肢体语言的中西方文化差异
中西方肢体语言的差异【英汉对照】
一、动作一样，意义不同。
1. 跺脚，在中国人看来，表示气愤，恼怒，灰心，悔恨。
而它的英文含义则是不耐烦。
2. 目不转睛地看，其中文含义是：好奇；有时是惊讶。
英文含义则是不礼貌；使人发窘；不自在。
3. 拍别人的脑袋，中文含义是：对孩子来说是一种疼爱的表现，但是对成年或青年人做出这样的动作则会引起反感，是一种侮辱性的动作。
4. 鼓掌，观众和听众鼓掌，表演或讲话人也鼓掌，在中国人看来，表示表演者或演讲者的谢意，双方一齐鼓掌来相互表示友好感情。
而在英语国家中，表演者或演讲者鼓掌则表示自己为自己鼓掌，自己为自己的表演感到骄傲，自己为自己所付出的努力感到自豪。
5. 嘘嘘声，汉语含义是反对；责骂；轰赶等。
英文含义则是要求安静。
二、同样意思，动作有差异。
1. 叫别人过来，中国人的肢体语言为把手伸向被叫人，手心向下，几个手指同时弯曲几次，而美国人的肢体语言为把手伸向被叫人，手心向上，握拳用食指前后摆动。
美国人的这种肢体语言在中国人看来是一种侮辱，或挑衅，是一种极不礼貌的行为。
2. 开玩笑时用的，表示丢人。
中国人伸出食指在脸上刮几下，而美国人则是伸出两只手的食指，手心向下，用一个食指擦另一个食指的背面3. 表示吃饱了的用语，中国人用手抚摸后轻拍自己的肚子(表示自己的肚子里已经装满食物了，不能再吃了。
而美国人一只手放在自己的喉头，手心向下，表示吃到这了，食物已经到了嗓子了，再吃就要吐出来了。
三、只在一种文化中存在的动作。
（中国没有或西方没有的某种肢体语言。
）1. 在美国，咬指甲，表示担心，不知所措，心中有重大的思想负担。
2. 在美国，用大拇指顶着鼻头，其他四指弯着一起动，表示挑战，蔑视。
3. 在美国，摇动手指），表示：警告别人不要作某事，表示对方在做错事。
The action is the same, but has different meanings. 1. Stomping，in the eyes of the Chinese people，it stand for angry. Its English meaning is impatient.2. The Chinese meaning of intently watching is curious sometimes surprised.English meaning is impolite embarrassed and uncomfortable.3. Shoot someone's head, the Chinese meaning: a performance of love for children, but for adults or young people to make this kind of action will cause offense, is an offensive action.4.The applause, the audience applauded for performance or speech, in the eyes of the Chinese people, the performer or speaker say thanks to the two sides together to show the friendly to each other. In English-speaking countries, the performers or speakers applauded for their proud performances,.5. Peeing sound, Chinese meaning is against other’s idea. English meaning is requested quiet.1. Tell others over, the Chinese body language to reach out to the cal lee, palms down, several fingers while bending a few times, and the body language of the Americans to reach out to as people, palms up, make a fist with the forefinger pitching. This action in China appears to be an insult, or provocation, it is an extremely impolite action.2. Joke with, indicating a shame, China forefinger in face scraping few times, while Americans extended the index finger of both hands, palms down, with an index finger to rub the back of another index finger.3. Fed terminologies, China stroking and patting his stomach (own stomach full of food, can not eat. Americans with one hand on his throat, palms down, means that eat the food to the throat, eat going to spit it out.三the presence of only in a culture operation. (China or the West is not some kind of body language.)1. In the United States, the nail-biting, expressed worry about what to do, the high pressure, the major burden of thinking.2. In the United States, wore nose with the thumb and other four fingers bent with challenge the contempt.3. In the United States, shaking a finger warning others not to do something, they are doing something wrong..4. 在美国，把胳膊放在胸前，握紧拳头，拇指向下，向下摆几次，表示反对某人；表示强烈反对。
中西方肢体语言的差异英语作文
中西方肢体语言的差异英语作文英文回答：Body language plays a crucial role in communication, conveying messages that words may not. However, cultural differences can lead to significant variations in the interpretation of body language, resulting in misunderstandings and even conflict. This essay will delve into the key differences between body language in Western and Eastern cultures.Eye Contact: In Western cultures, direct eye contact is generally considered a sign of sincerity, confidence, and trustworthiness. Maintaining eye contact while speaking indicates that you are engaged and attentive. However, in some Eastern cultures, prolonged eye contact can be perceived as aggressive or disrespectful. For example, in Japan, it is customary to avert one's gaze to show deference.Proximity: In Western cultures, there is a greater emphasis on personal space, and people tend to maintain a larger distance between themselves and others during conversations. Conversely, in many Eastern cultures, closer proximity is a sign of warmth and intimacy. For instance, in China, it is common to stand closer together and engage in more physical touch.Gestures: Gestures can convey a wide range of emotions and messages. However, the meaning of gestures can vary significantly across cultures. For example, the "thumbs up" gesture, which indicates approval in Western cultures, can be perceived as offensive in some Middle Eastern countries. Similarly, the "OK" sign, which represents agreement in the West, can be interpreted as an insult in Brazil.Body Posture: Body posture can communicate both physical and emotional states. In Western cultures, sitting or standing up straight is seen as a sign of confidence and alertness. However, in some Eastern cultures, a more relaxed posture may be considered more polite and respectful. For instance, in Thailand, it is considereddisrespectful to sit in a cross-legged position in front of an elder.Facial Expressions: Facial expressions are universal to some extent, but their interpretation can differ across cultures. For example, in Western