ON SOME POINTS OF NON-VERBAL CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

МОУ «ВОСТОЧНО-ЕВРОПЕЙСКИЙ» ЛИЦЕЙ

ON SOME POINTS OF NON-VERBAL CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

НЕМНОГО О НЕВЕРБАЛЬНОМ

МЕЖКУЛЬТУРНОМ ОБЩЕНИИ  

Творческая работа

Корнеевой Юлии, ученицы 10 класса.

Руководитель – учитель английского языка

Блинова Е. Г.

Саратов 2011

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………2

CHAPTER 1. CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION………………………3

CHAPTER 2. SOME GESTURE MEANINGS…………………………………..6

A Temple Tap Gesture……………………………………………………………..6

A  Fig Gesture……………………………………………………………………...6

“O.K.” or not  “O.K.?................................................................................................6

A Thumbing-a lift Gesture…………………………………………………………7

Some Other Gestures………………………………………………………………8

Protection against the Evil Eye…………………………………………………….8

The Sign of Victory………………………………………………………………...9

The five-finger Salute………………………………………………………………9

CONCLUSION..………………………………………………………………….11

LITERATURE…………………………………………………………………....12

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INTRODUCTION  

When people travel abroad they are sometimes warned by the tour-operators to be careful about some gestures not to insult the natives and not to get into a piquant situation. They say, for example: “Try to avoid gestures if you do not know their meanings in the country you visit or even in this or that part of the country”.  Really, a ring gesture is spread throughout the world. Its meaning is known as “O.K.” But a tourist should know that there are some exceptions. In some areas of France it means that something is worthless or zero. In Turkey it is interpreted as vulgar sexual comments. In Tunisia people use the ring gesture as a threat signal “I’ll kill you tomorrow”.

On the other hand a tourist may feel insulted when his interlocutor suddenly taps his temple. In Russian culture it means craziness. But in some countries this gesture means brightness and intelligence.

So, lack of knowledge of traditional gestures can ruin communication and lead to mutual insult and misunderstanding between people of different cultures.

I find it interesting and useful to investigate the meaning of some gestures, customary in different countries.

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CHAPTER 1

CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Many years ago only warriors and merchants had an opportunity to communicate with people from other countries. Different countries lived for centuries without contacting one another. This was the world of the past. Today countries and continents are becoming closer and closer. They are connected with transport routes, radio and television, business and the Internet. Every year thousands of people go from one country to another either on business or for pleasure. The knowledge of languages opens the door to any foreign country and gives them a possibility to communicate, to understand people and to be understood. Languages are helpful in establishing friendly relations between peoples and nations. Children and young people will understand each other better if they speak one language. So, the attitude to foreign languages has changed. Now the knowledge of foreign languages is not only a part of good education, but a necessity.

But there are situations when people who speak a foreign language fluently do not understand a native speaker completely. The reason of misunderstanding often lies in the sphere of cultural background. A habit of cross-cultural communication should be acquired by a foreign language learner to overcome misunderstanding. Cross-cultural communication is an adequate mutual understanding between two or more participants of an act of communication belonging to different national cultures.

As different artists see the world differently, so every nation has its own vision of the world. This vision is connected with the notion of national culture.  Here we must take into consideration that linguists use the word “culture” in the broad sense, not in its narrow sense of “arts”.

If we look up the word “culture” in different dictionaries we shall find out that the definitions are different.

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Cambridge International Dictionary of English: Culture – the way of life, especially general customs and beliefs of a particular group of people at a particular time. Youth / working – class / Russian / Roman / mass.

Cobuild English Language Dictionary: 1) Culture or a culture consists of ideas, customs, and art that are produced or shared by a particular society (e.g. He was a fervent admirer of Roman and Greek cultures…the great cultures of Japan and China). 2) A culture is a particular society or civilization, especially one considered in relation to its ideas, its arts, or its way of life (e.g. the rich history of African civilizations and cultures.)

The Concise Oxford Dictionary: Culture – 1) the customs, civilization, and achievements of a particular time or people (studied Chinese culture).

