Body language

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INTRODUCTION

Language studies traditionally have emphasized verbal and written language, but in the late dozens of years have begun to consider communication that takes place without words. In some types of communication people express more nonverbally than verbally. It has been said that communication is only 20 percent verbal while the rest is intonation, body language. The fact remains that mastering vocabulary and grammar is only the beginning of effective communication (John Mole, 2003). Speaking is just one mode of communication. Research suggests that nonverbal communication is more important in understanding human behavior than words and the nonverbal “channels” seem to be more powerful than what people say. Moreover, body language varies from country to country. In different countries people greet each other differently, look at each other's face for different lengths of time and display affection differently (John M.Wiemann, Rendall P. Harrison, 1983). Much of our nonverbal behavior like culture tends to be frequently beyond our awareness. In this project we will introduce the nonverbal communication differences in different cultures and its importance to study the body language of one culture. We will concentrate in describing such elements of nonverbal communication across cultures as following: Posture, Gesture, Greetings, Facial expressions, Eye contact, Touch, Appearance and Spatial behavior.

1. BODY LANGUAGE

Universal emotions, such as happiness, fear, and sadness are expressed in a similar nonverbal way throughout the world. People believe that shoulder shrug was universal for an inability to do something or innocence. Nodding and shaking the head almost always means “yes” and “no”. A smile is universally involuntary reaction to joy, contentment, or gratification. Something that we may assume are universally understood may not be.

1.1 POSTURE

The range of stable human postures is very large, about, 1000 according to the anthropologist Hewes (1957) who has studied the postures used in different human cultures. Posture can be the focus of definite social rules. The Japanese recognize three levels of deference in bowing, up to 45, and sometimes use bowing machines for instruction (Michael Argyle, 1996). Sitting posture is a constant source of cultural misunderstanding. In the United States, where being casual and friendly is valued, people often fall into chairs, even put their feet on their desks, sometimes just sit on the carpeted floor, or slouch when they stand. In hurts nobody in this case. But the same posture may cause serious conflicts when it is transferred to another culture setting. People in the Arab culture believe that the soles are the lowest part of the body, they shouldnever be pointed in the direction of another person, otherwise, it is an insult to others. In many countries, such as Germany Sweden and China, where lifestyles tend to be more formal, slouching is considered a sign of rudeness and poor manners.

1.2 GESTURE

It is true that there are many gestures which are unique to particular areas, and meaningless in others (Michael Argyle, 1996). According to Ekman and Friesenґs definition, an emblem can be interchanged with an equivalent verbal form (Adam Kendon, 1980). Emblems are gestures which have a direct verbal translation, like head-nods, beckoning, and pointing. For example, in China, to beckon someone, the palm faces downward and the fingers are moved in a scratching motion. People should avoid using the index finger, palm up and toward you, in a back forth curling motion toward your body. That gesture is used only for animals and can be considered rude. The open hand is used for pointing (not just one or two fingers)Also communicating with Chinese people one should avoid using feet to gesture or to move or touch other objects because the feet are considered lowly and dirty. The same applies to Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese cultures. In Philippines, instead of pointing to an object, people shift their eyes toward it, or purse the lips and point with the mouth unlike in the United States and many European countries where people point to objects and even at people with index finger. However, Germans point with the little finger, and the Japanese point with the entire hand, palms up. In much of Asia, pointing with the index finger is considered rude and can be insulting. In China when people want to signal someone to come, they do this by shaking a hand with a palm turning downward. For many Europeans this may be the gesture to wave goodbye. In the United States and Europe when a person wants to signal a friend to come, he or she makes the gesture with one hand, palm up, fingers more or less together and moving toward his or her body. For many Arabs, nonverbally asking someone to “come here” is performed by holding the right hand out, palm upward, and opening and closing the hand.