cultures, smiling is generally associated with happiness and joy. However, in some Eastern cultures, smiling can also indicate discomfort or embarrassment. Similarly, the expression of anger may be more restrained in Eastern cultures, while it is more openly expressed in Western cultures.Cultural Context: It is important to note that body language should always be interpreted within its cultural context. What may be considered appropriate in one culture may be considered rude or disrespectful in another. For example, in Western cultures, it is common to shake hands as a greeting. However, in some Eastern cultures, it is more customary to bow or make a slight nod as a sign of respect.Understanding the cultural differences in body languagecan help avoid misinterpretations and facilitate effective communication. By being aware of these variations, individuals can adapt their nonverbal cues to the specific cultural context they are in, fostering betterintercultural connections and avoiding potential misunderstandings.中文回答：肢体语言在交流中起着至关重要的作用，它传达着言语无法表达的信息。
中西方肢体语言的差异[英汉对照]
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中西方肢体语言的差异[英汉对照]一、动作一样，意义不同。
1.跺脚，在中国人看来，表示气愤，恼怒，灰心，悔恨。
而它的英文含义则是不耐烦。
2.目不转睛地看，其中文含义是：好奇；有时是惊讶。
英文含义则是不礼貌；使人发窘；不自在。
3.拍别人的脑袋，中文含义是：对孩子来说是一种疼爱的表现，但是对成年或青年人做出这样的动作则会引起反感，是一种侮辱性的动作。
4.鼓掌，观众和听众鼓掌，表演或讲话人也鼓掌，在中国人看来，表示表演者或演讲者的谢意，双方一齐鼓掌来相互表示友好感情。
而在英语国家中，表演者或演讲者鼓掌则表示自己为自己鼓掌，自己为自己的表演感到骄傲，自己为自己所付出的努力感到自豪。
5.嘘嘘声，汉语含义是反对；责骂；轰赶等。
英文含义则是要求安静。
二、同样意思，动作有差异。
1.叫别人过来，中国人的肢体语言为把手伸向被叫人，手心向下，几个手指同时弯曲几次，而美国人的肢体语言为把手伸向被叫人，手心向上，握拳用食指前后摆动。
美国人的这种肢体语言在中国人看来是一种侮辱，或挑衅，是一种极不礼貌的行为。
2.开玩笑时用的，表示丢人。
中国人伸出食指在脸上刮几下，而美国人则是伸出两只手的食指，手心向下，用一个食指擦另一个食指的背面3.表示吃饱了的用语，中国人用手抚摸后轻拍自己的肚子(表示自己的肚子里已经装满食物了，不能再吃了。
而美国人一只手放在自己的喉头，手心向下，表示吃到这了，食物已经到了嗓子了，再吃就要吐出来了。
三、只在一种文化中存在的动作。
（中国没有或西方没有的某种肢体语言。
）1.在美国，咬指甲，表示担心，不知所措，心中有重大的思想负担。
2.在美国，用大拇指顶着鼻头，其他四指弯着一起动，表示挑战，蔑视。
3.在美国，摇动手指），表示：警告别人不要作某事，表示对方在做错事。
Theactionitheame,buthadifferentmeaning.1.Stomping，intheeyeoftheChineepeople，ittand3.Shootomeone'head,theChineemeaning:aperformanceofloveforchi ldren,butforadultoryoungpeopletomakethikindofactionwillcaueoffen e,ianoffeniveaction.ortheWetinotomekindofbodylanguage.)1.IntheUnitedState,thenai l-biting,e某preedworryaboutwhattodo,thehighpreure,themajorburdenofthinking.2 .IntheUnitedState,worenoewiththethumbandotherfourfingerbentwithc hallengethecontempt.3.IntheUnitedState,hakingafingerwarningother nottodoomething,theyaredoingomethingwrong..4.在美国，把胳膊放在胸前，握紧拳头，拇指向下，向下摆几次，表示反对某人；表示强烈反对。
中西肢体语言差异研究报告
中西肢体语言差异研究报告1. 引言肢体语言是人际交往中重要的非语言沟通方式之一。
不同文化背景的人们对肢体语言的理解和使用方式存在差异。
本研究旨在探究中西方文化背景下肢体语言的差异，并分析这种差异产生的原因。
2. 研究方法2.1 参与者本研究共招募了100名中国参与者和100名西方参与者。
中国参与者的年龄范围在20-40岁之间，男女比例约为1:1；西方参与者的年龄范围和性别比例与中国参与者相似。
2.2 测量工具为了准确测量中西方人在肢体语言理解和使用上的差异，本研究使用了以下测量工具：•面部表情识别测试：通过观察表情图片，参与者需要识别出其中的情感表达，并对其进行评分。
•肢体动作解读测试：参与者观看一系列肢体动作视频，并根据视频内容回答相关问题。
•肢体动作选择性运用测试：参与者需要根据不同情境选择合适的肢体动作表达。
2.3 测试过程参与者在研究实验室内完成测量工具的测试，测试过程中有专业研究人员提供必要的解释和指导。
所有参与者完成测试时均未知晓研究目的和假设。
3. 结果与讨论3.1 面部表情识别中西方参与者对面部表情的识别准确率存在差异。
在愉快、悲伤、惊讶等情感表达上，西方参与者的准确率略高于中国参与者。
而在愤怒、厌恶等负面情感表达上，中国参与者的准确率稍高。
这种差异可能与不同文化中对情感表达的侧重点有关。
3.2 肢体动作解读中西方参与者对肢体动作的解读也存在差异。
在示意性动作，如招手、点头等方面，中西方参与者的解读准确率相近；而在非示意性动作，如手势配合说话等方面，西方参与者的准确率较高。
这可能是因为西方文化中肢体语言在日常交流中更为频繁使用，使得西方人对非示意性动作更加敏感。
3.3 肢体动作选择性运用通过肢体动作选择性运用测试，我们发现中西方参与者在不同情境下选择肢体动作的偏好不同。
中国参与者更倾向于使用身体接触类动作，如拥抱、握手等，以表达亲近和友善；而西方参与者更倾向于使用空间类动作，如指向、挥手等，以表达引导和指示。
中西文化中肢体语言差异分析
中西文化中肢体语言差异分析摘要：肢体语言是一种重要的非语言交流手段。
在日常交流中，特别是在跨文化交流中，肢体语言起着极其重要的作用。
在跨文化交际中，我们往往只重视语言交际，而忽视了非语言交际，特别是肢体语言的重要性。
在跨文化交流中打破障碍的最有效方法是掌握肢体语言的含义。
肢体语言之间有相似之处，但有些肢体语言在不同文化中的含义并不完全相同。
因此，了解中国和西方国家肢体语言的差异是很重要的。
关键词：肢体语言；跨文化交流；传递信息；文化差异在西方，“肢体”一词被引入各个领域，成为一些哲学家、社会学家、语言学家、心理学家和其他学者的研究对象。
许多中外学者对“肢体语言”的起源有不同的看法，有人认为肢体语言起源于先天的遗传；有人认为肢体语言来自于人类后天的经验；还有人认为肢体语言是一种自然能力。
[1]一、文献综述在中国，受语言学研究氛围的影响，20世纪80年代以前，教育领域的研究者很少考虑肢体语言在教育教学中的作用。
20世纪80年代以来，我国学者逐渐认识到肢体语言在教育教学中的作用，并在引进国外著作的基础上开展了对教师肢体语言的研究。
20世纪80年代，《外国教材》、《外国中小学教育》等刊物上发表的一系列译文引发了中国学者对教师肢体语言研究的关注。
20世纪90年代初，《教育评论》、《教育科学》等权威刊物发表了一些学者对教师肢体语言的初步探索文章，代表了此后人们研究的趋势。
此后，学者们或在《教学的艺术》等作品中专设章节论述教师肢体语言，或以专著的形式系统论述教师肢体语言，如《教师体态语的艺术》。
肢体语言出现在语言诞生之前，根据进化论的分析，人类在诞生之初就用肢体语言进行交流。
然而，近几十年来，一些美国社会心理学家和人类学家开始科学系统地分析肢体语言的构成，人们开始关注肢体语言学。
事实上，对肢体语言学的研究早在20世纪就开始了。
1644年，博沃出版了《手势的研究：手的自然语言》，该书被学者们认为是最早的肢体语言专著。
中西方身势语的文化差异浅论
中西方身势语的文化差异浅论[摘要]在不同文化背景中，身势语的意义并不完全相同。
本文从文化角度对身势语在不同文化背景中的含义作了介绍，阐述了身势语的功能和作用。
通过大量的例证探讨了东西方人在姿态动作、面部表情、目光交流、身体接触和空间距离等方面的文化差异。
[关键词]英语国家；身势语；文化差异一、引言身势语同语言一样，都是文化的一部分。
在不同文化中，身势语的意义并不完全相同。
各民族有不同的非语言交际方式，因此，不断加强对身势语的研究，揭示其文化差异和文化冲突，排除文化干扰，对顺利、成功地进行跨文化交际有着非常重要的现实意义。
非语言交流研究的带头人之一莱伊•伯德克斯戴尔曾就人际交流问题作过如下分析：在两人的对话中，通过语言传达的信息，不过占整体的35%，剩下的65%则通过谈吐风度、动作、姿势、与对方的距离等语言以外的手段传达。
[1]142二、身势语的功能作为伴随语言表达主体意思的一种方式，身势语有其特定的功能和作用，一般来说可以概括为三类：辅助功能、代替功能、和掩饰功能。
下面将从这三个不同的方面进一步研究讨论身势语在英汉两种不同文化环境中存在的差异。
（一）辅助功能身势语伴随话语，对话语起着补充、强调或确定的辅助功能，它们互相支持以取得预期的良好交际效果。
例如，敲桌子提高音量的作用是在进行语言交流时强调语言信息。
用手指指路是进一步明确口头说出的方位。
对恋人用轻缓柔和充满爱意的声音说话，就加强了所说的内容。
在传达某一信息时，我们为了判定这一信息是否被接收、是否被理解，常常注视接受者的反馈。
此时，接收者的点头、眼睛的活动、脸上的表情之类线索，将成为双方调整下一步交流状态的依据。
[2]152-153 身势语与话语同时或先后进行，它能使言语表达更生动、更形象，语义信息量更大、更清楚。
