學(xué)年論文初稿(2015628)

1、Table of ContentsAbstract in English:1Abstract in Chinese1I. Introduction2II.Intercultural Communication21. Introduction of Intercultural Communication21.1 Definition of Intercultural Communication2III.Nonverbal Communication31.Introduction of Nonverbal Communication32. Definition of Nonverbal Commu

2、nication33. Body Language33.1 Postures and Gestures33.2 Facial Expression43.3 Eye-contact43.4 Touching44. Time Language55. Space Language56. Paralanguage5IV. Failure Cases in Nonverbal Communication51. left in the Cold52. Left on the platform6V. Ways of Improving Nonverbal Communication71. Enough kn

3、owledge72. Action skills73. Understanding and Respecting7VI. Conclusion8VII.Bibliography.9 共10頁，1824字Intercultural Nonverbal Communication between Chinese Culture and Western CultureAbstract:With the fast development, China was no longer in self-seclusion. On the contrary, she is going to the world

4、in a positive way. In this situation, intercultural communication is inevitable. And as an indispensable part, the nonverbal communication should be known. Because it is various in different cultures, this paper uses comparison of nonverbal communication between Chinese culture and Western culture w

5、ith vivid examples to discuss. It aims to help readers to understand diverse nonverbal communication styles so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings and conflicts when they are in cross-cultural communication situation.Key words:Intercultural communication, nonverbal communication, Chinese c

6、ulture, Western culture摘 要：隨著經(jīng)濟的快速的發(fā)展，中國不再是閉關(guān)鎖國的國家。相反，她正以積極地走向世界。在這種情況下，跨文化交際是不可避免的。非言語交際作為其不可缺少的部分應(yīng)該被人們所熟知。因為隨文化的不同非言語交際也不同，因此此論文采取中西文化對比的方式以及形象生動的例子來論述。為了在跨文化交際中產(chǎn)生不必要的誤解和沖突，這篇文章將幫助讀者了解不同文化的非言語交際風(fēng)格。關(guān) 鍵 詞：跨文化交際，非言語交際，中國文化，西方文化1I. IntroductionIn intercultural communication, people would like to use s

7、ome special behaviors like gestures, eye-contact, facial expression and touch.to express their feelings or pass the information. These are nonverbal communication. However, owing to different background and cultures, the same behavior has different meaning in different cultures.For example, in China

8、, raising thumb means good, brilliant or well done such praising words. But in American and some European countries, it means lift; in Nigeria, it is considered as a insulting gesture; and in Australia, thumb is calling names. With the development of economy, China has a closer relationship with cou

9、ntries around the world. So it is necessary for Chinese people to understand and learn about nonverbal communication among different cultures when in a intercultural situation. This paper mainly chooses Chinese culture and Western cultures to compare their nonverbal communication.II.Intercultural Co

10、mmunicationFrom above, the intercultural communication is important. So what is intercultural communication. The author will give a brief introduction about it.1. Introduction of Intercultural CommunicationNowadays, with the development of economic globalization, all countries are becoming a integra

11、ted part. They contact people who are from different countries. When they meet and talk, the intercultural communication happens. Foreigners come to China for business, travel or education. Similarly, Chinese people go abroad for the same purpose. Without doubt, intercultural communication is very i

12、mportant today.1.1 Definition of Intercultural CommunicationIntercultural communication has two levels: the one is culture, another is linguistics. The following definitions are presented by some experts in their book.“In its most general sense, intercultural communication means the communication be

13、tween people from different cultural backgrounds. As the term suggests, intercultural communication occurs when a number of one culture produces a message for consumption between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol systems are distinct enough to alter the communication event” (Samovar,2003)

14、“Intercultural communication is contact between persons who identify themselves as distinct from one another in cultural terms.” (Collier&Thomas,1998)“The functions and relationships between the components of communication obviously apply, but what especially characterizes intercultural communic

15、ation is that sources and responders come from different cultures.” (Zhuang,2004)III.Nonverbal CommunicationIn this part, this paper will explain what is nonverbal communication and its four kinds of nonverbal behaviors.1.Introduction of Nonverbal CommunicationIntercultural communication can be divi

16、ded into several parts including verbal communication, nonverbal communication, cross-gender communication and so on. The paper mainly talk about nonverbal communication because it is widely used in various occasions and may be used incorrectly easily. 2. Definition of Nonverbal Communication“Nonver

17、bal communication, according to Samovar and Porter, involves all those nonverbal stimuli in a communication setting that are generated by both the source and his use of the environment and that have potential message value for the source or receiver.” Nonverbal communication is a way of communicatio

18、n without words” (Malandroetal,1989)3. Body Language3.1 Postures and GesturesSitting posture is a typical cultural misunderstanding case. In the United States, people like to fall into chairs, put their feet on their desks, sit on the carpet floor for relax. On the contrary, in China, Germany and Sw

19、eden, it is considered as rudeness and poor manners. For another example, In our daily life,”O(jiān)K “ is frequently used to express agreement or positive signs both in China and American. But it means money or coins in Japan, zero in France, vulgar insult Germany.3.2 Facial ExpressionIn Chinese culture,

20、 people do not show their grief or sadness in public especially for men. Because the Chinese concept of “saving face” is one of the most important reasons. However, for those who are in Mediterranean culture, people exaggerate signs of sorrow. And it is common to see men crying in public. Similarly,

21、 smile can be a sign of happiness or friendly agreement in Chinese culture. But there are situations when smile cause negative results. In the dining room, when a foreigner dropped a plate incautiously and felt embarrassment, at this time, a Chinese people passed by with a smile. In this situation,