Dictionary of English Language and Culture: Culture – the customs, beliefs, art, music, and all the other products of human  thoughts made by a particular group of people at a particular time (ancient Greek culture, a tribal culture, pop culture).

Webster’s Dictionary: Culture – the act of developing intellectual ability with education; a form of civilization, particularly the beliefs, arts, and customs.

We see that the key-words of the definitions are “way of life”, “customs”, “beliefs”. We may define the word “culture” as the way people see the world around them, their way of thinking, acting, reacting to the world and other people.

There is a point that should be noted here. In natural communication people often support their speech with gestures. And more than that, they sometimes substitute words for gestures. People who belong to the same culture understand gestures easily. This kind of communication is called non-verbal. People of different nations may have difficulties in non-verbal communication. Lack of knowledge of cultural background of another nation may become a barrier to understanding.

The cultural context may be manifested in a variety of forms: from the commonly used forms of greetings to the so-called broader context - the history of a

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country's culture and business ethics. The necessity to develop cultural awareness of the target foreign language along with the general communicative competence is no longer doubted. Such subjects as geography, history and literature have traditionally been taught to linguists and diplomats. The language of signs and intonation peculiarities, however, are usually been neglected whereas ignorance of some gesture meanings and intonation patterns may sometimes cause inadequate reaction on the part of the interlocutor.

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CHAPTER 2

SOME GESTURE MEANINGS

A Temple Tap Gesture

Your casual interlocutor or business partner suddenly taps his temple with the tip of his forefinger. You stare at him with your eyes wide open. You feel insulted, don't you? Wait a moment. This gesture has two widespread meanings: craziness and intelligence. If your partner is from Asia or Northern Africa the “temple tap” means brightness. Your partner just wants to show his respect to you.

A Fig Gesture

A foreigner shows you a fig gesture. You will regard him as a rude and impolite person, as in Russia this gesture has the insulting meaning of a worthless object. You will certainly interpret it as “I’ll give you nothing”. But young people who are interested in sports may have seen many German stickers having a “fig gesture” on them. Their basic message is “if you are good at sport, you’ll be good at sex”.

In Italy you can see an adult playfully grabbing a small child’s nose and pretending to pull it off the face, then, he shows it to the child in the form of the thumb-tip sticking out through the closed fist. So the adult shows the child a fig. It seems strange, doesn’t it? But it is just a little game common in Italy and Sicily, and a large number of people interpret the fig-sign as a joke action meaning “Look, I have stolen your nose”. Besides, in some regions of Portugal, Sicily and Sardinia the “fig gesture” is used as protection against the evil eye.

“O.K.” Or Not “O.K.”?

Anyone can mimic the act of drinking if he is thirsty and he’ll be understood almost everywhere in the world. But sometimes   even well-known gestures which are common knowledge can evoke misunderstanding. In Bulgaria, for instance, shaking one's head means "yes", nodding one's head means “no".

Another example is the ring gesture. Its dominant meaning is “O.K.” which is spread throughout the world. But there are some exceptions. In some rural areas of France the ring means that something is worthless or zero. In Malta, Sardinia and

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Germany, it is sometimes interpreted as vulgar sexual comments or invitations. This gesture will also look insulting in Brazil, especially if you drop your hand. A small but significant number of people in Tunisia employ the ring gesture as a threat signal giving it a fourth basic meaning. It is intriguing that the verbal equivalent of the gesture is “I'll kill you tomorrow" thereby implying that the victim is so worthless that he isn’t even sufficiently challenging to require dispatching immediately. He is such a zero that his death can safely be postponed to a more convenient time. In Japan the ring gesture is often interpreted as a symbol of money. A puzzling example concerns the use of this gesture as meaning "Thursday" in Latin America. At first sight this seems either like a wild guess or like some frag ment of a completely casual sign lan guage code. It's neither, but simply the counting the days of the week on the fingers of the hand employing the thumb as the counting digit. The thumb is pressed first to the little finger (=Monday), then the ring finger (=Tuesday), then the middle finger (=Wednesday) and finally the forefinger (=Thursday). At the moment when Thursday is being counted off, the hand posture momentari ly looks like the ring gesture.

