Analysis of Differences of Nonverbal Communication between Chinese and AmericanI.IntroductionHuman communication is usually divided first into verbal and nonverbal systems. We communicate more than we say. Actually, in everyday life, we spend a considerable amount of time on nonverbal communication. In addition, we receive much of our emotional meanings through nonverbal elements.Mehrabian, observing how feeling is transmitted in messages, found that as much as 93 percent of emotional meaning is transmitted nonverbally (Hickson & Stacks, 1989: 6). Most researchers believe that Mehrabian's 93 percent figure may be a little high, but at the same time, they do accept the relatively high impact of nonverbal communication. Another statistic figured out by Birdwhistell's and Philpott's approximations, said that nonverbal communication accounts for 60 to 70 percent of what we communicate to one another (Tubbs & Moss, 1991:137). It should be noted that this statistic has been widely accepted and reported by most contemporary nonverbal communication books.Since only about 30% of what is communicated in a conversation is verbal, nonverbal communication is of great significance. Whether we are truly successful communicators or not depends a lot on our awareness of the role that nonverbal communication played and our ability to use nonverbal skills appropriately.We should note that although many cultures share some nonverbal behaviors, nonverbal codes are influenced by culture. Cultural differences in nonverbal communication sometimes can lead to misunderstandings. With increasing contact between China and America, a better understanding between both cultures is of growing importance. Nonverbal communication influences how individuals from these two cultures interact and understand or misunderstand each other. Therefore, an understanding of the differences is vital for building harmonious relationships. The thesis is designed to help readers understand and appreciate the differences in nonverbal communication that Chinese and Americans discover when they intercourse in daily situations.II.Foundations of Nonverbal Communication2.1 Definition of Nonverbal Communication海量英语论文尽在英语论文网，免费下载网址：/需要其他类型英语论文可以咨询QQ 253771735Just like culture, there are numerous definitions for nonverbal communication. To theorize about nonverbal communication has been complicated not only by its multimodal and multifunctional nature, but also because our knowledge emanates from disparate disciplines with differing assumptions and methodologies.In its broadest definition, Devito, and Guerrero defines nonverbal communication as “all the messages other than words that people exchange in interactive contexts”(Guerrero, DeVito & Hecht, 1999:56).To further define what qualifies as nonverbal communication, experts have identified several perspectives, including those that assume all human behavior is potentially communicative, communicative only if intentionally sent, and communicative if behaviors reasonably function as messages within a given speech community (see Burgoon & Hoobler). Defined as such, nonverbal communication includes those behaviors that are mutually recognized and socially shared codes and patterns with a focus on message meaning. For example, an unintended frown when reading a memo may function as a message because most people regard it as a sign of displeasure. A frown in response to a stubbed toe is less likely to be regarded as a message because it is a more spontaneous, involuntary reaction.Nonverbal communication is usually understood as the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless messages. Such messages can be communicated through gesture; body language or posture; facial expression and eye contact; object communication such as clothing, hairstyles or even architecture; symbols and infographics.Speech may also contain nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, emotion and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation and stress. Likewise, written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the use of emoticons. However, much of the study of nonverbal communication has focused on face-to-face interaction, where it can be classified into three principal areas: environmental conditions where communication takes place, the physical characteristics of the communicators, and behaviors of communicators during interaction. Nonverbal communication can occur through any sensory channel – sight, sound, smell, touch or taste.Nonverbal communication is important as: “when we speak (or listen), our attention is focused on words rather than body language. But our judgment includes both. An audience is simultaneously processing both verbal and nonverbal cues. Body movements are not usually positive or negative in and of themselves; rather, the situation and the message will determine the appraisal." (Givens, 2000, p. 4) Nonverbal communication involves all those nonverbal stimuli in a communication setting that are generated by both the source and his or her use of the environment and that has potential message value for the source or receiver.”(Samovar & Porter, 2000:56)It not only marks the boundaries of nonverbal communication, but also reflects how the process actually works. Both intentional and unintentional behaviors are included in the communication event.2.2 Functions of Nonverbal CommunicationNonverbal communication often performs one of several functions in relationship to verbal communication. These functions help us to understand and use communication more effectively. Nonverbal messages serve six major functions: repetition, contradiction, substitution, accentuation, supplementation or modification and regulation. (Gibson & Hanna, 1992: 98)(1) Repetition is defined as the process of reinforcing verbal messages through redundancy. People often use nonverbal messages to repeat a point they are trying to make. For example, we might hold up our hand in the gesture that signifies a person to stop at the same time we actually use the word "stop". Generally speaking, the gestures and words have a similar meaning and reinforce one another.