22、the foreigner felt so angry and he did not know why the Chinese people smiled at him.In fact, in China, a smile means that do not take it so seriously or thats OK and such words that gives people a comfort.3.3 Eye-contactShakespeare once said,”There is a language in her eyes, her check, and her lips

23、.” Also, a Chinese saying goes,”The eye is the window of the soul.” So, it is clear that eye-contact is a significant nonverbal behavior in the intercultural communication. But in China and USA, there are several rules: to look or not to look, when to look and how long to look, who and who not to lo

24、ok at. In Chinese traditional culture, staring at a stranger or the elder is rude and disrespected. Except that Chinese people they have not seen the person like foreigners. And when in a conversation with these higher statue people, in order to show respect, people prefer to look downward rather th

25、an stare at them. However, in America, staring is a sign that male homosexuals use. So in some countries, people should be careful about these nonverbal behaviors.3.4 TouchingTouch is also a common body language when communicating. To not be misunderstood, touch should occur in the right moment and

26、background. Take greeting for example, In China, people usually shake hands with each other, while for Americans, they touch a lot like hug or kiss among the family members and friends.For this point, Chinese usually only kiss their lovers.4. Time LanguageIt is well known that Western countries pay

27、more attention to their time schedule. They think that time is concrete, tangible, which can be sold, saved, wasted, lost, divided, killed and measured. It is said that these richest people like the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have a rigid time management and they thought it was wasteful to have a

28、 dinner. Therefore, in Western culture, people is punctual. In contrast, the Chinese people treat time more flexible and more human-centered. Unfortunately, if one is not aware of this, confusion and conflicts may be caused.5. Space LanguageSpace language refers to body distance. It varies with diff

29、erent cultures. In China, people in office sit against with each other. In Western countries, it is common that the office is divided into several parts and everyone has a personal space. And in American films, the scene is seen: a long park bench sit only one person and other people usually stand b

30、eside it. If he really want to sit down, he will ask for permission.6. ParalanguageAccording to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language(2003),paralanguage means”the set of nonphonemic properties of speech, such as speaking tempo, vocal pitch and intonational contours, that can be us

31、ed to communicate attitudes or other shades of meaning”. Due to cultural differences and specific occasions, there are different paralanguage styles. So the tone, volume and speed that people use to communicate reflect their region, nation and culture. For Chinese people are taught to control their

32、emotions, and a loud voice is considered as impoliteness. Instead the gentle and soft voice shows a good manner and gentility. But Americas are used to laughing and yelling when they are happy or excited. French men whistle at beautiful girls, but Chinese people think it is offensive.IV. Failure Cas

33、es in Nonverbal CommunicationIn this part, the author will give some failure cases in nonverbal communication to illustrate the different behaviors in various cultural backgrounds.1. left in the ColdKatherine, a English teacher in Beijing,met confusion when communicate with her Chinese leader. One d

34、ay, she had several questions to ask the Director, Prof.Wang and they appointed at ten oclock on Thursday morning. When Thursday came, Katherine arrived at the Wangs office on time finding him talking with another teacher. She was gestured to sit down and told to wait for five minutes. After five mi

35、nutes, Wang began to focus on Katherine problem. Just as she was talk about her problem, a Chinese teacher came in and interrupted with a signature. The Director smiled and apologized to Katherine, talking with the Chinese teacher in Chinese. Katherine was impatient and confused that why the discuss

36、ion was bothered several times. And they all speak Chinese in front of her.Katherine felt unhappy.This case is a typical cultural clash in intercultural nonverbal communication between Chinese culture and Western culture. To Americans, they have a rigid time concept. If the meeting is at nine oclock

37、, they will not be late for one minute. And since the appointment has been made with others, during that time, the discussion should not be bothered by the others. However, from Chinese perspective, time and appointment should be more flexible. The different attitudes toward appointment made Katheri

38、ne unhappy and angry. Actually, if they knew the difference between Chinese culture and Western culture, there wouldnt have had conflicts.2. Left on the platformProfessor Johnson was invited to give a lecture at a Chinese university in the early 1990s. The students seemed very concentrated on what h

39、e had said. And at the end of the lecture, they applauded warmly. But Professor Johnson felt disappointed and wondered why the students did not ask any questions after he encouraged to do so. In addition, students hadnt eye-contact with him in the whole process of the lecture. Professor Johnson felt

40、 he was left on the platform.Even today, most Chinese students still dont like to have any interactions with their teachers or any speakers on the platform. It is hard to change or maybe needs a long time to change this way. Because in Chinese traditional education, what teachers do is to speak, spe

41、ak and speak and what students do is to listen, listen and listen. Teacher is a initiative information giver and student is a passive information receiver in the teaching and learning process. Besides, taught by parents from childhood, students consider it is impolite and disrespectful to stare the

42、people. V. Ways of Improving Nonverbal CommunicationIn order to have a correct nonverbal behaviors in the cross-culture communication, the following part will introduce ways to improve nonverbal communication.1. Enough knowledgeFirst of all, accumulating knowledge relative to the cross-culture commu

43、nication, which is the first step to achieve the successful nonverbal communication. In addition, people also can search for information to learn about their culture and nonverbal communication rules before meeting international friends.2. Action skillsWhen communicating, pay more attention to your

44、clothing, postures, and gestures etc. Because a careless action may cause cultural clash and conflicts. Whats more focusing on the foreigners nonverbal messages. Only in this way, can people send a appropriate and correct signals to help the verbal communication. Furthermore, trying to give out conflicting signals.3. Understanding and RespectingUnder different cultural backgrounds, it is natural that the same gesture may has different meanings in different countries. Thus, people should understand and respect th