Paper Keywords: non-verbal communication; Cultural differences; Communication disorder
Abstract: Non-verbal communication is closely related to culture. In cross-cultural communication, people should not only know basic language knowledge such as pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary, but also master non-verbal communication means that contain many cultural factors besides literal words. Therefore, this paper expounds the importance of culture in nonverbal communication from the cultural differences between body language, paralanguage, object language and environmental language and the communication obstacles caused by them.
First, the definition and types of nonverbal communication.
Human communication is a combination of verbal communication and nonverbal communication, and nonverbal communication is an indispensable part of the whole communication. Western scholars began to study nonverbal communication in the last century. Samovar believes that in face-to-face communication, only about 35% of the social content of information is verbal behavior, and the rest is transmitted through nonverbal behavior. There are many definitions of nonverbal communication. According to Samovar, what does nonverbal communication mean? In a specific communication environment, in addition to language factors, there are factors that contain valuable information for the exporter or receiver. These factors can be man-made or created by the environment? . Nonverbal communication involves many fields, such as culture, folklore, sociology, anthropology and so on. , widely used, complex semantics. Nonverbal behavior can only express clear meaning in a certain context, and it is often difficult to understand the meaning of a nonverbal behavior in isolation.
There are many ways to classify the scope of nonverbal communication. From the perspective of intercultural communication, Hu Wenzhong divides nonverbal behaviors into four categories: body language, paralanguage, object language and environmental language. Body language includes basic posture, basic etiquette movements and communication information provided by some human movements; Paralanguages include silence, turn-taking and various non-semantic sounds; Object language includes communication information provided by skin modification, body odor masking, clothing and makeup; Environmental language includes spatial information, temporal information and so on. The first two categories can be called nonverbal behaviors, while the latter two categories refer to nonverbal means.
Second, nonverbal communication and culture.
Cultural and nonverbal communication are inseparable. Many nonverbal behaviors are the result of cultural acquisition, and the formation and effect of people's nonverbal communication are often determined by a certain cultural environment. Culture and most nonverbal communication behaviors are passed down from generation to generation and acquired, and they are the same habits of a certain society formed by long-term historical and cultural accumulation. In nonverbal communication, there are so many expressions about culture that the obstacles to cultural learning mainly come from nonverbal factors rather than linguistic factors. According to Birdwistell, no performance behavior is suitable for all cultures; All behaviors are the product of culture, not inherited or born in the body. Therefore, some emotions expressed by nonverbal means are unique to some cultures. Samovar believes that by understanding the basic pattern of nonverbal expression of a culture, we can explore people's manners and attitudes; The value system of a culture can be understood through nonverbal behavior patterns; Through the study of nonverbal behavior, narrow sense of cultural superiority can be ruled out. Differences in nonverbal behaviors are more serious than cultural conflicts caused by differences in linguistic behaviors, because nonverbal behaviors are generally expressions of emotions or emotions. Thus, it is obvious that information misunderstanding and wrong decoding caused by cultural differences.
1. Cultural differences in body language
Body language refers to expressions and actions that convey communication information. It is a reflective or non-reflective action of the whole body or a part of the body to communicate with the outside world. It includes body language, sign language, body language and body language. Body language, like vocal language, is also the carrier of culture. In terms of physical contact behavior, the differences between Chinese and western cultures are particularly prominent. Many American scholars classify British and American culture as intangible culture. In western countries, people are very sensitive to the intimate distance of intimate communication, people are not used to crowding each other, and everyone is subconsciously defending their territory. In particular, same-sex behaviors, such as holding hands and hooking up, are considered taboo. In the traditional culture of the East, intimate physical contact is not an abnormal phenomenon, and people even think that it is a manifestation of intimacy and warmth. For example, physical contact between parents and children and friends of the same sex is considered to be very normal and completely acceptable non-verbal communication.
2. Cultural differences in paralanguages
Paralanguage, also known as accompanying language, generally refers to sounds without fixed semantics. Paralanguage also contains rich cultural connotations. One of the most striking aspects is the different attitudes towards silence. What is the hall used for? Silence? As his department? High context culture? And then what? Low context culture? An important criterion. In his view, East Asian cultures such as China, Japan and South Korea belong to high context cultures. In these cultures, information is often transmitted through gestures, the use of space or even silence, so the understanding of information depends largely on context rather than language behavior. In Sino-British communication, people in English-speaking countries are not used to the silence that China people often adopt. Some scholars in the west compare the east to? Silence? It is considered to be a lack of confidence in interpersonal communication, and even that the silent attitude of the orientals is a contempt or insult to the communicating party. On the other hand, China people attach great importance to the function of silence in conversation, and think that pause and silence are rich in meaning. A proper pause can produce amazing results, even with? There are more silent complaints than vocal complaints? The artistic charm of.
3. Cultural differences in the target language
Object language refers to man-made articles, including cosmetics, decorations, clothing, clothing accessories, furniture and so on. These articles have dual functions: practicality and communication. From the perspective of communication, these articles can convey nonverbal information and show the cultural and personal characteristics of users. Eastern and western cultures have different feelings about olfactory information. China people adapt to the natural smell of the human body, while China people are rarely used to using perfume; In western countries, it is difficult for people to accept this natural smell of the human body. Therefore, both men and women pay attention to the cover-up of body odor and are used to using perfume every day. In cross-cultural communication, we need to pay attention to the body odor of people from different cultural backgrounds, that is, the cultural differences of body odor, and we can't dislike and dislike the living habits of foreign cultures from our own preferences.
4. Cultural differences in environmental language
Environmental language is also an important form of nonverbal communication. From the perspective of nonverbal communication, environment refers to the physical and psychological environment caused by culture itself. Environmental language includes time, space, color, signal and so on. These environmental factors can provide communication information, so environmental language can also show cultural characteristics.
In Silent Language, Hall made a detailed study of different cultures' different understandings of space, territory and near-body distance. He believes that people's concept of space is acquired, so people's territorial requirements and spatial relations have their own specific rules and procedures in every culture. Different cultures have different needs for space and communication rules related to space. In China, people are more tolerant of crowding; In Britain and America, once crowds appear in public places, people try to avoid them because they can't adapt to close contact and physical contact. Westerners' concept of territory is obviously stronger than that of orientals. If they think that their intangible field has been violated, they will immediately take various reactions to maintain it. The most prominent psychological reaction of territorial concept is the different attitude towards privacy. People of British and American cultures attach great importance to protecting their privacy, which is also one of the biggest cultural conflicts they feel when interacting with China people. Eastern and western cultures have different understandings of time. Generally speaking, westerners have a stronger sense of time. They attach great importance to punctuality and cherish time.
Third, the conclusion
It is not difficult to see from the above explanation that cultural factors play a very important role in nonverbal communication. Ignoring the importance of culture will inevitably lead to misunderstandings and obstacles in communication and eventually lead to communication failure. In cross-cultural communication, understanding cultural differences is the premise of truly understanding nonverbal communication behavior, which is helpful to eliminate the conflicts and influences of different cultures and promote the smooth progress of cross-cultural communication.