1.3 GREETINGS

Greetings vary a lot between cultures (Michael Argyle, 1996). Perhaps the most common way to greet someone in Western countries is a hand-shake. However, handshakes differ around the world. The hearty, hand-pumping handshake is a North American/Northern European tradition. In most of the world, handshakes are more like handclasps. The "grip" is never tight, and there is little or no pumping action. Like customs everywhere, incresed cross-cultural interaction brings about changes in habits; many Asian businesspeople have accommodated to the American handshaking tradition. On the other hand, it is verythat in many situations bowing would still be the only polite move to make, especially in Japan. The person in the inferior position always bows longer and lower (Norine Dresser, 1996). Those from India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh use the namaste for both greeting and farewells and a sign of respect. They do this by holding their hands chest-high in a praylike position, then slightly nod the head, but they do not bow. Thais have similar greetings, but they call it wai. While body contact is generally taboo in most Asian countries, elsewhere, body contact is expected; shying away from contact gives off negative signals. For example, greeting most Latinos body contact should be expected. Hugging and kissing on the cheek are acceptable for both the same sex and opposite sex. The abrazo is commonplace - friends embrace and simultaneously pat each other on the back. When greeting, most people from France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and other Mediterranean countries expect to be kissed on both cheeks. When greeting, most Middle Easterners, especially Muslims, body contact should be avoided with the opposite sex, but men may embrace and kiss one another. When shaking hands, men should avoid puling their hands away too quickly. T Collet (1983) found a very interesting greeting among the Mossi in West Africa. In the “pousi-pousi”, used for greeting the ruler, people lie on the ground, beating their forehead in the dust, and drumming their elbows on the ground.

1.4 FACIAL EXPRESSIONS (Smiling)

While some say that facial expressions are identical, meaning attached to them differs. There have been a number of carefully conducted cross-cultural studies. In a study of eleven cultures, Keating (1981) found that smiling was interpreted as happiness in all of them, though the effect was weaker in Brazil. Non-smiling was seen as dominant in all cultures, except Kenya. A lowered brow was seen as dominant in most cultures, but not in the Canary Islands, Brazil, or Thailand. It has been claimed that the rapid eyebrow flash is a universal sign of greeting, agreeing to social contact or other friendly attention (Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1972), but it does not seem to be widely used in Britain or America. It is evident that there are some aspects of facial expression which are universal, but that there is also variation. The Keating studies suggest that the brows are more variable than the mouth. Here are some examples of such variability:

Kenya: happiness by lowered brow;

Thailand: unhappiness by raised brow;

US blacks: anger by eye-rubbing, sucking the teeth;

Chinese: anger by narrowed eyes.

More important, though, are cultural variations in “display rules”, governing when an emotional expression should be shown. A dramatic example of this was given by anin which Japanese and American subjects displayed quite different expressions after watching a stressful and unpleasant film of sinus surgery. Their facial expressions were videotaped, unknown to the subjects, and very similar expressions of disgust, etc. were shown by both groups. However, in a subsequent interview about the film, Japanese subjects produced happy faces while the Americans continued to show negative expressions. Another experiment was made by Shimoda, Argyle, and Ricci Bitti (1978). They asked British, Italian, and Japanese performers to count from one to fifteen in twelve emotional styles. After decoding the videotapes following results were made. The English and Italians could judge their own and each other's emotions quite well, but not those of the Japanese; the latter could judge the others better than they were judged by them, but were not very good at judging Japanese emotional expression. The Japanese have a display rule that one should not show negative emotions. The Japanese smile is used as a mask, and may express reserve or embarrassment (Michael Argyle, 1996). In Japan, people may smile also when they are sad, happy, apologetic, angry, or confused. In Korean culture, smiling signals shallowness and thoughtlessness. The Korean attitude toward smiling is expressed in the proverb, “The man who smiles a lot is not a real man”. For other Asians, smiling can mean disagreement, anger, frustration, confusion, or a substitute for “I am sorry” or “Thank you.” When Puerto Ricans smile, the message may be “Please”; “Thank you”; “You are welcome”; “Yes, what can I do for you?” or “Excuse me, please. May I see you for a moment?” (Norine Dresser, 1996). Many Europeans and Americans smile primarily as an expression of friendliness, however, examples show that people from other places may attach other meanings to it