(2) Contradiction is the opposite of repetition; it negates the verbal messages. On some occasions, our nonverbal actions send signals opposite from the literal messages contained in our verbal messages. For instance, you tell someone you are relaxed and at ease, yet your voice quavers and your hands shake.(3) Substitution is a function of inserting nonverbal messages for a verbal massage. We use substitution in nonverbal communication when we perform some action instead of speaking.(4) Accentuation is the result of nonverbal messages used to strengthen words. We sometimes use nonverbal messages to accentuate our sentences, e.g. You may have noticed how some people tap the desktop with each word of an important message.(5) Supplementation or modification results when nonverbal messages slightlychange the words they accompany. For example, when you are answering the phone, your friend just enters your room, so you nod to your friend or make a gesture showing "please sit down" at the same time. Nonverbal messages add to or modify the words as surely as tears add meaning to the sentence “sorry”.(6) Regulation occurs when nonverbal messages help to control the flow of verbal messages. We often regulate and manage communication by using certain form of nonverbal behavior. We nod our head in agreement to indicate to our communication partner that we agree and that he or she should continue talking or we have direct eye contact with someone to let him or her know the channels are open.Thus, nonverbal messages function in six ways. Sometimes the functions occur separately, and sometimes they occur in combinations. They occur through multiple channels, and often they occur at the same moment. Without them, we should have a very difficult time communicating.2.3 Characteristics of Nonverbal CommunicationNonverbal communication is a form of human communication, and that the nonverbal form of communication is more complex than the term denotes. It has several important characteristics:(1)Unintentional. The sender may be unaware that he or she is sending anonverbal message and, consequently, may not be aware of the impact thatmessage may have.(2)Reliable. Since the message may be transmitted unconsciously, the senderwill not have planned it. That is why when receivers caught between twodiscrepant messages; they are more inclines to believe the nonverbal one.(3)Present. Neither oral nor written communication exists without nonverbalcommunication. Nonverbal communication may be shared between people orwithin a person.(4)Less precise but more elusive, intangible. There are no dictionaries or formalsets of rules to provide a systematic list of the meanings of a culture’snonverbal message.(5)Subtle and convert. Nonverbal communication messages function as a “silentlanguage”. Therefore, people process nonverbal messages, both the sendingand receiving of them, with less awareness than they process verbal message.(6)Continuous and natural. They tend to blur into one another. Nonverbalcommunication is ongoing and does not need a verbal component to havemeaning. Even the absence of nonverbal behaviors can send a message.2.4 Classification of Nonverbal CommunicationNonverbal communication covers a wide scope and consists of abundant subcodes- those different component parts of the overall nonverbal code- including touch and space, physical appearance, gestures, vocalic, and covert body/temporal communication (Hickson & Stacks, 1989: 19). Accordingly, researchers may adopt various means to classify it. For conducting contrastive study, this thesis divides nonverbal communication into five categories2.4.1 Body LanguageBody language, also called body movements, body behavior and so on, refers to all expressions and movement that send communication message. The study of body language or how movement communicates is called “Kinestics”, which includes gesture (such as head gesture, facial expressions, eye contact, arm gesture, hand gesture, leg movement, etc.), posture (such as standing posture, sitting posture, walking posture, etc.), and touch (such as hand shake, kiss, hug, etc.);2.4.2 ParalanguageParalanguage also called paralinguistic features, which involves the linguistic elements of speech, is how something is said and not the actual meaning of the spoken words. Paralanguage cues assist us in drawing conclusions about an individual’s emotional state, socioeconomic states, height, weight, age, intelligence, race, regional background, and educational level.Paralanguage has two components. One is voice qualities, such as pitch, range, resonance, lip control. Another is vocalizations, which involves three kinds: vocal characterizers; vocal qualifiers, and vocal segregates.2.4.3 Time LanguageTime language, which refers to how we give meaning to time communicates to others, is a powerful element of nonverbal communication. The study of time language is call “Chronemics”, which concerns concepts of time and the rules that govern its use.There are many cultural variations regarding how people understand and use time. Besides, a culture’s use of time can also provide valuable clues to how members of that culture value and respond to time. In