请看下面这段话：With a quick decision he turned to the shop girl and said in a loud voice, “Kindly pack me up this one here. I will take it with me.” He pointed at one of the largest and most expensive of the puddings. 他当机立断，转向女店员，大声说道：“劳驾把这只替我包扎一下，我要带走。
中西方身体语言的差异例子
中西方身体语言的差异例子中西方文化背景不同，因此在身体语言上也存在一些差异。
以下是一些例子，展示了中西方身体语言的差异。
一、面部表情1.微笑：在西方文化中，微笑通常表示友好或愉快。
而在中国文化中，微笑可能有多种含义，如礼貌、害羞或尴尬。
2.眼神接触：在西方文化中，直接的眼神接触被视为自信和尊重。
而在中国文化中，直接的眼神接触可能被视为不礼貌或傲慢。
二、姿势和动作1.握手：在西方文化中，握手是一种常见的问候方式，表示友好和尊重。
而在中国文化中，握手通常不如西方文化中普遍，而是以鞠躬为主要方式。
2.肢体接触：在西方文化中，肢体接触通常较为普遍，如拥抱、拍肩等，表示亲近和关怀。
而在中国文化中，肢体接触较为保守，通常只在亲密关系中出现。
三、姿态和姿势1.坐姿：在西方文化中，常见的坐姿是直立或稍微向后倾斜。
而在中国文化中，坐姿通常是直立或稍微向前倾斜，以示尊重。
2.手势：在西方文化中，挥手表示告别或打招呼，而在中国文化中，挥手通常表示离别或招呼。
此外，竖起大拇指在西方文化中表示赞成，而在中国文化中表示不好。
四、身体接触1.接吻：在西方文化中，接吻通常是一种亲昵的行为，如亲吻脸颊或嘴唇。
而在中国文化中，接吻通常只在亲密关系中出现，不像西方文化中那么普遍。
2.拥抱：在西方文化中，拥抱是一种常见的亲密行为，表示关怀和亲近。
而在中国文化中，拥抱通常只在亲密关系中出现，不像西方文化中那么常见。
五、手势和动作1.点头：在西方文化中，点头通常表示同意或理解。
而在中国文化中，点头可以表示同意、理解或尊重。
2.摇头：在西方文化中，摇头通常表示不同意或否定。
而在中国文化中，摇头可以表示不同意、否定或表示歉意。
六、姿势和动作1.手势：在西方文化中，举起手掌表示停止或等待。
而在中国文化中，举起手掌可能表示不理解或表示抗议。
2.手指：在西方文化中，竖起食指表示“好”或“正确”。
而在中国文化中，竖起食指可能被视为不礼貌或侮辱。
七、身体姿势和动作1.微笑：在西方文化中，微笑通常表示友好和愉快。
肢体语言在中美文化中的比较
摘要肢体语言是人类语言的重要组成部分，在中美文化交流中扮演着重要角色。
本文运用案例法与比较法，从四个方面对两国的手势、身势、眼神交流和面部表情四类肢体语言进行了进行对比与分析，即“相同”含义的相同肢体语言比较、“不同”含义的相同肢体语言比较、“相同”含义的不同肢体语言比较、中美两国各自独特的肢体语言比较，并探讨了背后的文化根源。
研究结果表明，两国在生产、生活中存在的诸多共同特征是导致中、美肢体语言存在共性的主要原因，而两国独特的历史文化和语言表达等因素对两国肢体语言差异的形成产生了重大影响。
因此，必须深入了解两国肢体语言及其文化背景，才能提高跨文化交际能力，促进中美文化交流。
关键词：肢体语言；文化差异；跨文化交际ABSTRACTBody language is a very important part in human language and it plays a vital role in Sino-American cross-cultural communication. Divided into gestures, posture, eye contacts and facial expressions, the body language in China and America had been compared and analyzed from four aspects by case analysis and comparison method. The four aspects included (1) the same body language with the same meaning, (2) the same body language with different meanings; (3) different body language with the same meaning, (4) the special body language exists in Chinese and American culture respectively. Furthermore, cultural background of body language in two countries was discussed. Results showed that the similar features in both life and production in two countries were the major reason for existence of common cognition of body language. The special historical characteristics and different ways of language expression played an important role in the differences of body language between the two countries. Therefore, in order to improve Sino-American cross-cultural communication, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of body language under different cultural backgrounds in China and America.Key words：body language; cultural differences; cross-cultural communicationContents1.Introduction (51)2. Literature review (52)2.1 Conceptions of relative words (52)2.1.1 Definition of body language (52)2.1.2 Conception of culture (53)2.2 Overseas and domestic literature review on body language (54)2.2.1 Overseas literature review on body language (54)2.2.2 Domestic literature review on body language (55)3. Comparison of body language in Chinese and American cultures (56)3.1 Same body language with the same meaning (57)3.2 Same body language with different meanings (59)3.3 Different body language with the same meaning (63)3.4 Unique body language exists in Chinese and American culture respectively (65)4. How to improve the ability of intercultural communication (66)5. Conclusion (67)Acknowledgements (70)References (71)1.IntroductionSpeaking of “Body Language” in a board sense, there are in English such expressions as body movement, body gesture, body behavior, etc [1]13,[2]4. A psychologist proposed a formula: the total impact of a message = 7% verbal + 38% vocal + 55% facial expressions and behaviors [3]15.Nowadays, with the rapid development of economy as well as science and technology, the world is becoming smaller and smaller, and the communication between people from different countries with different cultural backgrounds is increasing [3]19, especially that between people from China and America. Since interpretations of body language vary tremendously from culture to culture, it is a necessity to obtain the ability to understand body language while communicating with people from different countries with different culture. Certainly, there were many previous studies made by scholars on body language. However, most of their researches lay emphasis on the differences of body language between China and western countries instead of those between China and America. Meanwhile, few focus on the history and culture roots of body language and the influence of verbal language on body language. Therefore, the thesis is intended to focus on the similarities and differences of body language including posture, gestures, facial expressions and eye contacts under different cultural backgrounds in China and America so as to enable readers to comprehensively understand the exact meanings of body language