日常生活中手势语的应用学位论文

摘要肢体语言是跨文化交际中的重要组成部分。

在人与人沟通或谈判时，大部分的人会使用手势语来表达各种信息。

随着经济全球化的发展趋势，肢体语言中的手势语以其简单明了的特性而广泛应用于跨文化交际中。

除了一些世界公认的手势语外，在不同文化里，大部分的手势语的含义会有差异。

在日常交流中，虽然使用口头语言的机会较多，然而手势语也同样重要。

本文通过介绍一些国内外常用的手势语并比较手势语的含义在不同国家的差异性，深入了解在跨文化交际中常见手势语的含义，这对于尽可能地避免跨文化交际时的文化误解和冲突有着重要意义。

关键词：手势语；人类交往；跨文化交际Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................. 错误！未定义书签。

摘要. (i)1.Introduction (1)2.Literature Review (2)2.1Development of Hand Gestures (2)2.2Domestic and Overseas Research Actualities (2)3.Status of Hand Gestures in Language (4)4.Overview of Hand Gestures (5)4.1Definition of Hand Gestures (5)4.2Functions of Hand Gestures (5)4.3Significance of Hand Gestures (6)5.Classifications of Hand Gestures (7)5.1The “A-OK” (7)5.2The “V-Sign” (7)5.3The “Pointing” (8)5.4The “Thumb up” (8)5.5The “Beckoning Sign” (9)5.6The “Wave” (9)5.7The “Corna” (9)6.Application of Hand Gestures (10)6.1Application of Hand Gestures in Daily Life (10)6.2Application of Hand Gestures in Other Fields (10)6.2.1Hand Gestures of Recognizing Lies (10)6.2.2Hand Gestures of Traffic Command (11)6.2.3Hand Gestures of Basketball Match (11)7.Conclusion (12)References ......................................................................................................... 错误！未定义书签。

Acknowledgements........................................................................................... 错误！未定义书签。