A Thumbing-a-lift Gesture

If a person puts his thumb up it means "It's O.K.” both in Russia and in America. But it's not safe to use the "thumbing-a-lift" gesture in either Sardinia or rural areas of Greece. The message transmitted to the passing drivers by the hope ful figures at the roadside isn't "please, help us" which is the second widespread meaning of the gesture, but is inde cent, even obscene, and doesn't encourage drivers to stop, except to pick up a fight. The meaning of sexual insult wasn't observed in ancient Rome which this gesture is ascribed to. In the sovereign's presence the crowd advised their ruler. Waving cloths and displaying up-turned thumbs they shout ed "Mitte!" (Let him go free); or by turning down their thumbs they shouted "Iugula!'' recommending that the fallen gladiator should pay the penalty. When the Emperor happened to share their feelings he confirmed the crowd's verdict and, with his thumb downturned, ordered the glad iator's immediate execution. So, if the defeated gladiator had fought well, he could be saved by a thumbs-up gesture. If he had fought badly he

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could be killed by a thumbs-down. From this specific use of the two thumb signals (though it's argued) our modern usage came: with the thumbs up mean ing "all's well - O.K." and the thumbs down meaning "no good - failure". This has become the dominant interpreta tion of the two gestures throughout Europe and much of the rest of the world.

Some Other Gestures

The language of signs sometimes turns out to be ex tremely important in the process of communication. How to calm down a scandal at a restaurant, for instance, when an Italian, invited to dinner by a German partner, screws his forefinger against the centre of the cheek meaning that the food is tasty whereas the German businessman loses his temper, furious with indignation, because he interprets this gesture as an insult with the meaning that he is crazy? It would certainly have been helpful for both businessmen  or tourists to make inquires about the customs of the country the poten tial partner comes from before having a talk, doing business with a repre sentative of another nationality.

Talking to an American one should remember that if he clasps his hands it means hope. If in the state of Iowa you catch a glimpse of a man showing a vertical horn sign, the thumb sticking out, it would not be wise of you to bother him at the moment as he is making a declaration of love to a lady. At the sight of a handsome athlete an American would put his forefinger in his mouth implying "He is such a thing! He is Adonis!" But a similar gesture in Tunisia, a teeth flick, has nothing to do with admiration. This gesture means that the man is penniless.

Protection against the Evil Eye

To protect himself against the evil eye a Russian person usually spits over the left shoulder three times or knocks the same num ber of times on some wooden object. In  the English-speaking countries people just say “touch wood” and then touch some wooden object, whereas in Mediterranean region they touch metal for this purpose. In many countries in cluding Russia they sometimes clench fists with the thumbs inside

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as protection against the evil eye, but in the south of France it would be preferable to use the ear touch gesture, in Great Britain - the fingers cross.

The Sign of Victory

And how should a journalist interpret the famous photo of Mrs. Thatcher making a palm-back V-sign? The wide spread meaning of this gesture is victory and it is clear from the Conservative leader's happy smile at the moment of triumph following an election gain that she means victory. In a picture taken at a football match in 1913 we can see the same palm-back V-sign gesture but in the insulting version frequently used in Britain and in Malta. However, it is the victory meaning which is known in the rest of the world. In Brazil a palm-front V-sign gesture also means peace or vic tory. The list of gesture interpretations by representatives of different nationalities can be continued.

The Five-finger Salute

The above examples show that Russian-speaking learners of foreign languages  and tourists should learn the peculiarities of the language of signs to avoid misunderstandings in the future. Knowledge of different names used to indicate the same gesture could also be helpful. The nose thumb gesture, for instance, which usually implies mockery and consists of two elements - sticking the nose in the air and projecting it forwards in the direction of the insulted victims as though insolently sniffing them out can be described by an English-speaking person as follows: to thumb the nose, to make a nose, to pull a snook, to make a long nose, to pull bacon, to take a grinder, taking a sight, coffee-milling, the five-finger salute, the Shanghai gesture, Queen Anne's fan, the Japanese fan, the Spanish fan.