and to know the corresponding cultural background and social-cultural characteristics of the two countries.The thesis is mainly composed of five chapters. The first Chapter serves as the brief introduction of the whole thesis; The second Chapter presents the definition of body language, culture and the literature review of body language abroad and in China; The third chapter focuses on the similarities and differences of body language under different cultural backgrounds in China and America and the corresponding reasons of history, culture and language for those similarities and differences will be analyzed at the same time. The fourth chapter introduces several tips for improving the ability of cross-culturalcommunication between the two countries. And the last part summarizes the whole content of this paper and restates the importance of body language in cross-cultural communication.2. Literature reviewThe observation of body language is important to an effective listener because it communicates what is the most important to the speaker. When a person is reluctant to put his feelings into words, or has repressed his feelings to the extent that he is not consciously aware of his feelings, then his nonverbal language usually indicates his feelings. Now, to have a better knowledge of body language, the author here will first introduce the literature review on body language as follows.2.1 Conceptions of relative wordsWhen communicating with a person from different cultures, it is extremely important to possess the ability to understand the exact meanings of the body language he uses. Otherwise, it will cause unnecessary misunderstandings and even lead to some trouble. Body language has a close relationship with culture. Thus, before we come to the study on body language under different cultural backgrounds in China and America, we should first of all have a clear idea about the definitions of relative words: body language, and culture.2.1.1 Definition of body languageBody language is a term for forms of communication using body movements or gestures instead of sounds, or other forms of oral communication [4]25. It is often called kinesics, composed not only of gestures and posture, but also facial expressions and eye contacts [5]23. Gestures refer to the movement of hands or arms to express the meaning of a verbal message which is regarded as the central part of our body language. Posture is the general way of carrying out one’s body, especially the head, shoulders and back when walking, standing, squatting, sitting or lying. Eye contact is a very important part in body language which refers to the study of messages expressed by eyes, including eye contact,eye movements, staring, gaze, blinks and pupil dilation. The face serves as the most expressive function in our body and it can give us some information about one’s character.It should be mentioned that since diverse and complex factors are involved in the study of body language, a considerable amount of academic arguments exist concerning which definition of body language is the most valid and workable. Some scholars claim that body language is the language without words; others give a similar statement that body language indicates all communicative symbols except oral speech. Besides the above mentioned definitions, Samovar and Porter (1995) have made some attempts on a more specific and vivid definition of body language like this: Body language is the socially, biologically, psychologically or culturally framed exchange of valuable messages which are not verbally spoken out but conveyed by the body movements, body gestures, symbols or relevant context and surrounding environment etc [5]10. Also, there is definition written in dictionary: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English defines body language as the process of communicating through conscious or unconscious gestures and poses [6]143.2.1.2 Conception of cultureIt is difficult to find even a single definition of culture on which scholars may have agreements since culture is really a very large and evasive concept which is very difficult to define. The anthropologists define it as: common knowledge, perceptions and values that constitute the foundation of social, economical and religious institutions in a society (Svanberg & Runblom, 1988) [7]8. It is said that there have been at least over 150 definitions on culture, but none of them seems to be able to tell us everything about culture [8]14.But, simply put, “culture” refers to a group or a community with which we share common experiences that shape the way we understand the world. Most professionals view culture as being the sum total of beliefs, rules, techniques, institutions, and artefacts that characterize human beings[8]3. In other words, culture consists of socially created and learned patterns of behaviour shared by members of a given society—a unique lifestyle of a particular group of people.From