America, people usually say; “Time is money” and “He who hesitates is lost”. All Chinese know the Confucian proverb “Think three timesbefore you act”. There sayings reflects how differently each of there cultures perceives time.2.4.4 Space LanguageSpace language is also called interpersonal distance, or proxemics. Edward Hall coined the term “proxemics”to refer to the study of how we use space in the communication process and the way that we use space to govern the personal actions and behavior of others.All cultures are organizes in some spatial pattern, which can reveal the character of the people in that culture. There are three important aspects of space language: personal space, territoriality, and spatial orientations.2.4.5 Object LanguageObject language generally refers to various kinds of artifacts with communicative functions, such as dress, cosmetics, ornament, furniture, olfactory messages etc, which can send nonverbal messages and display the user’s personality and cultural characteristic. In accordance with Tubbs and Moss, objectics is concerned with every kind of physical object from clothing we wear to the food we serve to our dinner guests.III.Differences of Nonverbal Communication between Chinese and AmericanDifferent people have different ways of making nonverbal communication. “Body language”, like our verbal language, is also a part of our culture. But not all body language means the same thing in different cultures. For example: different people have different ideas about the proper distance between people conversing; the appropriateness of physical contact varies with different cultures; one could draw up quite a list of “rules” about eye contact: to look or not to look; when to look and how long to look; who and who not to look at; smiles and laughter usually convey friendliness, approval, satisfaction, pleasure, joy and merriment, and, this is generally true in China as well as the English-speaking countries, however, there are situations when some Chinese will laugh that will cause negative reactions by westerners; gestures can be particularly troublesome, for a slight difference in making the gesture itself can mean something quite different from that intended, and, a wrong interpretation of a gesture can arouse quite unexpected reactions and so on. So in order to communicate effectively in a foreign language, one should know also the gestures, body movements,mannerisms and etc. that accompany a particular language.Here, we research into three elements of body language: gesture (head gesture, facial expressions, eye contact, hand gesture and smile and laughter), posture (walking posture, standing posture, and sitting posture), and touch (ten distinctions concerning touching behaviors).3.1 GestureGesture refers to the use of movement of the body (our arms, legs, torsos and especially hands) to express a certain message. It is estimated that the human body can produce over 270,000 discrete gestures (Du et. al, 2004: 223).Care should be taken in using gestures because different cultures interpret gestures in different ways. Understanding human behavior is tricky stuff. No two people behave in precisely the same way. Nor do people from the same culture all perform exactly the same gestures and body language uniformly.As researchers have studied this field extensively in recent years and have developed body language dictionaries such as A Dictionary of Gestures, The Nonverbal Dictionary of Gestures, signs & Body Language Cues and so on, here this paper just probes into the distinctive Chinese and American gestures in common daily use.3.1.1 Head GestureChinese and American head gesture shares a number of similarities. For example: nodding the head up and down means "yes", "I agree"; shaking the head side to side means "no"; heading forward shows an interest in the conversation; heading backward shows lack of interest and so on.As to the differences, a nod of the head in China can function as greeting and beckoning someone to come here, while the same function performed by the Americans is a raise of the head. Patting on head means differently in these two cultures. Occasionally, Chinese adults may pat the head of children to show affection; patting the head of a teenager or an adult would cause displeasure and can be insulting. Americans' patting on other's head is just for giving comfort, consolation or encouragement; and also for showing affection.A unique head gesture in China – tip the head backward and audibly suck air in through the teeth –means “no”or “something is very difficult”and has function of pausing to rethink. Also there are some head gestures used in America but seldom seen in China: scratching the head means thinking or confused or skeptical; chin stroke,tapping the head with forefinger shows contemplation; hand cutting across the top of the head shows impatience; head switching to one side with rush or chin pointing to a certain direction functions as beckoning someone to come here or pointing direction.3.1.2 Facial ExpressionsWe constantly read expressions from people's face. In fact, facial cues are the single most important source of nonverbal communication. (Tubbs & Moss, 1991:151) Facial expressions have some own features: they are innate and universal. Therefore, the expressions for happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, anger, and surprise (the six basic emotions) are recognized by most cultural groups as having the same meaning. However, some variations also exist. Some facial expressions and their interpretations may vary from one culture to another.Generally speaking, Chinese people are more self-controlled, especially in