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Abstract: This paper examines the significance of studying non-verbal messages in cross-cultural communication. By analyzing the problems in the process of non-verbal communication between some American people, who are teachers, students, and tourists, and the Chinese people they encounter during their stay in Kunming, China, this paper argues that non-verbal messages lead to ineffectiveness in intercultural communication between people from American and Chinese cultures if misinterpreted and concludes that sufficient knowledge and a proper use of non-verbal messages can clear misunderstandings of non-verbal cues in the two cultures and promote cross-cultural communication between the two peoples.
Key words: non-verbal communication; source; ineffective communication.
Cultural misunderstandings may occur among people of the same mother tongue or of different cultures with various causes. People communicate both verbally and non-verbally.
"We use various types of non-verbal behavior when we communicate with others. First, our physical appearance provides nonverbal cues that others use to make judgments about us. Second, the way we use to space (called proxemics) helps us regulate intimacy and control our sensory exposure to others. Third, the way we move our bodies (called kinesic behavior) provides information about us to others. Fourth, the way we use our voice (called paralanguage) tells others how we define the relationship between ourselves and them. Fifth, the degree to which we touch others and the degree to which we allow others to touch us provides cues to how we see our relations." (Gudykunst & Kim 1997)
The papers on non-verbal communication are legion. Hang Xilin (2007) claims that there are differences in using and interpreting body movements, facial expressions, space, touching and voice by people of different cultures and thinks it important to have more knowledge of non-verbal communication to avoid misunderstandings in cross-cultural communication. In his paper-Nonverbal Communication in Japanese Culture and Japanese Intercultural Communication Teaching, Fan Jun (2005) points out that it is not enough to teach verbal communication in Japanese teaching, which actually affects the intercultural communication between Chinese people and Japanese people and proposes many suggestions for Japanese non-verbal communication.
I agree with the points raised in the papers above and try to write my own paper from a different perspective. This paper focuses on the communication between some Americans, who are teachers, students, and tourists, and the people they meet in Kunming, analyzes the ineffectiveness of their communication caused by their use of non-vernal cues and argues that since people of American and Chinese cultures convey and interpret non-verbal messages in a different manner, the use of non-verbal massages by the two peoples in their communication can lead to ineffectiveness if misinterpreted. It is hoped that people in the two cultures can elevate their awareness of the difference of and the importance of the non-verbal messages used in each culture. And this paper aims to draw people's attention to gain knowledge in terms of different uses and interpretations of non-verbal messages in American and Chinese cultures in a bid to help achieve effectiveness in their communication.
"When we communicate with strangers, they frequently use non-verbal behaviors that are different from ours. These different behaviors often lead to misunderstandings." (Gudykunst & Kim 1997) A new American teacher in Yunnan University would meet a lot of cultural shocks at Chinese classes. The foreign teacher, Jessy who taught us oral English, was from America. After the first week, I talked with him as a class leader. I was so surprised to hear all his complaints. He told me he felt uncomfortable in the classes which as he said were too conservative, too formal, and too dull because the students liked to keep silent and were too reluctant to answer his questions. He could not understand the students' expressionless faces which were considered by him as indifference. What's more, he asked me if the students' silence indicated that they did not like his teaching. After this, I told him what the students thought of him. All my classmates felt uncomfortable and even annoyed when we saw him sitting on the desk to teach us. Some of them considered it as a rude manner, and the gesture might break the teaching rule. Obviously, all the misunderstandings were caused by our mutual lack of non-verbal messages in each other's culture. For Chinese students, they have been taught to keep silent to show their respect to the teachers in class which should be teacher-centered while Jessy's sitting on the desk means to minimize the tense atmosphere of the class and shorten the distance from students.
According to "the nonverbal expectancy theory," (Gudykunst & Kim 1997) misunderstanding is bound to occur when a person's expectation is violated. An American teacher will feel embarrassed to stand too close to the people who are talking with him or her, because America belongs to non-touching culture. Americans like to keep about 30 inches apart from one another when talking, which is considered their personal" comfort zone". When I was a sophomore, my class had got another American teacher Nancy to teach us writing. When my classmates who were still not very familiar with American culture talked with Nancy in the break, she later told me that she nearly flew into rage when the students stood so close with her attempting to show their friendliness, which made her feel that she was invaded.