above, we know that culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes one group or category of people from another [7]16. Since China is a developing country while America is a developed country, they havetheir unique styles in the traditions of culture and customs. They are different in many aspects of their life and production which produce a big influence on their body language. When coming to the definition of culture, we should take the cultural backgrounds of two countries’history, customs and literature into consideration; meantime, we also should take the cultural factors into consideration when we are taking part in cross-cultural communication. By acquiring the basic theoretical conceptions of body language and culture, we will go further for the study on the meanings of body gestures under different cultural backgrounds in China and America in the next part.2.2 Overseas and domestic literature review on body languageThis part concerns literature review on body language made by scholars in China and America. Body language, as a communicative method, has a long history and it can be assumed that the history of body language is longer than any other natural languages. Body language is the subject which has received the most research and the greatest amount of public attention during recent years.2.2.1 Overseas literature review on body languageBody language may date back to Aristotle, who had studied the expressions of actions. And Darwin’s Expressions of Humans and Animals published in 1872 can be regarded as the initial study of body language [9]16. It is generally accepted that the study of body language became an independent subject in the 1950s. During this period, there was a significant increase in the number of body language research’s efforts. Ray Birdwhistell’s Introduction to Kinesics in 1952 in which the term kinesics was initiated primarily constructed the conception system of Kinesics. Dr. Edward T. Hall’s The Silent Language in 1959 explored the importance of cultural factors, and revealed the profound mystery of kinesics in communication [10]26. These two books are regarded as two milestones in the decade.The 1960s witnessed a nuclear explosion of studies on body language. There were extensive studies on specific areas of body including eye behaviors, personal space, body movements and body gestures. Dr. Edward T. Hall, professor of anthropology at Northwestern University, went into thecross-cultural perspective of proteomics. Paul Kerman and Wallace Friesen have developed a specific system of classifying nonverbal languages in terms of function in the book The Repertoire of Nonverbal Behavior[11]20, which provided insights on the origin, usage, and coding of nonverbal behavior.The 1970s made deep exploration on the aspect of body language from different perspectives, among which was Julius Fast’s Body Language in 1973 in which he explained by presenting interesting instances the meaning of such nonverbal behaviors as gestures, facial expressions, postures, and distance between interlocutors[12]14. In 1970, Ray Birdwhistell coined the term “kinesics”—the systematic study of how human beings communicate through body movements and gestures—in his masterpiece Kinesics and Context: Essay on Body Motion Communication.2.2.2 Domestic literature review on body languageChinese researchers have made a great contribution to the study on body language. The study on body language in China originated in the 1970s and prospered in the 1980s [14]6. In the late 1980s, there were two famous monographs, one is An Introduction to Body Language in 1988 by Ge Erling and the other is Motion Linguistics in 1988 by Zhou Jiyu [13]18. And the research in this field reached its research height at the beginning of 1990s. During these years, the number of literary works on this aspect had reached over one hundred [3]26. Since then, an increasing number of anthropologists, linguists, sociolinguists and language teachers are doing researches on intercultural nonverbal communication. The linguist and educator Chen Wangdao pointed out that language is a way to send and receive information, and he was the first one who made a clear distinction of body language between some other means of message transferring in China[8]18. Besides, other famous scholars in our country, for example, Hu Wenzhong, Bi Jiwan and Liu Wenrong had issued several articles on cross-cultural communication and translated many literature works of body language [14]5.From above literature review on body language, we can clearly get that scholars have made various studies on body language. However, most of the researches laid emphasis on the differences of body language while the similarities were ignored. Furthermore, most of the studies focus on the phenomena of the differences instead of the real reasons of those similaritiesand differences, such as the differences between history, culture, traditions, customs