Gestures and Cross-cultural Communication
ABSTRACT
Focused on today's world, "globalization" has become an irresistible trend. Different groups of cross-domain, cross-national and cross-cultural live together in a "global village". Cross-cultural communication has become a more and more common reality. As a way of cross-cultural communication, gesture is found across cultures, ages, and tasks to transmit ideas or thoughts. As a result, some gestures are mutually understood. For instance, a nod is universally understood as signifying approval, while shaking the head indicates a negative reaction. However, some other gestures may convey different messages to people of different nationalities.
Just because there are some cultural differences, different gestures have assorted meanings and even the same gestures have distinct meanings in varied countries. Improperly used, an innocent gesture may lead to misunderstanding and ambiguity or even conflict in cross-cultural communication. Therefore, in order to reduce barriers in communication and avoid misunderstanding then achieve efficient communication, it’s advisable to be aware of these differences and make good use of our gestures. Understanding the gestures, identifying and using the gestures correctly, are the important factors of ensuring the cross-cultural communication to go on wheel. It has great practical significance for different ethnic groups. In this essay, after borrowing and studying the experience of the forefathers, I will analyze the various usages and significances of gestures in different culture background.
Keywords：Gestures Cross-cultural communication Significance
手势与跨文化交流
摘 要
放眼今天的世界，“全球化”已成不可抗拒的趋势,跨国域、跨民族和跨文化的不同群体共同生活在“地球村”上，跨文化交流成为越来越普遍的日常现实。而手势作为跨文化交流的一种方式，在不同文化、年龄、工作性质里，用以传递思想和感情。有些手势能被相互理解，例如，点头普遍表示同意，而摇头表示反对。但是有些手势对不同民族的人则有不同的含义。
正是由于文化之间的差异，不同手势的含义也有很多差别，甚至同一手势在不同的国家中所表达的含义也不相同。在跨文化交际中，如果使用不当的话，一个本没有恶意的手势可能会引起误解或歧义，甚至导致冲突。因此，为了减少沟通障碍和误解，取得有效的交流，我们有必要理解这些差异，并很好地利用身体语言。了解手势，正确地识别和运用手势，是保证跨文化交流顺利进行的重要因素，对不同民族的跨文化交流具有重要的现实意义。这篇论文，在借鉴前人成果的基础上，我将分析各种手势语在不同文化背景下的用法和意义。
摘要：手势 跨文化交流 意义
CONTENTS
ABSTRACT I
摘 要 II
CONTENTS III
1 The Background of Today’s Cross-cultural Communication 1
1.1 Political Background 1
1.2 Economic Background 1
1.3 Educational Background 2
2 The Significance of Gestures and Cross-cultural Communication 3
2.1 Political Communication and Gestures 3
2.1.1 The Gestures in the Inauguration Speech 3
2.1.2 A Dispute on a Military Salute 5
2.2 Economic Communication and Gestures 6
2.2.1 The Gestures in the Business Negotiations 6
2.2.2 Different Styles in Negotiations 7
2.2.3 Handshake in Business Negotiation 7
2.3 Educational Communication and Gestures 7
2.3.1 The Gestures in Class 7
2.3.2 Deaf-mute People and Gestures 8
2.4 Emergencies or Non-verbal Situations and Gestures 9
2.4.1 The Semaphore in Shipping Steam 9
2.4.2 The Sign Code of the Referee in the Basketball competition 10
2.4.3 The Gestures Between Conductor and Operator in Aloft Work 12
3 The Meanings of Gestures 13
3.1 Different Gestures with Different Meanings 13
3.2 The Same Meaning with Different Gestures 17
3.3 The Same Gestures with Different Meanings 17
4 The Correct Use of Gestures 21
4.1 The Correct use of Gestures in the Cross-cultural Communication 21
4.2 My Views and Suggestions 21
5 Conclusions 22
References 23
Appendix 24
Acknowledgements 25