1.5 EYE CONTACT

The number of messages we can send with our eyes is almost limitless. The uses and variation of eye contact also differ from culture to culture. Studies have confirmed that there are higher levels of gaze for Arabs, South Americans, and Greeks. A pair of Arabs in conversation in the laboratory look at each other more than two Americans or two Englishmen. Gaze and mutual gaze are very important to Arabs, and they find it difficult to talk to someone wearing dark glasses, or when walking side by side. Not facing directly enough is regarded as impolite (Michael Argyle, 1996). People in the most Western societies also expect direct eye contact while communicating. There is even a tendency to be suspicious of someone who does not follow the culturally prescribed rules for eye contact. Direct eye contact is not a custom throughout the world. In Japan, for example, prolonged eyecontact is considered rude, threatening and disrespectful. The meaning of gaze also be different. Black Americans are reluctant to look at people in authority since it is felt to communicate equality and hence disrespect (Hanna, 1984). Student in south India are excited but embarrassed by a direct gaze from a member of the opposite sex. People from many Asian, Latin American, and Caribbean cultures also avoid eye contact as a sign of respect. Cultural differences affect how people use their eyes to speak and listen (Norine Dresser, 1996).

1.6 TOUCH

There are great cultural differences in the amount and type of touching. Anthropologists distinguish between contact and non-contact cultures. Contact groups include the Arabs, Latin Americans, southern Europeans (Greeks, Turks), and a number of African cultures. This is illustrated by Jourardґs study (1966) of the frequencies with which couples touched each other at cafes: in San Juan (Puerto Rico) they touched 180times per hour, in Paris 110, in London 0. The real contact areas are South America, especially Costa Rica, and the Arab countries, though it is mainly between people of the same sex, who may hold hands or have an arm around the other's shoulders (Michael Argyle, 1996). Japanese people do not approve of public body contact. Touching a member of the opposite sex is particularly repugnant to their sensitivities. Asians from countries other than Japan are equally disapproving when they see people from other cultures touching or kissing each other. Conversely, in Asian countries, it is perfectly acceptable for two women or two men to walk in public holding hands. However, when they practice this sign of friendship in some European countries or America, they are frequently mistaken for homosexuals. Same sex hand holding or walking arm-in-arm also occurs among Latinos, French, Spanish, Italians, Greeks, and Middle Easterners (Norine Dresser, 1996). Islamic and Hindu typically do not touch with the left hand. To do so is a social insult. Left hand is for toilet functions. Mannerly in India to break your bread only with your right hand. Islamic cultures generally do not approve of any touching between genders (even hand shakes). But consider such touching (including hand holding, hugs) between same-sex to be appropriate. Many Asian people believe the head houses the soul. Therefore, when another person touches their head, it places them in jeopardy. It is prudent for outsiders to avoid touching the heads and upper torsos of all Asians (Norine Dresser, 1996).

1.7 APPEARANCE

In all cultures people decorate and display their bodies. Clothes are the main channel, and one of the main messages is wealth and status shown by the quality of clothing, and the elaborate nature and expense ofadornments. Status also depends on keeping up with fashion. Clothes indicate occupational roles, and in Japan there are special uniforms for almost every occupational group, even gangsters (dark glasses). Scottish tartans, English college and club ties, T-shirts with messages are all examples of local symbolic systems of a similar kind. There are other local codes based on how clothes are worn. For example, the Ethiopian toga can be worn to indicate gaiety, sadness, pride, abasement, going to church, mourning, etc. (Messing, 1966). Degrees of orthodoxy among Jews are shown by details of clothes as well as hair. Arabs keep themselves very well covered, in contrast to the non Arab societies of the Sudan, who go stark naked in a similar climate. Arab women in particular are subject to powerful conventions about modesty; in many areas they still stay at home most of the time, and when they appear in public are completely covered and veiled, with the face covered and only eyes showing. Western women adorn themselves with cosmetics and ear-rings. Africans of both sexes go a lot further than this in some tribes. Bodily decoration includes: body-painting, tattooing, nose-rings, circular plates in the lips, etc. People from Western countries should be aware of wearing shoes while visiting Asians. Removing shoes while entering ones home is a tradition in Korea, Philippines, Thailand, some areas in China, Iran, Japan and India. Furthermore, when visiting a Japanese home and taking off shoes, the toes of the shoes should face the door. Another belief about shoes among some people from the Middle East and Asia is that one should never show the soles of the shoes-while still on the feet-to another person. To do so is insulting. This belief is related to the notion that the feet ate the lowest part of the body, both physically and metaphysically. This could happen inadvertently, for example, when a person crossed their legs or sat in the recliner and the shoe soles pointed outward. Some people also believe it is discourteous to step over someone's feet or leg.

