Cultural Differences in Body Language Huang Jianfei
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When a Chinese converse with an American friend of the opposite sex, would it be indecent to looking at the other person?
An American says, “yes”, while lowering the eyes. Dose he really mean
“yes”?
If two young Chinese friends of the same sex walk with their arms around each other’s shoulder or hold hands, would English-speaking people regard this as proper?
These are not questions about language, but about body language, about nonverbal communication.
What’s the body language? It has the definitions in both narrow and broad senses. In the narrow sense, body language includes body movement and facial expression, which can send messages. As to the broad one, it includes gesture 、 posture 、 facial expression 、 timbre of the speaker 、 distance between speaker and listener, and clothes of the speaker( 胡文仲 1988. 10.). In my point of view, body language should includes facial expressions, body movements, and body contact.
In the social interaction, when we converse with others, we communicate by much more than words. By our expressions, gestures and other body movements, we convey messages to the other people. Body language exists in every culture, but not all body languages mean the same thing in different cultures. Different peoples have different ways of making nonverbal communication. The answers to the questions of this paper at the beginning are all "no". As the global village tends to become smaller and smaller, it is more important for people to communicate across culture and language barriers, particularly to those who have verbal language barriers. In fact, body language is more important to people from other culture than it is to the native. To native-born people, the spoken word is by far the most important communicational tool. In other culture, however, the way words are spoken along with the gestures, postures and the facial expressions that accompany those words is of greater significance.
Ⅱ
Body language has three major functions: assisting, substituting and expressing or hiding emotional feelings. ( 胡文仲 ,1998.10 ) Emotion is the most complicated thing of human being. To express one’s inner feelings is even more difficult. As the convey made by experts, human beings seldom express their complex feeling in words, and in some situation, it is more than words can convey exactly. And even though they express it by spoken words,
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Cultural Differences in Body Language Huang Jianfei they usually perform gestures along with it. This is because the body language is more articulate than words in communicating emotion. For example, the
Chinese that says, “Yes”, while lowering the eyes may mean, “No”, because sometimes they feel reluctant to disrupt the harmony of the relationship by directly saying so (for example, when father ask you to do something which you don’t like, you may also say “Yes” in order to keep the harmonious relation with Dad). In the mainstream American culture, the folded arms of resolve, the grimace of pain or anger, the hand wringing of anxiety, are powerful communicators of emotions. When people are sad, crying may be more suitable than words to express it. Think about how much more convinced you are, for example, that a group of children are excited when they jump up and down than if they simply state, “ We are very excited.”
According to the above description, we can see that body language diverse in different cultures, so does it used in expressing emotional feelings.
Therefore, in this paper, I attempt to make a comparison the differences of body language used in expressing the emotional feelings betweens China and
America.
2.1 To show friendliness
You may see two men walk hand in hand or with an arm around another's shoulder. It is a sign of friendship in China. However, Americans strongly disapprove it. The situation is regarded as homosexual in American culture.
In China, if two old friends meet somewhere after several years. They may pull or push each other, or they may pat other' s shoulder to show their close friendship. Americans seldom do this. It is rude to touch others wildly even though he is the intimate friend in American culture.
If a Chinese, attempting to show his friendliness, stands to close to an
American. The American will step back, wanting to keep a certain distance.
This is because America belongs non-touching cultures. They like to keep about 30 inches apart from one another, which is considered their personal" comfort zone".
In China, a common complaint of American mothers is that Chinese often fondle their babies and very small children. Such behaviors like touching, patting, hugging or kissing may be considered rude, intrusive and offensive in American culture, even though those behaviors are merely signs of friendliness or affection in Chinese culture.
When meeting others, to show respect or friendliness, Chinese usually shake hands or nod. In America, you can see people often hug or kiss to show friendliness, which is quite embarrassing and awkward for Chinese, especially between the opposite sex. In China, kissing is only for lovers or parents to children.
If you invite an American friend to dinner in your house, to show hospitality, you may serve food constantly in his plate. But he may feel
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Cultural Differences in Body Language Huang Jianfei uncomfortable or embarrassed, because in American custom, one must eat up food in his plate, if not, he might be regarded as a grandiose man, let alone to mention they do not like some certain dishes (for example viscera of animals)
2.2 To show curiosity
When people(both Americans and Chinese) find something is curious, they may glare blankly . But when Chinese glares at an American, it may makes the latter angry, because in American Culture, staring at people or holding a glance too long is considered improper.