1.IntroductionThe intercultural communication has become the main style of people’s communication with the process of globalization, and the verbal communication is always the major part in the communication, however, the non-verbal communication is indispensable. When people are talking with others, they are not just using words, but also using facial expressions and hand gestures. For example, waving one’s hand is to say “Good-bye.”Actually, hand gestures can also enhance speaker’s connection with the audience.Humans send and interpret such signals subconsciously. This thesis wants to explore the hand gestures of body language from different cultures around the world. Members of a culture typically know only the gestures from their own society.For example, Americans know the messages of hand gestures such as “OK”, “Shame on y ou”, and “Crazy”, but they tend to be ignorant about hand gestures from other societies. Similarly, most Iranians have no idea that their most obscene gesture (the “thumbs up” gesture) actually means “good luck” in America and in many European nations.When doing arithmetic, many children tend to move their fingers almost subconsciously, even some adults. The American soldiers were making a “V” sign with the index and the middle fingers as a “victory sign” while the Japanese were using it as a “peace sign”. Different hand gestures have different meanings, and different countries have different gestures. The same hand gestures also have different meanings in different cultures. The thesis tends to the thorough discussion and the research of the hand gestures around some countries.The thesis consists of three parts. Part One is an introduction to hand gestures, the research background, the reasons and purpose of studying hand gestures from the daily life. Part Two is a detailed analysis of hand gestures; it is also divided into five chapters. Chapter One is the literature review. Chapter Two focuses on the status of hand gestures in non-verbal communication. Chapter Three will indicate the overview of hand gestures, which consists of the definition, functions and meanings of hand gestures. Chapter Four is an analysis of classifications of hand gestures. The last chapter is about the application of hand gestures. Part Three is a conclusion of the thesis.2.Literature Review2.1Development of Hand GesturesAt the beginning of human society, they could not communicate with others by some special languages. A mass of data have researched by any scientists from different areas, such as language scientists, human scientists and historical scientists, who tend to understand the development of the human language. The common point that they have found is body language, which human communicates with others at the beginning of human society. Hands are flexible parts of body and play an important role in human interaction, and then a large number of hand gestures have appeared. With the development of the human society, human has improved gradually on the physical and psychological side, the science and technology having been developed. Then, human can communicate with others by speaking and writing that have become the major methods in the communication area, even chatting on the internet nowadays around the world. However, the hand gestures have not disappeared in the human society and play an important role in life.In body language, hand gestures have become the basic communication method. The history of hand gestures is uncertain, and there is no evidence of its existence before the first decade of the 20th century (严明,2009:7). Abundance of hand gestures form the major part among the communication processes, such as the business negotiation, classroom instruction, military field, and the principal communication method with disabled persons. Even in the speech, the lecturer also uses some hand gestures to express his meanings to the audiences. Speech also contains some hand gestures of body language known as paralanguage. The meanings of hand gestures vary among various parts of countries, also among cultural groups and between generations. Hand gestures have become from a single one to an optimized combination of a series of means. For example, the OK sign acquired its modern connotation from the ancient world.2.2Domestic and Overseas Research ActualitiesIn the classical Roman era, Cicero, who was an orator politician and philosopher, concluded that hand gestures as a language could be understood by people, although the people were barbarian. With detailed researching of the subject, his study illustrated quite strikingly how Roman speakers could use gestures involving their arms, hands, and fingers to give extra force and impact to their words. In 1644, John Bulwer was the first person in England to propose educating deaf people. He wrote five works to explore the body language in human communication, particularly hand gestures. He had issued a single volume Chirologia and Chironomia that have different paginations about hand gestures, and the main idea was to guide the deaf people how to improve their ability of communication with hand gestures.McNeill has made some considerations on the relationship between language and gesture by his book Language and Gesture in 2000. His main argument is that gestures and speech are a singlesystem because they occur and develop together. After that, some foreign countries have developed some rather ripe theories.From the above, we can make it clear that it has a long history in the foreign countries for the researching and analyzing of hand gestures. However, Very few people inside our country study hand gestures. In China, the researchers of hand gestures pay more attention to the application of the disabled area and the teaching process. Many Chinese people would be confused by the unknown hand gestures when they visit the foreign countries. This thesis tends to compare the meanings of hand gestures among different cultures.3.Status of Hand Gestures in LanguageIt is significant to study the status of hand gestures in language before knowing the detailed information of hand gestures. Broadly speaking, communication consists of two kinds: verbal and non-verbal communication. Verbal communication consists of word language and the variations in meaning which a person puts into words through the way they are said. According to Burgoon and Saine (1978), non-verbal communication is the qualities of behaviors known to all in a community without the use of words, and such qualities or behaviors are intentionally or thought to be intentionally given by the speaker