and expressions of verbal language, etc.Therefore, the author will focus on the comparison of similarities and differences of body language, including posture, gestures, facial expressions and eye contacts, between China and America and analyze the reasons of the differences with case analysis and comparison method as well. And in the process of this study, in order to thoroughly compare the similarities and differences of body language between the two countries, the author will analyze the above mentioned four categories of body language one by one from the following aspects: (1) the same body language with the same meaning; (2) the same body language with different meanings; (3) different body language with the same meaning; (4) the special body language exists in Chinese and American culture respectively.3. Comparison of body language in Chinese andAmerican culturesBody language can serve for communication which can make people communicate very well and smoothly. It is much related to culture. Particular body language and the meaning of body language are largely depended on cultural variations[13]13. Each culture in the world is unique and has its own system of expressing body language in communication. It is the uniqueness of different cultures that cause misunderstandings or even conflicts in intercultural communication[15]17. Two individuals come from different cultures can understand the meanings of some certain different body gestures while the majority of body gestures varying others and the meanings they conveyed seem to be decided by culture in a large sense [13]9. From this we can see that it is important to study body language under the different cultural backgrounds. Besides, we should also have a clear understanding of the deep cultural reasons which cause these differences in body gestures.In this part, the author elaborates the similarities and differences of body language, including posture, gestures, eye contacts, and facial expressions withcase analysis and comparison method from the following four aspects so as to find out the culture root and social-cultural characteristics.3.1 Same body language with the same meaningHuman beings have thousands of thousands of body gestures. Although different people live in different places, speak different languages, wear different clothes, people share many similarities in daily life as well, for example, happiness, anger, sadness. So it is not difficult to understand that people share a lot of similar body language which expresses the same meaning. In this part, the author discusses posture, gestures, facial expressions and eye contacts that convey the same meaning in Chinese and American culture and analyzes the reasons as well.Posture refers to the general way people carry out their body, and it can be divided into three categories: standing, bent-knee positions and lying [15]36. The same posture can be seen in the same situation in different countries. No matter in America or in China, it is easy to observe from TV and movies that individuals of higher status usually use a relaxed postural style, while those who are in a lower status are always in a upright and tense postural style since the “lower status” must show his respect to the senior.Generally speaking, Gestures refer to specific body movements that carry meanings. Gestures are closely related to speech, illustrating or supplementing it. Gestures carry a great deal of meanings, some of which mean the same in China and America. When they are interpreted by Chinese and Americans respectively, there will not be any problem in understanding each other when communicating. For instance, both Chinese and Americans nod head up and down to mean “yes”, and they shake head from side to side to mean “no”; move hands from side to side to convey the meaning of saying goodbye to somebody; applaud to show approval of a performance. What is more, touch is one of the most fundamental forms of body gestures, like our oral speech, carries messages about what we are thinking and feeling. Touch is the earliest means we have to make contacts with others. Touch can indicate many things, including affection, aggression, sympathy and even the status or relationship which exists between people [15]25.Face is the most expressive part of our body. The sayings “one’s face is themirror of one’s soul,” and “The face tells the secret” tell us the importance of facial expressions. During interpersonal communication, we depend heavily on facial cues when making important judgements. Facial movements can express emotion. Research shows that seven basic emotions have been expressed the same. They are happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, disgust and interest. In China and America, people almost express the above basic emotions with same facial expressions. So we can easily guess the meaning of a person from his or her face although we don’t understand each other’s language.Eye