There is also a dominant curiosity in the class, where an American teacher teaches in a Chinese school. Chinese students will feel unaccustomed when they see their foreign teacher sitting on the desk to teach. They consider it as a rude manner, and the gesture may break the teaching rule. But to
American, the action is only to minimize the tense atmosphere of the class and shorten the distance from students. So the most common complaint of
American teacher is that they feel too conservative, too formal, and too dull at
Chinese class. In this aspect, it can show a big cultural gap between Chinese and Americans.
2.3 To show Bitterness
Grey face, shouting and gnashing etc. usually present one’s anger. In
China, stamping one's foot also show one's anger, but in America, it shows one' s feeling of impatience.
In China, people will cry sadly at the funeral rites. According to Chinese culture, people who don’t cry when attending the funeral are not filial persons.
But in America, people rarely cry loudly at that moment, because according to
American custom, crying in front of the public is a kind of lacking accomplishment.
2.4 To show indifference.
To show one's indifference, people usually ignore the existence of others.
But in some situation, it may cause some problems. In America, when two persons are talking, they must look at each other. If not, one who doesn’t look may be considered that he is indifferent and may be regarded as a rude manner.
In China, looking at people too long when talking may make the others very uncomfortable, especially talking to ladies.
2.5 To show anger
Arms akimbo is a common gesture to show one’s rage in both culture.
Besides, American usually used a gesture--extending the forefinger and makes a circular motion near the temple or ear to show that someone is crazy, because to the psychology, crazy man is something wrong with his brain. But when
Americans do this, it may be embarrassed to Chinese people, because it is just a gesture of thinking in China.
American always avoid making sound which spur out from body, such as, sneezing, cough, snuffle, spitting, fart, blowing nose, clearing throat, making
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Cultural Differences in Body Language Huang Jianfei gurgle of stomach and so on. They always try to constrain making this kind of sound at the face of others, if not, they will make apology to others. But
Chinese don’t view those gestures so serious as Americans. Chinese take it as a normal presentation of physiology. It used to be regarded as ridding the body of a waste-an act of personal hygiene. So to Chinese, it is unnecessary to make apology as long as he doesn’t make sound towards people or food.
In China, a common presentation of people who are angry is that he will pat the table. This can be traced back to ancient time. The gesture appeared in the process of those officials trying the legal cases. When they are angry, they pat the platform to frighten the suspect to confess. The other gesture is that when people are angry, they usually brow their moustache and sometimes their hair hanging on the forehead, which you can see in the Chinese play.
2.6 To show antipathy
Some gestures seen common in China may make American feel uncomfortable or even disgusted. The following are some examples:
When Chinese people drink hot soup, they often brow the surface of the soup first . Moreover, they may make some sound when they swallow it.
American regards it as an impolite gesture, because in their culture, making a sound when eating is a very bad manner. On the other hand, Chinese view
Americans' eating with hands as a dirty gesture.
American regards it as a dirty manner when they see Chinese sitting on the ground with a piece of paper under his bottoms. In American concept, it is an action of insanitation, because they view this as a presentation of throwing waste paper. In the converse, it is just a case of sanitation in China, because the paper can keep the trousers clean. Maybe it is because the two views are of different focus. Chinese focus on his own benefit while Americans a little more on public.
Americans often chew their fingernails to express their emotional stress, worry and not knowing what to do, but chewing the fingernail is considered to be unsanitary in China.
When Chinese people see a friend wearing beautiful clothes or making a nice hairstyle, they tend to touch it to see how it is made. The manner is only a feeling of admiration, but it is impolite to American.
To push one’s way though crowd, American usually use two hands to push against the crowd. In China, people, however, are accustomed to get through the crowed by their bodies with the arms keeping close to two sides.
Both gestures have their own reason. Americans want to keep wider personal area than Chinese, so they push away the people by their hands before their bodies are touched. Chinese view this gesture as an overbearing manner. On the other hand, Americans feel very antipathy when Chinese touch others’ bodies without the remark “ Excuse me.
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Cultural Differences in Body Language Huang Jianfei
Both Chinese and American may chin up to point the direction. In China, people may also scoop up their lips along with it. In America, scooping up the lips at others is a gesture of flirtation.
2.7 To express affection
In china, public display of affection is rare, but in America, the occasion is very common.