and consciously received by the listener and likely to make a feedback (曹湘洪,2009:93).Non-verbal communication is also called silent language and plays a key role in human day-to-day life. Dr. Isa N. Engleberg asserted that “Research has suggested that between 60% and 70% of all meanings are derived from non-verbal behaviors (Isa N. Engleberg, 2006:133).”Generally, many researchers classify non-verbal communication as four major parts, including body language, paralanguage, object language and environmental language(胡文仲,毕继万,2004:6). Charlie Chaplin and many other silent movie actors were the pioneers of non-verbal communication; they were the only means of communication available on the screen in the silent-film era.Body language is a form of non-verbal communication, which consists of body postures, hand gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. A mass of data of studies with intercultural communication indicates that body language has six major functions, including repeating, complementing, substituting, regulating, contradicting, and accenting (熊金才,孙丽霞,2001:56-58). Basically it is send and received in a variety of ways without the use of verbal language. From ancient times to the present, most people are still ignorant of the existence of hand gestures of body language in daily communication, let alone its importance in their lives.Different fingers or thumb gestures can convey a range of meanings in different cultures, from insults to approval or even attraction. Many good speakers or storytellers use hand gestures to illustrate their stories. Hand gestures often help the speakers and listeners to indicate their meanings.When people could not say anything in an emergency situation, hand gestures would convey some useful messages to others at that time. On such occasions, small gestures can make a big difference. When you are reading in the library, if someone speak loudly and you will move the index finger to your lips meaning “be quiet”. A hand signal may be small, perhaps betraying subconscious thinking of someone. It may also be exaggerated or done with both hands to emphasize the point. Hands are often used in greetings. The most common form of greeting is shaking hands, of which there are many different forms. Opening the palm shows that there is no concealed weapon. This is significant in greeting, salutes, waves etc.4.Overview of Hand Gestures4.1Definition of Hand GesturesHand gestures are a form on nonverbal communication in which visible body actions are used to communicate particular messages, either in place of speech or together and in parallel with spoken words (Kendon, Adam, 2004). In daily communication, most people use a lot of hand gestures to express their intention of the communication and help other people to understand their meanings easily. However, most people are not conscious of the importance of hand gestures in human interaction until now.Hand gestures include the movement of the hands or hands with other parts of the body. Physical non-verbal communications such as purely expressive displays, proxemics, or displays of joint attention differs from hand gestures, which communicates with specific messages (Kendon, Adam, 2004). In many countries, making the “OK”sign with the fingers means affirmation or perfection of one thing. Waving the hand, people always use to say goodbye to others. Cupping one or both hands over the mouth, especially when talking, may well indicate that the person is trying to hide something. Putting your hand to your cheek or stroking your chin generally portrays thinking, interest or consideration. Fingers bent across the chin or below the mouth most often shows critical evaluation.4.2Functions of Hand GesturesHand gestures are culture-specific and can convey very different meanings in different societies or cultural settings (Morris et al, 1979). Some main relevant functions of hand gestures in human communication could be described as follows: a) rhetorical functions: such as rhetorical devices that are emphatic and powerful modalities to present discourse content (Atkinson, 1984; Edwards, Potter, 1992); b) discursive functions: such as discursive markers, marking syntactic structure of discourse (Fraser, 1999); c) interactive functions: features of talk turns in conversation as marking interaction managing and social relationship with the interlocutor; d) persuasive functions: convincing and influential communication.Some specific objectives about the individuation of functions of hand gestures are: a) verifying co-occurrence and sequence of gestures with discursive markers, or rhetorical devices, or types of questions; b) studying the role of hand gestures in persuasive communication in contexts of social influence (group discussion and political oratory), through correlational as well as experimental studies.There are some examples as follows that will indicate the functions of hand gestures. Rubbing gently behind or beside the ear with the index finger or rubbing the eye usually means the other person is uncertain about what you are saying. Leaning back with both hands supporting the head usually indicates a feeling of confidence or superiority. Tightly clenched hands usually indicate thatthe person is experiencing undue pressure, and it may be difficult to relate to this person because of his tension and disagreement. Superiority and authority are usually indicated when you are standing and joining your hands behind your back.4.3Significance of Hand GesturesLanguage varies from country to country. It differs not only in written and spoken language but also in hand gestures. The same hand gestures could not mean the same message in different countries or cultures, even different persons. What is important is that it is very easy for hand signals to be misinterpreted even amongst close friends. Although some hand gestures, such as the ubiquitous act of pointing, differ little from one place to another, most hand gestures do not have invariable or universal meanings but connote specific meanings in particular cultures. A single emblematic gesture can have very different significance in different cultural contexts, ranging from complimentary to highly offensive (Kendon, Adam, 1994).The main reasons for studying the role of hand gestures in human interaction may be summarized as follows. People use hand gestures to send and receive non-verbal messages intentionally or unintentionally, consciously or unconsciously. People make important decisions and judgments about others and situations based on these non-verbal messages. People’s emotional