1.8 SPATIAL BEHAVIOR

Every living thing has a physical boundary that separates it from its external environment. Beginning with the bacteria and the simple cell and ending with humans. Every organism has a detectable limit which marks where it begins and ends. The act of laying claim to and defending a territory is termed territoriality. In humans, it becomes highly elaborated, as well as being very greatly differentiated from culture to culture (E.T.Hall, 1990). E.T.Hallґs original observation that Arabs stand closer than Americans (1959) was confirmed by Watson (1970) in his studies of foreign students in the USA. Arabs also stand at more directly facing orientation, and southern Europeans even morefrom contact cultures stand closer, face more directly, touch and look more, and speak louder. Genuine cross-cultural studies are few, but it has been found that Indonesian students use less space than similar Australians. Latin Americans on average need less space than North Americans, but there are regional variations: Costa Ricans stand closer than Columbians or Panamians. The explanation of these special behavior differences is that they may derive from wider aspects of the environment, such as the size of houses and the degree of crowding. Cultures develop more or less explicit rules about spatial behavior. Those who stand or sit far away are seen as cold, aloof, and withdrawn, while those who come too close are seen as embarrassingly intrusive and over-intimate. There are rules governing spatial behavior for different situations in any culture. In Britain an USA, for example, Cook (1970) found that two people sitting in a pub prefer to sit side by side, with their backs to the wall. In a restaurant or cafeteria, on the other hand, they sit opposite each other. When they are seated people adopt a considerably greater distance than when standing: 5-8 ft as opposed to 1,5ft - 3 ft (Michael Argyle, 1996).

Verbal Communication body language communication gesture

Verbal communication is essentially the type of communication which uses words. It uses sounds in addition to the language, gestures and body language, used while communicating. Verbal communication helps in expressing thoughts, emotions and sentiments. A phone conversation, chat with a friend, an announcement made or a speech delivered are all verbal forms of communication. For most of us, verbal communication comes with a lot of ease. As children, we learned verbal communication through the sounds around us. We soon develop and start understanding the language which helps us to communicate verbally as we grow older. Read more on verbal communication techniques and verbal communication styles

Cultures influence communication styles. Although this point may seem obvious, cultural styles can and do create misunderstandings in conversations among people from different cultures.

According to Edward Hall, in his book Beyond Culture, low-context cultures use language primarily to express thought, ideas and feelings as clearly and logically as possible. To understand what is being communicated one must look at the spoken words. Put simply, in a low-context culture, what is said is what is meant. Conversely, in a high-context culture, there is a usage of subtle cues, often nonverbal with the aim of maintaining social harmony. The communicators from these cultures learn to determine what is truly being expressed by examining nonverbal behaviors, context of the message, history of the relationship, and the social rules governing interaction. Japanese, Arabs, and Mediterranean peoples, who have extensive information networks among family, friends, colleagues and clients and who are involved in close personal relationships, are considered high-context. As a result, they do not require or expect much in-depth, background information when communicating in their daily lives. This is because they keep those that are close to them informed about what is going on in their lives and so there is a common thread of knowledge among them. Low-context people would include Americans, Germans, Swiss and other northern Europeans. These people separate themselves and do not share information with others about their personal relationships, their work, and many aspects of their day-to-day life. As a result every time they interact with others they have to spend a lot of time sharing and explaining detailed background information. With each culture there are going to be different specific individual differences in the need for contexting or the process of filling in important background data. But the key is knowing whether the culture with whom you re communicating falls on the high or low side of the context scale.