formal, public occasions, and when communicate with strangers and foreigners, they tend to control their emotions. When in down spirits (sad, angry, contemptuous and so on), Chinese people usually try to sustain a neutral expression. The whole face is on a loose state, forehead and eyebrow are equable, lips close naturally, and eyes open looking forward-such kind of looks is considered to be a neutral expression. Differently, the Americans may show in their expressions immediately when they are in the same spirits. Controlling one's bad mood properly is considered mature and well-educated in China. Therefore, they think the Americans' lack of control their emotions as an illustration of puerility and philistinism; whereas the Americans may consider the Chinese to be wooden and slow.When expressing some positive emotions, such as compliment and sympathy, Chinese people sometimes have less sense of propriety in their expressions than the Americans do. They think the more exaggerated the better. American people regard this as dishonest.In daily communication and daily behaviors, some differences caused by Chines’s humility and Americans’self-esteem are worth mentioning. When receiving honest praise from others, Chinese people usually send an expression showing “I do not believe”, “no”, “I do not deserve such praise”, and sometimes even give an anxious looks. American people think that such response is dishonest and hypocritical. On the contrary, they may smile to the person who praise them, accept the compliment and usually say “thank you”. In the Chinese point of view, such response is a kind of prideand conceited.3.1.3 Eye ContactThe most important channel for receiving and sending nonverbal messages is our eyes. At present, most of the studies of eye movements have been concerned with eye contact. Eye contact is an important element of body language. The number of messages we can send with our eyes is almost limitless. One research estimated that in group communication we spend 30 to 60 percent of our time in eye contact with others (Tubbs & Moss, 1991:154). The study of eye contact mainly includes: to look or not to look; when to look and how long to look; who and who not to look at.In conversation with people who know each other, American custom demands that there should be eye contact. This applies to both the speaker and the listener. The duration of their eye contact is longer than Chinese people's. In the US, the lack of eye contact is considered being not sincere, genuine, and honest, as well as implies fear, contempt, uneasiness, guilt, indifference. For showing politeness, respect or obedience, Chinese people frequently avoid direct eye contact with others.The two countries have a different way of retracting the look- the way they stop eye contact: the Americans, especially women, tend to look aside. It seems to give the Chinese a feeling of indifference, apartness and dissatisfaction. In China, people are accustomed to looking down. It is common that Chinese women always look down; the same is true of the underling before the superior, and the young before the old. In Chinese culture, looking down represents a modest, reverent and deferential attitude. It may be difficult for Americans to understand it. They would think that Chinese women's looking down illustrates the androcentrism of Chinese men.In China, some people never seem to get over their curiosity about the foreigners. The fact that they can not communicate with foreigners make them even more curious. And their curiosity shows in the way they stare at the foreigners. For the Chinese, the staring may be nothing more than curiosity, or sometimes surprise; but for the Americans, the feeling aroused by this staring can be so strong that makes them feel they are not just a minority but even an object of curiosity. They may become embarrassed and self-conscious. In a word, this kind of impolite behavior usually causes antipathy and misunderstanding by Americans. Therefore, Chinese people should avoid staring at the overseas.America and China share some similar eye movements with the same meanings.For instance, winking with one eye implies sharing a secret or flirtatious; raising the eyebrows is a flirtatious gesture by men, etc. Some eye movement are common in America but seldom seen in China: rolling the eye shows incredulity or amazement; winking eyes may shows several feeling – understanding, approval, encouragement, try to get across a message, solidarity.To sum up, America, along with other English- speaking countries, values the function of eye contact. They usually associate eye contact and eye movement, trust, frankness and self-esteem. Generally, they have much more eye contact and eye movement than the Chinese due to their recognition of equality. With a long history of modesty and humility, Chinese people may be shy about direct eye contact and may have less changeful eye movement. In fact, it is a sign of showing respect and kindness. Both countries should keep in mind these differences when communication with each other.3.1.4 Hand GestureAs a mode of nonverbal communication, hand gestures rank second in importance only to facial cues. Though facial cues enjoy a larger potential of communicating, with a low visibility, they cannot function adequately. Only in a short distance can facial expressions be seen; whereas hand gestures can be identified in a long distance. Leger Brosnahan said that hand gesture is, as a matter of fact, the core of body language. (Bi, 1991:115)Hands are so flexible and freely that can show clear and vivid meanings. Hand gestures sometimes substitute for verbal communication. Deaf-mutes use