6。2 Trying to participate in more cross-cultural communication 11

6。3 Sustaining different cultural toleration 11

7。 Conclusion 11

Works Cited 13

1。 Introduction 

Human communication includes both verbal communication and nonverbal communication。 When people speak of human communication, they may firstly think of language, which is belong to verbal communication。 But language is not the only tool of human communication, in fact, there is another method of communication which is nonverbal communication。 Body language is an significant part of nonverbal communication and it is used frequently in people’s daily life。 A touch, a glance and a smile, they all belong to nonverbal behavior。 It is hard to imagine that when people communicating with others, they just use words and without the accompany of gestures and postures。 That is definitely not a integrated communication。 Verbal communication and nonverbal communication have formed a complete structure and process of communication。 论文网

Body language, the primary element of nonverbal language, is also called Kinesics, including gestures, postures, facial expressions, eye contact and physical distance。 These behaviors all can express people’s internal emotions and they are also a part of international culture。 In order to learn the different cultures well and make the cross-cultural communication more efficient, it is very necessary for us to discuss and study the differences in body language between China and English-speaking counties。

2。 Literature Review

Based on the aim of intercultural communication and for avoiding some unnecessary troubles, we need to make a detailed analysis of English and Chinese body language, and then make a comparison of their differences in different backgrounds。 Regarding to the topic of “intercultural communication”, domestic scholars have shared quite a few research results。 Hu Wenzhong, the president of China English Language Education Association, whose Crossing the Cultural Barriers explored through language and culture from all angles。 It is easily understood and has enriched readers’ theoretical cognition and comprehension of intercultural communication, which means a lot to this thesis。 Zhang Jianqing, professor of MUC’s foreign languages college, has written a paper called Brief Analysis of Body Language, which introduce the cultural differences and social functions of body language in detail。 All of their researches on body language are meticulous and deep-going, including postures, gestures and basic relationship between language and culture, and they have high reference value。 

Body language, as a form of communication, has a broad range and angle of study。 This thesis basically studies and synthesizes these professional references, whose authority is absolutely beyond doubt。 However, the references were not up to date。 With the development of the modern society, more and more new cultural phenomenons and fashion trends are appearing。 Complicated and variegated, body language is changing along with times, it needs further research and study。

3。 General description of Body Language

“Nonverbal communication is a process in which communicators use the natural features of their bodies to deliver information and express specific meaning instinctively to other communicators。” Body language is a type for forms of communication by using body movements or gestures instead of making sounds, or other forms of oral communication。 It is often called kinesics, consisted of not only gestures and postures, but also facial expressions and eye contact。 Since varying and complicated factors have appeared in the study of body language, there exist quite a number of academic arguments that is associated with which definition of body language is the most effective and feasible。 Some scholars claim that speaking without uttering a word is the definition of body language; while others propose a similar explanation that body language refers to the whole symbols of communication except spoken language。 Besides the noted definitions above, Samovar and Porter have some new ideas about the definition of body language, and they have made attempts to organize a more peculiar and lively definition, like: “Body language is the biologically, socially, psychologically or culturally well-organized exchange of estimable messages。 Those messages are not verbally spoken out but conveyed by the body movements, body gestures, symbols or relevant context and surrounding environments, etc。” Likewise, there is a definition written clearly in dictionary: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, it defines body language as a process of communicating by means of conscious or subconscious gestures and postures。文献综述