浅谈非言语交际及其在交际中的影响(6)

4.2Gestures
Gestures refer to specific body movements that carry meaning. Hands can form shapes that convey many meanings that may differ among cultures. What is acceptable in one culture may be completely unacceptable in another. One culture may determine that snapping fingers to call waiter is appropriate; another may consider this gesture rude. For instance, the “OK” gesture in the American culture is a symbol for money in Japan. The same gesture is obscene in some Latin American countries; while for Chinese or people in the South of France is zero or nothing. [6](P13)
The same movement with different meaning in cross-cultural communication will lead to misunderstanding in minor degree otherwise to court disaster. The gesture for applauding over the head in America usually means arrogance to defeat the counterpart, while in Russia it is a symbol of friendship. When the Soviet Premier Khrushchev visited America, he performed such gesture to indicate friendship, but this made many Americans feel uncomfortable. [6](P13)

4.3Posture
    Posture and sitting habits offer insight into a culture’s deep structure. In many Asian cultures, the bow is much more than a greeting. It signifies the culture’s concern with status and rank. In Japan, for example, low posture is an indicator of respect. Although it appears simple to the outsider, the bowing ritual is actually rather complicated. The person who occupies the lower status begins the bow, and his or her bow must be deeper than the other person’s. The superior, on the other hand, determines when the bowing is to end. When the participants are of equal rank, they begin the bow in the same manner and end at the same time.
    In the United States, where being casual and friendly is valued, people often fall into chairs or slouch when they stand. In many countries, such as Germany and Sweden, where lifestyles tend to be more formal, slouching is considered a sign of rudeness and poor manners. In Turkey, putting one’s hands in one’s pockets is a sign of disrespect. 
    The manner in which we sit also can communicate a message. In Ghana and in Turkey, sitting with one’s legs crossed is extremely offensive. People in Thailand believe that because the bottoms of the feet are the lowest part of the body, they should never be pointed in the direction of another person. In fact, for the Thai, the feet take on so much significance that people avoid stomping with them.
4.4Paralanguage
    “Paralanguage refers to all the acoustic phenomena to accompany the spoken words.” That is, what is said is not the actual meaning of the spoken words but needs to consider other factors mainly including voice set, voice qualities and vocalization. Voice set regarded as the background of the words includes the high or low pitch of the tone and volume and dynamics of the voice. [8] (P68) This term was first raised up by linguist Trager in his book Language in Culture and Society pressed in1965. As with all other aspects of our nonverbal behavior, culture influences our use of and response to paralanguage. We only have to look at differences in the use of volume to see this. Arabs speak very loudly because loudness for them connotes strength and sincerity, while softness communicates weakness and deviousness. For Israelis, increased volume reflects strong beliefs toward the issue under discussion. The Germans conduct their business with a commanding tone that projects authority and self-confidence. On the other end of the continent, there are cultures that have a very different view toward loud and firm voices. For Thai people, a loud voice is perceived as being impolite. In Japan, raising one’s voice often implies a lack of self-control. For them, a gentle and soft voice reflects good manners and helps maintain social harmony---two important values in Japanese culture. When interacting with Americans, people from cultures that speak softly often believe that Americans are angry or upset because of other relatively loud speech.