a system of hand signals so comprehensive that it literally replaces spoken language. The signals themselves are arbitrary. Many of our hand movements are culturally determined. Thus the same gesture can convey different things to members of different cultures; and different cultures may have particular hand gestures that are rare in other cultures. For example:(1) Same gesture in two cultures, but with different meaning. Hand gesture: extend the forefinger and make a circular motion near the temple or ear. In China, it means urging someone to use his or her brain; or thinking deeply, while in America, something or someone is “crazy”(2) Same meaning, but with different gesture. “It is me”. In China, touching or pointing to tip of one’s own nose with raised forefinger, while in America touching orpointing to one’s own bosom with raised forefinger or thumb.(3) Gesture and meaning in China, no equivalent in America. Using an open hand to cover one’s mouth while speaking in China, it means to show confidentiality and secrecy.(4) Gesture and meaning in America, no equivalent in China. Chewing one’s fingernails in America, it means emotional stress, worried, does not know what to do.3.1.5 Smile and LaughterWhen it comes to smile and laughter, the most common facial expressions, they may cause some misunderstandings between Chinese and American culture. Thus it is necessary to explore them further in this point. Smile and laughter usually convey friendliness, approval, satisfaction, pleasure, joy, merriment. This is generally true in China as well as in America. However, there are situations when some Chinese smile or laugh that will cause negative reactions by Americans.It may be difficult for Americans to believe that smiling for the Chinese not only means that someone is happy, but also that he or she is sorry. It is desirable for a Chinese to apologize with a smile, which indicates humbleness and embarrassment. For Chen Jun, smile is an important part of the apology. However, Peter might take the smile as smirking, a sign of disrespect. An American in the same situation would probably keep his eyes lowed, especially during the time he or she is apologizing. In this case, the mistaken perception of a smile made an awkward situation worse.Chinese people resort to laugh or smile when they feel embarrassed. The person caught in embarrassing situation would also laugh or make a joke, to ease the embarrassment. 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: do not take it so seriously; laugh it off, it is nothing; such things can happen to any of us, etc. However, if someone gets hurt seriously, it will not be a laughing matter any more. People will help him or her instead.Generally speaking, Chinese people do not smile at strangers. A lot of people do not start communication without a good reason or without someone introducing them. Being friendly by nature is not enough of a reason for most people to smile at each other. However, Americans do not always smile at strangers, but when in a corridor, elevator, or other confined space, and when there are few or no other people around, they are likely to exchange a brief smile or nod, or maybe even a quiet “good morning” or othergreeting.3.2 PosturePosture is the general way of holding the body, especially the back, shoulders and head when standing, walking and sitting. It is essential to distinguish between posture and gesture. Generally speaking, posture relates to the whole body; while gesture limits to different parts of the body. According to Brosnahan, it's more appropriate to distinguish them by time span. Posture refers to a comparatively steady state; gesture is the sign of impermanent movements (Bi, 1991:88). In addition, it is far more difficult to control our gestures, like eye contact, facial expressions and hand gesture, etc. Posture, on the contrary, can be controlled consciously to a certain extent.Researchers divided posture into three categories: standing, bent-knee positions (such as sitting, squatting, kneeling down and so on) and lying (Bi, 1998: 17). Although the basic posture of human being is much alike or similar, there are many cultural differences in posture. People of different cultures have their own characteristics of running, walking, standing, squatting, sitting and lying. In cross-cultural communication, these various characteristics sometimes may cause communication obstacles and misunderstandings. Here we will lay emphasis on four important aspects of posture: walking posture, standing posture, squatting posture, and sitting posture.3.2.1 Walking PostureThe Chinese and Americans differ obviously in walking posture. Both countries have their own standard walking posture: Americans regard the posture of athlete and soldier to be the standard posture, whereas the Chinese take the posture of scholar and civilian for their standard. Imagine how widely different when a drillmaster walking with a scholar.When Americans walk outside, they feel the surrounding scope widely and open. Therefore, they usually swing along the street highly and mighty, straighten up their abdomen and chest, free themselves from any control, as if the world belongs to them. Chinese people are critical of such walking way, because it displays a conceited feeling, and it can be marked by arrogance; haughty and overbearing.The walking way in China is quite contrary; people limit themselves to a confined walking scope, lower the head, and bend knees slightly. The U.S and other English-speaking countries may have no opinion on such walking posture. They are familiar with Chinese people's humility and wariness. A few of them may perceive it as。
