原则，从而促进有效交流，避免误解。

毕业论文关键词：体态语；文化差异；跨文化交际

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

3. The Significance of Body Language 3

4. Several Different Body Languages 4

4.1 Interpersonal Distance 4

4.2 Eye Contact 5

4.2.1 The social meaning of eye contact 6

4.2.2 The cultural contrast of eye contact 7

4.3 Shaking Hands 7

4.3.1 General meaning of shaking hands 7

4.3.2 Different representations of shaking hands 8

5. Application of Body Language 9

5.1 Examples of Applying Body Language 9

5.2 Principles of Applying Body Language 10

6. Conclusion 11

Works Cited 12

 1. Introduction

 "Body language", the same as language, is part of the culture. Body language, or called nonverbal language, first appeared in the 1950s in some western countries, Some countries began to study the body language, and thus it became a door to science which is quite alluring - human linguistics. Human linguistics is to explain and research the behavior phenomena of human nonverbal communication (movements, postures, gestures, facial expressions) and its regulations. In different cultural environment, the expression meaning of body language is different. Different nations have different non-discourse communication modes.

The study of language research is helpful to the body language. The understanding to the former can deepen the understanding to the latter. Some authorities say that these two sides can be interdependent on each other. In most cases this is right. In some other cases, human movements and their words are not consistent with each other, spoken words and expression meanings of body language are different. In this condition, it is resorted to some other information or guessing the speaker's meaning from the whole context. In some sense, all body language should be put with a certain scene for understanding. Neglecting the whole scene will make misunderstanding.