In the book You Just Don't Understand, the sociolinguistic Deborah Tannin discusses the notion that people from some cultures value "high involvement" patterns, while others value "high considerateness" patterns. Many people from cultures that prefer "high involvement" styles tend to:

Talk more

Interrupt more

Expect to be interrupted

Talk more loudly at times and

Talk more quickly

Directness and Indirectness

Cultures beliefs differ as to whether directness or indirectness is considered positive. In the mainstream American culture, the ideal form of communication includes being direct rather than indirect. There are several expressions in English that emphasize the importance of being direct: "Get to the point! Don't beat around the bush! Let's get down to business!" These sayings all indicate the importance of dealing directly with issues rather than avoiding them. One way to determine whether a culture favors a direct or indirect style in communication is to find out how the people in that culture express disagreement or how they say, "No". In Japan, there are at least 15 ways of saying, "No", without actually saying the word. Similarly, in Japan, it would be considered rude to say directly, "I disagree with you", or "You're wrong."

Many Americans believe that "honesty is the best policy", and their communication style reflects this. Honesty and directness in communication are strongly related. It is not a surprise, then, to find out that cultural groups misjudge each other based on different beliefs about directness and honesty in communication. Americans can judge members of cultural groups that value indirectness. However, many Americans in the business world do not realize that a large percentage of the worlds cultures value indirectness and consider it rude to insist on "getting to the point".

When Americans go to work in countries where indirectness is valued (e.g., in Latin America or Asia), they may need to modify their communication style. In such countries, Americans should not be too direct when giving criticism, making requests, and expressing needs and opinions.

Conversational Structure

Let's look at another example of how people's communication patterns differ: the way people converse. Some foreigners have observed that when Americans hold a conversation, it seems like they are having a Ping-Pong game. One person has the ball and then hits it to the other side of the table. The other player hits the ball back and the game continues. If one person doesn't return the ball, then the conversation stops. Each part of the conversation follows this pattern: the greeting and the opening, the discussion of a topic, and the closing and farewell. If either person talks too much, the other may become impatient and feel that the other is monopolizing the conversation. Similarly, if one person doesn't say enough or ask enough questions to keep the conversation moving, the conversation stops.

CONCLUSION

Cultural diversity in bodily communication is a topic of great practical importance, since cultural differences in non-verbal communication are a major source of friction, misunderstanding, and annoyance between cultural and national groups (Michael Argyle, 1996). Body language covers a large area referring to any little movement of any part of the body. According to some scholars in the field, the body language vocabulary totals over 700,000 items. We send information on attitude toward person (facing or leaning towards another), emotional status (tapping fingers, juggling coins), and desire to control the environment (moving towards or away from a person). All people use movement to communicate, culture teaches us how to use and interpret these movements. The differences in culture are amazing, especially in the area of body language. In this essay I have covered only some elements of nonverbal communication. I have described how greetings, posture, eye-contact, touch, gestures, appearance, facial expressions, special behavior vary from one country to another. Studying these differences can open our eyes to the way other countries do things that we might find unacceptable and which may differ from our own way of behavior. I do agree with E.T.Hall, who says that the language of behavior is extraordinary subtle. Without these unwritten subtle systems of managing the tremendous diversity of encounters in everyday life, man would be nothing but a machine.

REFERENCES

1. John M.Wiemann and Randall P. Harrison.Nonverbal Interaction. Sage Publications Beverly Hills/London/New Delhi, 1983, p. 48.

2. Adam Kendon. Nonverbal Communication, Interaction and Gesture. Mouton Publishers The Hague/Paris/New York, 1981, p. 459.

3. Michael Argyle. Bodily Communication. Routledge, London, 1996, p. 49, 51, 58, 60, 62, 65.

4. E.T.Hall. The Silent Language. Anchor Books, New York, 1990, p. 158.

5. E.T.Hall. Beyond Culture. Anchor Books, New York, 1989, p. 82.

6. Norine Dresser. Multicultural Manners.New Rules of Etiquette for a Changing Society.John Wiley & Sons, Inc.New York/Chichester/Brisbane/Toronto/Singapore, 1995, p. 12-14, 22.

7. John Mole. Mind Your Manners. Managing Business Cultures In The New Global Europe. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London, 2003, p. 18.

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