"There seems to be more eye contact in interpersonal interactions between Arabs, South Americans, and Greeks than between people from other cultures." (Beebe 2002) American people and Chinese people also vary in using eye contact. Americans view eye contact very important when talking with others. They think you do not like them or do not want to show your respect to them if you fail to look at them in the conversation. On the contrary, in China, looking at people too long when talking may make the others very uncomfortable, especially when talking to ladies. A student Michael from Whiteman College came to study in Yunnan University in 2005 and I happened to be his language partner for the semester. The first question that he asked me when seeing me was that if the hotel did not welcome foreigners because, he said, the receptionist did not ever look at him when he checked in.
Table manners vary from culture to culture. In Chinese culture, the host would like to serve food for the guests in their plates. But in American culture, people only take and finish their food by themselves. When Michael and I went to the house of one of my Kunminese friends for dinner, the parents were very hospitable and served food for us now and then. I many times saw expressions of embarrassment on Michael's face. He felt relaxed only after I explained to him about our culture.
American people are very sensitive about body contact and usually try to avoid it while Chinese people feel okay about it because America belongs to low-contact culture while China belongs to high-contact culture. (Hu 2002) In 2006, I was asked to accompany some scholars from the United States. On the way to the downtown of Kunming, the scholars felt very embarrassed to see the local people who try to get on the bus by their bodies with the arms keeping close to two sides. They even felt antipathy when the people on the bus touch their bodies without the remark "Excuse me."
Americans always avoid making sound which spur out from body, such as, sneezing, cough, snuffle, spitting, fart, blowing nose, clearing throat, making gurgle of stomach and so on. They always try to constrain making this kind of sound at the face of others. If not, they will make apology to others. But the Chinese don't view those gestures as serious as Americans. The Chinese take it as a normal presentation of physiology. It used to be regarded as ridding the body of a waste-an act of personal hygiene. So to Chinese, it is unnecessary to make apology as long as he doesn't make sound towards people or food. During the tour in the city, the American scholars were very astonished to see in the restaurant that when drinking soup, people often blow the surface of the soup first. And they often make some sound when they swallow it. The American scholars may view it as an impolite gesture, because in their culture, making a sound when eating is a very bad manner.
It can be doubtlessly said that there are other nonverbal massages that convey different meaning in both cultures. You may see two men walk with an arm around another's shoulder or two women hand in hand in public, which is a sign of friendship in China. However, Americans strongly disapprove it in that the situation is regarded as homosexuality in American culture. In America, you can see people often hug or kiss to show friendliness, which is quite embarrassing and awkward for Chinese people, especially between the opposite sex. In China, kissing is only for lovers or parents to children.
Cross-cultural communication between Chinese and American people is extending on a larger scale thanks to a high degree of mobility of people. Ambiguous and unreliable as non-verbal language can be, its role as a reflection of cultural patterns is increasingly emphasized. It is difficult to read non-verbal messages as easily as reading the written words. However, nonverbal communication is as important as verbal communication-may be even more. Nonverbal language exists in every culture, but it is also diverse in every culture and is woven inextricably into our social lives. As a result, the expected effectiveness of communication is hard to realize as when we communicate with American people, our understanding of the interaction is limited by the different and unfamiliar non-verbal behaviors. People should become more aware of and enrich our knowledge of cultural differences of non-verbal communication between Chinese and American cultures and keep mindful when communicating with each other for the fulfillment of successful and effective communication.
References
Beebe, Steven A., Susan J. Beebe, & Mark V. Redmond. 2002.Interpersonal Communication:Relating to Others. Boston: APearson EducationCompany.
Bi, Jiwan. Cross-cultural Non-verbal Communication. Bei jing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2004
Fan,Jun. 2005. Nonverbal Communication in JapaneseCultureand Japanese Intercultural Communication Teaching. Journal of Yibin University 3: 100-103.
Gudykunst, William B. & Kim, Young Yun. Communicating with Strangers. New York: The Mcgraw-Hill Companies, 1997
Huang, Xilin. 2007. Understanding the Different Use of Non-verbal Behaviors in Cross-cultural Communication. Social Sciences Review 5: 171-172.