state is best communicated through their non-verbal messages. People make judgments about the verbal messages in light of accompanying non-verbal clues. People use the non-verbal elements to present themselves to others and to alter the thinking and behavior of others. Hand gestures have a major role in facilitating intercultural communication especially in today’s economic globalization society.Hand gestures help people to express their intention to others by any style, and they are indispensable around human interaction. However, the appropriate use of hands can result in a marked increase in the understanding and retention of messages. Correctly used, hand gestures can help you say more in less time, show what you mean without having to resort to visuals, signal your conviction or confidence and add texture or dimension to your material or ideas.In science daily, a series of researching messages indicate that hand gestures are meaningful in human life. Hand gestures would solve problem by helping a person keep track of an object in the mind as it is rotated to a new position. Since our hands are used so much in daily life to manipulate objects, gestures also may provide additional feedback and visual clues by simulating how an object would move if the hand were holding it.In community farm or retail or household goods markets, the fingers up to ten and more can be quickly shown by hands held up or fingers held up. Although in Chinese finger counting gets more complicated after the number five, as the counter then use his other hand in the same way by marking off from finger six to finger ten, which to western minds makes no sense.5.Classifications of Hand GesturesGenerally, when passing objects in the Middle East and parts of Asia, people do not use the left hand. It will be considered impolite. When receiving something from another person, it is customary to do so with both hands, especially when exchanging business cards in countries like Japan. In this case, do not place the card inside your pocket, but read it carefully and prop it against something on the desk for the duration of the meeting.These hand gestures can be very useful in the workplace because they are a quick way to convey thoughts and feelings without needing to speak or write. Additionally, many such hand gestures are generally widely understood, although they may carry different meanings in other cultures. For instance, although the “A-OK” sign that is made through touch of the thumb and forefinger with the remaining fingers extended is seen as a positive gesture in the America; in some other cultures, this is seen as a vulgar gesture.5.1The “A-OK”The “A-OK” or Okay, made by connecting the thumb and forefinger in a circle and holding the other fingers straight, may signal the word “O kay”, especially as a diving signal. Universally, this sign means “alrig ht, acceptable, good, right-on, satisfactory, you bet!” Hand signs have different meanings when found in different cultures.The OK gesture has several meanings in many countries. In America and most of Europe, the A-OK is used to signify approbation, satisfaction or excellence. But the same gesture is offensive in parts of southern Europe and South America. In Brazil and Germany it would be like that somebody give another one the middle finger in North America. In China, people could use it to signify approval or the number “three”by the three fingers straight. In Turkey it means that someone is homosexual. In Australia it means zero. In Germany it can mean job done well or a grave insult, it all depends on which region you visit. In New Zealand it is regarded as a cheesy way of saying OK but is not much used. In Japan, after purchasing something you would be telling the sales clerk that you would like your change in coins. In France the meaning is negative but not insulting. It simply means zero or worthless. In other countries, it is often considered as obscene or a reference to the a-hole.Whatever is the meaning behind the A-OK sign, it is certainly widely used by stars of the music industry that have been associated with occult symbolism. Placed in the context of those music videos, the signal is rarely used as a sign of approbation but it is rather flashed in the same matter as a meaningless sign only for fashion.5.2The “V-Sign”The V-sign is a hand gesture in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted, while the other fingers are clenched. Nevertheless, most British people would still be careful, if they needto signify the number two in a gesture to someone else, they would make the sign with palm facing the recipient. In recent years an explanation for the origin of the V-sign dating it from the Battle of Agincourt has appeared. This story maintains that British archers were so effective and so feared by their enemy that when the French captured an archer they chopped off the two fingers he needed to draw a bow-string. Bowmen who had not been thus disfigured took to holding up two fingers to taunt their cowardly foes. Needless to say, there is no shred of evidence to support this unlikely origin, but it is on its way to becoming entrenched in the popular mind and becoming folklore in itself. It is possible that the V-sign developed from the much older horns symbol, used to imply someone is a cuckold since at least the 16th century, although this gesture was made traditionally with little finger and index finger, and did not have the aggressive force of the V-sign.One of the American hand gestures, formed by holding up the middle finger alone, which was roughly equivalent to the V-sign, has been introduced to British culture by American films and other media; since about the 1960s, it is now well understood by most British people. It will be interesting to note whether it replaces the V-sign in the offensive hand gesture vocabulary. The V-sign is also considered rude in Italy, especially if you place your nose between the two fingers, making the gesture resemble a crude vagina.5.3The “Pointing”Pointing is another difference between the west and China. When a Chinese refers to herself, she or he will point to their nose, not to their body or chest as in western countries. Also, when a Chinese person points at another person they point at that third person’s nose, it would be misunderstood to the western countries. In southern China, a tea drinker simply knocks two fingers repeatedly on the table to say that is enough. It also means thank you.5.4The “Thumb up”The most widely recognized American sign for OK is shown in two ways. There’s the “thumb up” sign, and