Hugging and kissing when greeting are common in America, but they are only used to express affection among lovers in China.
In china, one particular gesture for people to imply their love is winking their eyes to his or her lover, which however, may be only a flirtatious gesture by man.
2.8 To show embarrassment
“ Nodding the head up and down” means “ Yes” and “ shaking the head side to side” means “No”. At this point, China is the same as America. But in some situation, the action of the head in America may confuse Chinese. For example, “ you should not be discouraged.” Mother said to us. We all shook our heads. Chinese may be confused in American’s shaking head at that moment. Shaking head means “No. We won’t be discouraged” in words. But it means “
是 ”(yes) when translated into Chinese. So Chinese will nod the head at the same situation.
Smiles and laughter usually convey friendliness, approval, satisfaction, pleasure and joy etc. This is generally true in China as well as America.
However, there are situations when some Chinese will laugh that will cause negative reactions by Americans. To illustrate, here is an example:
When an American is parking his bicycle, for example, and the bicycle accidentally falls over, he feels embarrassed at his awkwardness, and is quite angered and humiliated when Chinese onlookers laugh. I have seen the same thing happen in the dining room, when a foreigner dropped a plate quite by accident and felt bad and Chinese onlookers laughed, compounding his discomfort and causing anger and bad feeling.
Such laughter, of course, is not at the person or his misfortune—whether he be a foreigner or a Chinese. It can convey a number of feelings: don’t take it so seriously; laugh it off, it’s nothing; such things can happen to any of us, etc. However, for people who are unaware of this attitude, the reaction to such laughter is usually quite unpleasant and often generates ill feeling towards those laughing.
Silence may mean agreement, but also disagreement in communication in
Chinese culture. However, in America, silence usually means failure of communication. So, sometimes, the Chinese keeping silence may make
American embarrassed, because they don’t know whether others agree or not; or whether they understand or don’t understand him. So you can see American
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Cultural Differences in Body Language Huang Jianfei teachers always tell students to nod the head when understanding and shake the head when don’t understand. In China, although, in some situation, one doesn’t understand or agree with the speaker, he may also keep silence. This is just a gesture of respect to speaker, especially, to the elder.
2.9 Some other differences
In China, if people feel shy, they may cover his face with both hands, and when people show others that doing something is shy, they may do this— forefinger of one hand extended, tip touches one’s own face several times quickly; similar to scratching, but with the forefinger straight (usually with the remark “shame on you”). In America, people show shame by this—forefinger of each hand extended, palms down in front of one’s body; one forefinger makes several brushing movements over the back of the other forefinger.
Lowering or swaggering one's head is used to show one's disappointment.
But American also show his unfortunate with thumb down which is regarded as despising or looking down up others in China.
In America, to despise some one, they often make a gesture like this-- pushing the nose with thumb and swaggering the other four fingers. However, in China, the gesture--putting the fist up in front of chest with the thump down is used to express this sense.
People often use one hand covering the mouth and yawn or pat the open mouth slightly with fingers of one hand to show their impatience or their indifference in something. But in China, people usually stretch the left hand with palm down and support the palm with the forefinger of the right hand in the middle to show it.
Tensing one's face, frown and fidget often convey one's inner worry. This is the same in both cultures. There are still some gestures particular in China.
For example, you can see a girl scratching a corner of the clothes, or sometimes scratching her hair or sweeping her forehead as if she is sweating even though it is cold.
Ⅲ
Body language communication is as effective as words—may be even more. Body language exists in every culture, but it is also diverse in every culture is woven inextricably into our social lives. However, the “ vocabulary” of gestures can be expressive and entertaining but also can be dangerous. The same gesture may mean completely different thing, and some gestures may be taboo in other culture. As the globalization hastens its pace, all cultures influence and infiltrate further. Some values and ideas of one country have altered and even are replaced. To maintain certain concept rigidly turns out to be ignorant. Presently we can find that some gestures we use daily originate from other countries. For example, “shrugging one’s shoulders with two arms down and palm out” means “ I don’t know.” In the world of body languages, the best single piece of advice is to remember the two A’s—“Ask” and “aware”(Axtell, Roger E.
Gestures: The Do’s and Taboos of Body Language Around the world. John Wiley & Son,
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Cultural Differences in Body Language Huang Jianfei
1991) if you see a motion or gesture that is new or confusing, ask a local person what it signifies. Just be aware of the many body signs and customs around you.
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