Hu, Wenzhong. 2002. Crossing Cultural Barriers. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Jia, Yuxin. Intercultural Communication. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2003
Samovar, Larry A., Richard E. Porter & Lisa A. Stefani. Communication Between Cultures. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2006.
Key words: non-verbal communication; source; ineffective communication.
Cultural misunderstandings may occur among people of the same mother tongue or of different cultures with various causes. People communicate both verbally and non-verbally.
"We use various types of non-verbal behavior when we communicate with others. First, our physical appearance provides nonverbal cues that others use to make judgments about us. Second, the way we use to space (called proxemics) helps us regulate intimacy and control our sensory exposure to others. Third, the way we move our bodies (called kinesic behavior) provides information about us to others. Fourth, the way we use our voice (called paralanguage) tells others how we define the relationship between ourselves and them. Fifth, the degree to which we touch others and the degree to which we allow others to touch us provides cues to how we see our relations." (Gudykunst & Kim 1997)
The papers on non-verbal communication are legion. Hang Xilin (2007) claims that there are differences in using and interpreting body movements, facial expressions, space, touching and voice by people of different cultures and thinks it important to have more knowledge of non-verbal communication to avoid misunderstandings in cross-cultural communication. In his paper-Nonverbal Communication in Japanese Culture and Japanese Intercultural Communication Teaching, Fan Jun (2005) points out that it is not enough to teach verbal communication in Japanese teaching, which actually affects the intercultural communication between Chinese people and Japanese people and proposes many suggestions for Japanese non-verbal communication.
I agree with the points raised in the papers above and try to write my own paper from a different perspective. This paper focuses on the communication between some Americans, who are teachers, students, and tourists, and the people they meet in Kunming, analyzes the ineffectiveness of their communication caused by their use of non-vernal cues and argues that since people of American and Chinese cultures convey and interpret non-verbal messages in a different manner, the use of non-verbal massages by the two peoples in their communication can lead to ineffectiveness if misinterpreted. It is hoped that people in the two cultures can elevate their awareness of the difference of and the importance of the non-verbal messages used in each culture. And this paper aims to draw people's attention to gain knowledge in terms of different uses and interpretations of non-verbal messages in American and Chinese cultures in a bid to help achieve effectiveness in their communication.
"When we communicate with strangers, they frequently use non-verbal behaviors that are different from ours. These different behaviors often lead to misunderstandings." (Gudykunst & Kim 1997) A new American teacher in Yunnan University would meet a lot of cultural shocks at Chinese classes. The foreign teacher, Jessy who taught us oral English, was from America. After the first week, I talked with him as a class leader. I was so surprised to hear all his complaints. He told me he felt uncomfortable in the classes which as he said were too conservative, too formal, and too dull because the students liked to keep silent and were too reluctant to answer his questions. He could not understand the students' expressionless faces which were considered by him as indifference. What's more, he asked me if the students' silence indicated that they did not like his teaching. After this, I told him what the students thought of him. All my classmates felt uncomfortable and even annoyed when we saw him sitting on the desk to teach us. Some of them considered it as a rude manner, and the gesture might break the teaching rule. Obviously, all the misunderstandings were caused by our mutual lack of non-verbal messages in each other's culture. For Chinese students, they have been taught to keep silent to show their respect to the teachers in class which should be teacher-centered while Jessy's sitting on the desk means to minimize the tense atmosphere of the class and shorten the distance from students.
According to "the nonverbal expectancy theory," (Gudykunst & Kim 1997) misunderstanding is bound to occur when a person's expectation is violated. An American teacher will feel embarrassed to stand too close to the people who are talking with him or her, because America belongs to non-touching culture. Americans like to keep about 30 inches apart from one another when talking, which is considered their personal" comfort zone". When I was a sophomore, my class had got another American teacher Nancy to teach us writing. When my classmates who were still not very familiar with American culture talked with Nancy in the break, she later told me that she nearly flew into rage when the students stood so close with her attempting to show their friendliness, which made her feel that she was invaded.