making a circle with the index finger and thumb as the “A-OK” sign. In China, the thumb up gesture also means “good, well done or go up”.Take a common sign like thumbs up. In the Unites States it usually means “great, awesome or whatever” and the gesture often uses to mean “good going!”It is also used to sign approval, but stronger than an “OK” sign. Now this is a very common interpretation, but it is far from the only one. It may have the same meaning in Australia, but if you move it up and down, it can be a very grave insult. In Turkey it is not used at all.But in Bangladesh, it is a taunt, and in other Islamic countries it is equivalent to the upraised middle finger. In Arab societies the thumb up sign would be extremely offensive and is avoided as far as possible. In northern Greece and the southern part of Sardinia it isn’t well received e ither. Keep this in mind if trying to hitchhike along Sardinian or Greek roads. If the driver stops, it is likely that he or she would give you a thump on the head instead of a ride.5.5The “Beckoning Sign”The same means have different hand gestures among the different countries. In North America or Northern Europe, a beckoning sign is made with the index finger sticking out of the clenched fist, palm facing the gesturer. The finger moves repeatedly towards the gesturer as to draw something nearer. It has the general meaning of “come here” (McNeill, David, 1992). In Maghreb of Northern Africa, calling someone is done using the full hand. In several Asian and European countries, a beckoning sign is made with a scratching motion with all four fingers and with the palm down. In Japan the palm faces the recipient with the hand at head’s height.5.6The “Wav e”A wave is a movement of the hands that people use to greet each other or say goodbye. People wave by raising their hand and moving it from side to side. They can also wave by moving their hand up and down. The way that people wave generally depends on their cultures. Generally speaking, wave could be understood by most people around the world and it is popularized to use to say goodbye to others. Today, people often use “wave” to say hello or goodbye to others.5.7The “Corna”Consisting of a clenched fist with the second and fifth fingers straightened out, the corna or horns hand gesture has most recently been adopted by fans of rock and heavy metal music, first used by Black Sabbath vocalist Ronnie James Dio. The gesture carries only a vague meaning, implying the presence of Satan, malevolence and loud guitar music, and is used in much the same way as head banging. The gesture was actually popularized as a Satanic salute during the 1960s, appearing in many editions of the Satanic Bible. Nowadays many Americans use the gesture simply to mean “rock on”, or in support of the University of Texas in Austin.Occasionally used by baseball players to indicate “two outs”, the co rna is actually a positive hand gesture in Buddhism and Hinduism, known as the Karana Mudra in such circles, and is used to dispel evil - an interestingly opposite meaning to its contemporary significance.Historically, however, the symbol basically means “your wife is cheating on you”, and its origins are Mediterranean, possibly dating back to Ancient Greece. The corna is still popular in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Colombia, Brazil, Albania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and seems to be used most often to disagree with football referees - perhaps their wives are taking advantage of their husband’s occupation to score with hunky football players - though only when the referees make an incorrect decision.6.Application of Hand Gestures6.1Application of Hand Gestures in Daily LifeGestures play a major role in many aspects of human life. Gesturing is probably a universal; there has been no report of a community that does not gesture. Hand gestures are a crucial part of everyday conversation such as chatting, describing a route, negotiating prices on a market; they are ubiquitous. Hand gestures have been documented in the arts such as in Greek vase paintings, Indian Miniatures or European paintings.Hand gestures play a central role in religious or spiritual rituals such as the cross of the Christian sign. In Hinduism and Buddhism, a mudra (Sanskrit, literally “seal”) is a symbolic gesture made with the hand or fingers. Each mudra has a specific meaning, playing a central role in Hindu and Buddhist iconography. An example is the Vitarka mudra, the gesture of discussion and transmission of Buddhist teaching. It is done by joining the tips of the thumb and the index together, while keeping the other fingers straight.In addition to the gestures that people use that have a particular meaning, people also use gestures that do not have specific, generally understood meanings. These gestures, called illustrators, add meaning to a verbal message. For instance, when giving a presentation, a person might use hand gestures to emphasize a point. Many people use gestures while speaking to others to accompany their words, and while these body movements may not have a meaning that can be pinpointed; they serve to embellish a person’s words.6.2Application of Hand Gestures in Other Fields6.2.1Hand Gestures of Recognizing LiesHumans often tell lies that more than half the time they don’t realize what they’re doing. Lies to protect, to persecute, to reassure, to undermine, to harm and to heal are everywhere. Still, some lies are pure evil - just think about some of the racist hatred spread by the Nazis. However, no matter what kind of lies they are - they are still deceptions. There are many signals that give away the liar. These are covering the mouth, scratching the upper lip or nose, uncontrolled blushing, facing the palms downwards, lip licking, sudden crossing of the legs, sudden crossing of the arms, sudden smoking, glancing away or sideways glancing, forcing eye contact, overly stiff posturing, clenching, fidgeting, hand hiding, pupil contracting, controlling vocal tone, stutters, slurs or hesitations, sweating or palm wiping, and sudden giggling.When a person holds their palms upwards it is actually a sign that they are telling the truth. If the hand was in exactly the same position but facing down - then watch out. Psychologists believe that an open palm shows that nothing is concealed that could be dangerous. For example, watch a confident trickster and how his hands are often palm down in order to conceal. When people tell the truth the body reacts automatically and shows that it has nothing to hide. When a lie is told by the。