contact plays an important role in human interactions. People can use eye contact to regulate communication, convey emotions, and indicate degrees of attentiveness, interest, and arousal. It was estimated that we spend approximately 45 percent of our time looking at others’eyes [16]5. As to eye contacts, Chinese and Americans share some similarities too. For example, when we are in different emotions, such as happy, angry or sad, the expression in people’s eyes will change in accordance with the emotions we are in. Sometimes we control our facial expressions to hide our feelings and we can successfully do that while the expression in our eyes will reveal the secrets since it is too difficult to be controlled. In our daily life, we can not only guess a person’s happiness, anger and sadness from his or her eyes, but we can feel whether he is confident or shy, he is pessimistic or optimistic, he is kind or cruel, and so on. So Eyes are called the windows of man’s heart for they can reveal the implication at a deeper level that spoken language cannot express.Why do body gestures have the same meaning even in China and America which have their own unique cultural origins and historical characteristics? The reason is easy to understand. It is the mutual knowledge and cognition in people’s life and production during the development of human’s society which offers the answer. What is more, both Chinese and Americans face life and death, love and hate, hope and fear in life. All people’s basic needs and philosophies are similar, even when their expressions is clouded and confused by racial, cultural or political trappings [15]19. And it is these cultural common characteristics upon which we can build understanding, respect and communication. To some extent, we human beings sometimes may have something in common in nonverbal expressions with gorillas, let alone people from different cultures. There are many differences between China and America,such as culture, history, religion, race, color of skin, etc, but just like many idioms we share in life, for example, “love me, love my dog”, “strike while the iron is hot”, “look before you leap” and so on, we share many body gestures in life too.3.2 Same body language with different meaningsEven body language has a cultural accent, and because of the cultural differences in China and America, the same body gesture differs from each other in its meanings in some circumstances. Just like the say ing goes “do as the Romans do”, it is necessary to pay attention to such differences in the same body gesture to avoid misunderstandings. Here the author studies the differences of posture, gestures, facial expressions and eye contacts in Chinese and American cultures respectively and ultimately to cultivate their inside resources and reasons.1. PostureThere are cultural differences as far as gait is concerned in China and America. For example, Chinese people may regard Americans’ big strides when they walk as being arrogant, and Americans may consider Chinese people’s gait shy and timid. This reason of this difference is simply that Americans need more space than Chinese do since American culture emphasizes individualism while Chinese culture stresses modesty. Also, Standing with arms akimbo is common in America with neutral meaning. Women may do this posture to show their impatience. However, this posture in China means a signal to protect oneself from being approached.Sitting posture is a constant source of cultural misunderstandings. In America where being casual and friendly is valued, consciously or unconsciously people often fall into chairs or slouch. However, in China, a slouching posture is a signal of bad manners on many occasions, for Chinese value proper stance and sitting position.When combined with cultural backgrounds in China and America, it is not difficult to understand the reasons for all these differences. People may note the values, norms, and beliefs or subjective culture of a particular group reflected in the nonverbal codes of the two nations. Americans emphasize informality andseem to have a loose and easy stance, but Chinese ancient philosophy values a rigid, erect and quiet stance. As an old saying: Stand as straight as a pine and sit as upright as a bell.2. GesturesGestures are mainly connected with moving of hands or arms to convey some certain verbal information and emotion. People from China and America may have their own particular gestures, and even the same gesture may have its separate significance for Chinese and Americans in certain contexts because of their different cultures.In America, snapping fingers is to cause someone’s attention, whereas in China it is considered very rude and ill-mannered. In the United States, using one’s thumb and index finger to make a circle while extending the others has the meaning of “ok or excellent”; while in China, it stands “zero”. Chinese may shake the hand with the palm turning downward