"There seems to be more eye contact in interpersonal interactions between Arabs, South Americans, and Greeks than between people from other cultures." (Beebe 2002) American people and Chinese people also vary in using eye contact. Americans view eye contact very important when talking with others. They think you do not like them or do not want to show your respect to them if you fail to look at them in the conversation. On the contrary, in China, looking at people too long when talking may make the others very uncomfortable, especially when talking to ladies. A student Michael from Whiteman College came to study in Yunnan University in 2005 and I happened to be his language partner for the semester. The first question that he asked me when seeing me was that if the hotel did not welcome foreigners because, he said, the receptionist did not ever look at him when he checked in.
Table manners vary from culture to culture. In Chinese culture, the host would like to serve food for the guests in their plates. But in American culture, people only take and finish their food by themselves. When Michael and I went to the house of one of my Kunminese friends for dinner, the parents were very hospitable and served food for us now and then. I many times saw expressions of embarrassment on Michael's face. He felt relaxed only after I explained to him about our culture.
American people are very sensitive about body contact and usually try to avoid it while Chinese people feel okay about it because America belongs to low-contact culture while China belongs to high-contact culture. (Hu 2002) In 2006, I was asked to accompany some scholars from the United States. On the way to the downtown of Kunming, the scholars felt very embarrassed to see the local people who try to get on the bus by their bodies with the arms keeping close to two sides. They even felt antipathy when the people on the bus touch their bodies without the remark "Excuse me."
Americans always avoid making sound which spur out from body, such as, sneezing, cough, snuffle, spitting, fart, blowing nose, clearing throat, making gurgle of stomach and so on. They always try to constrain making this kind of sound at the face of others. If not, they will make apology to others. But the Chinese don't view those gestures as serious as Americans. The Chinese take it as a normal presentation of physiology. It used to be regarded as ridding the body of a waste-an act of personal hygiene. So to Chinese, it is unnecessary to make apology as long as he doesn't make sound towards people or food. During the tour in the city, the American scholars were very astonished to see in the restaurant that when drinking soup, people often blow the surface of the soup first. And they often make some sound when they swallow it. The American scholars may view it as an impolite gesture, because in their culture, making a sound when eating is a very bad manner.
It can be doubtlessly said that there are other nonverbal massages that convey different meaning in both cultures. You may see two men walk with an arm around another's shoulder or two women hand in hand in public, which is a sign of friendship in China. However, Americans strongly disapprove it in that the situation is regarded as homosexuality in American culture. In America, you can see people often hug or kiss to show friendliness, which is quite embarrassing and awkward for Chinese people, especially between the opposite sex. In China, kissing is only for lovers or parents to children.
Cross-cultural communication between Chinese and American people is extending on a larger scale thanks to a high degree of mobility of people. Ambiguous and unreliable as non-verbal language can be, its role as a reflection of cultural patterns is increasingly emphasized. It is difficult to read non-verbal messages as easily as reading the written words. However, nonverbal communication is as important as verbal communication-may be even more. Nonverbal language exists in every culture, but it is also diverse in every culture and is woven inextricably into our social lives. As a result, the expected effectiveness of communication is hard to realize as when we communicate with American people, our understanding of the interaction is limited by the different and unfamiliar non-verbal behaviors. People should become more aware of and enrich our knowledge of cultural differences of non-verbal communication between Chinese and American cultures and keep mindful when communicating with each other for the fulfillment of successful and effective communication.
References
Beebe, Steven A., Susan J. Beebe, & Mark V. Redmond. 2002.Interpersonal Communication:Relating to Others. Boston: APearson EducationCompany.
Bi, Jiwan. Cross-cultural Non-verbal Communication. Bei jing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2004
Fan,Jun. 2005. Nonverbal Communication in JapaneseCultureand Japanese Intercultural Communication Teaching. Journal of Yibin University 3: 100-103.
Gudykunst, William B. & Kim, Young Yun. Communicating with Strangers. New York: The Mcgraw-Hill Companies, 1997
Huang, Xilin. 2007. Understanding the Different Use of Non-verbal Behaviors in Cross-cultural Communication. Social Sciences Review 5: 171-172.
Hu, Wenzhong. 2002. Crossing Cultural Barriers. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Jia, Yuxin. Intercultural Communication. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2003
Samovar, Larry A., Richard E. Porter & Lisa A. Stefani. Communication Between Cultures. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2006.