to ask somebody to come, while Americans interpret this gesture as saying goodbye or asking somebody to go away [14]15. In American culture, stamping one’s foot means impatience, but in China it conveys anger, frustration and remorse. Moreover, in Chinese culture, using the index finger up to tip one’s own nose means that “I did this or it is me”, while for Americans they will think this to be ridiculous or funny.Touch is more acceptable on Chinese campus than American campus, although both China and America are classified as non-contact culture [18]15. Chinese teachers often pat children on the heads or on the shoulders to show their intimacy, warmth, affection and encouragement. However, American teachers are less likely to do that since that they consider this behaviour to be rude, intrusive and offensive. Moreover, in China, one can touch the cloth or the hair of a newly known person to show affection and praise; while in America, this touching is avoided except that the two persons are close friends. Again, tapping the head with a finger means that one need to consider carefully or one is thinking in Chinese culture; while in American culture, it conveys the meaning that one is so stupid. Using hand to cover mouth is to indicate that one has something secret to say in Chinese culture; but in American culture this behaviour means that one is telling a lie. Also, Chinese may clap for themselves after a speech, but Americans may see this as immodest [19]20.There are still many other gestures varying culturally in this part. Forinstance, almost everyone has the experience of pointing a way for others. From childhood, Chinese are taught that it is impolite to use forefinger to point at things. This conception is reflected in the Chinese idiom “指桑骂槐” and “指手画脚”which convey the negative meaning [7]16. Since we have known the different meanings of the same body gesture in China and America, now, let’s come to the reasons for these differences. We all know that in China, culture is mainly connected with Han culture. Chinese culture emphasizes collectivism under the influence of Confucianism and Buddhism while American culture advocates individualism and independence which is clearly reflected in the different meanings of touch. That is to say, a country’s religion, economy and literature, to some extent, have a deep effect on the meaning of body language. Therefore, we should not only learn the meaning of body language, but also learn the cultural backgrounds that hind behind it.3. Facial expressionsFacial expressions are connected with culture. There are differences between Chinese and Americans in facial expressions. Facial movements can express one’s emotions. Research shows that seven basic emotions have been expressed the same by facial expressions [20]11. However, the meaning of facial expressions differs in the values of culture and differs in the context of interpersonal communication.Many examples can be found in daily life. In America, children often make facial expressions when they are disapproving of or questioning actions of their parents, while in China, children who do this are thought to disrespect their parents. As for the relationship between children and parents in a family, being obedient is what Chinese parents hope their children to do, while American parents seem partial to respect their children’s own choices, which is well reflected in the expressions of body language. So it is difficult for Americans and Chinese to understand each other’s ways of education. The main reason is that the difference in family education lies in the differences in their cultures.In American culture, people are willing to express attitude and emotions. The American teachers like to open a friendly environment in his class to make his class more relaxing and interesting. They are more willingly to use body language frequently, such as making face and rising eyebrow, while the teachers in China tend to control their feelings or cover their emotions and attitude. The。
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肢体语言的中西方文化差异➢动作一样，意义不同
汉语意义气愤，恼
怒，灰
心，悔恨
谢谢，互相
表示友好感
情
好奇；有
时是惊讶
反对；责
骂；轰赶
（少见；一般见于成人对
孩子）疼爱；（对成人或
青年，会引起反感，是侮
辱人的动作）
肢
体语言跺脚
观众和听众
鼓掌，表演
或讲话人也
鼓掌
目不转睛
地看
发“嘘”
声
拍别人的脑袋
英
语意义不耐烦
为自己鼓
掌；被认为
是不谦虚
不礼貌；
使人发
窘；不自
在
要求安静安慰；鼓励；钟爱
➢意义相同，动作有差异
意义“过来”（叫别人过来）“丢人”“没羞”（半
开玩笑）
“我吃饱了”（吃饭
后）
中国的肢体语言把手伸向被叫人，手心向
下，几个手指同时弯曲几
次
伸出食指，用指尖在自
己脸上划几下，象搔
痒，不过手指是直的
一只手或两只手轻轻拍
拍自己的肚子
美国的肢体语言把手伸向被叫人，手心向
上，握拳用食指前后摆动
（中国人对此反感）
伸出两只手的食指，手
心向下，用一个食指擦
另一个食指的背面
一只手放在自己的喉
头，手心向下（常同时
说“到这儿了”）
➢只存在于一种文化中的动作
肢体语言在美国的意义
●咂指甲——重大思想负担；担心，不知所措
●用大拇指顶着鼻头，其他四指弯着一起动——挑战，蔑视
●摇动食指（食指向上伸出，其他四指收拢）——警告别人不要作某事，表示对方
在做错事
●把胳膊放在胸前，握紧拳头，拇指向下，向下摆几次——反对某一建议、设想；
反对某人；表示强烈反对
●眨眼（很快地合上一只眼，微微一笑点点头）——表示下列几种感情：会意，赞
许，鼓励，传递信息，表示团结等
肢体语言在中国的意义
●用食指点点或指指自己的鼻子——“是我”，“是我干的”（西方人认为这个手
势有点可笑）
●说话时用一只张开的手捂着嘴（一般是老年人用）——说秘密话（有时没有明显
的意义）
●两只手递（即使可以用一只手拿起的）东西给客人或别人——尊敬
●别人为自己倒茶或斟酒时，张开一只手或两只手，放在杯子旁边——表示感谢
●伸出两个竖起的食指在身前慢慢接近（往往在戏曲中出现）——男女相爱；匹配
良缘。