The origin of "the five-finger salute" version seems very interesting. The nose thumb is used nowadays by school-children who pretend to make a respectful salute and then let their hand slip down from temple to nose. There was rhyme during World War I that went as follows: "Salute the King, Salute the Queen, Salute the German Submarine". On the word "King" a smart military salute was given, on the

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"Queen" again, and on the "Submarine" the saluting hand was dropped to the nose

to make an ironic nose-thumb gesture. During World War II the routine changed a little: "Salute the Captain of the Ship (smart naval salute). Sorry, sir, my finger slipped (dropping the hand to the nose)". The version of "the Shanghai gesture" appeared because of the resemblance of the gesture to the use of an instrument. "Shanghai" is the name given to catapult in Australia, and the action of holding the forked catapult up to the face when firing it, is seen as reminiscent of the gesture. "The Shanghai gesture" was the name of a play by John Colton in 1926, but it has been used rarely since them, Charles Dickens refers to the nose thumb gesture as "taking a sight" in "The Old Curiosity Shop" in 1840. This name relates the form of the gesture to the naval action of taking a sight with a sextant, the arms of the sextant being in a similar position.

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CONCLUSION

Now that Russia's international contacts are broaden ing, Russian people face a wider range of ac tivities (business, traveling) and feel the necessity of "being at home" in a foreign cultural context.

Different cultural background of busi ness partners or travelers from other countries emails the need for having some basic knowledge about cross-cultural com munication on the part of the Russian learners of for eign languages and travelers. People of different nationalities should be able to interpret gestures correctly to avoid misunderstanding. This information can help people to avoid unpleasant situations in the future.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. D. Morros, P Collett, P. Marsh, M. O’Shoughgnessy. Gestures. The Origin and Distribution. New York, Stein and Day Publisher, 1979.

2. Ludmila Fedorova. Cross-Cultural Communication. “English”

N 11/2001.

3. Cambridge International Dictionary of English Culture. London Press, 2001.

4. The Concise Oxford Dictionary. Oxford Press, 2002.

5. Dictionary of English Language and Culture. London Press, 2000.

          6. Webster’s Dictionary. Запорожье. РИП «Выдавэць», 1993.

          7. Glenn Wilson, Chris McLaughlin. Winning with Body Language. Bloomsbury. 1996.

When people travel abroad they are sometimes warned (предупреждать) by the tour-operators to be careful about some gestures not to insult (не обидеть) the natives and not to get into a piquant [          ] situation. They say, for example: “Try to avoid (избегать) gestures if you do not know their meanings in the country you visit”.

Lack (отсутствие) of knowledge of traditional gestures can ruin communication and lead to misunderstanding between the people of different cultures.

I find it interesting and useful to investigate (изучить) the meaning of some gestures, customary (привычные) in different countries.

Today countries and continents are becoming closer and closer. They are connected ( связаны) with transport routes [         ], radio and television, busyness and the Internet. Every year thousands of people go from one country to another. The knowledge of languages opens the doors to any foreign country and gives them a possibility (возможность) to understand people and to be understood.

But there are situations when people who speak a foreign language fluently do not understand a native speaker. The reason of misunderstanding often lies in the sphere of cultural background.  

As different artists see the world differently, so every nation has its own vision of the world. This vision is connected with the notion (понятие) of national culture.  Here we must take into consideration (во внимание) that linguists use the word “culture” in the broad sense (смысл), not in its narrow sense of “arts”.

If we look up the word “culture” in different dictionaries we shall find out that the definitions (толкование) are different.  But the key words are “customs”( обычаи),  “way of life”,    “beliefs”.

We may define (толковать) the word “culture” as the way people see the world around them, their way of thinking and acting.  

In natural communication people often support their speech with gestures. Or,  they sometimes substitute (заменять) words for gestures. People who belong to the same culture understand gestures easily. This kind of communication is called non-verbal. People of different nations may have difficulties in non-verbal communication. Lack (недостаток) of knowledge of cultural background of another nation may become a barrier to understanding. Cultural background includes such things as customary (обычный) gestures.

Your interlocutor or business partner suddenly taps his temple with the tip of his forefinger. You look at him with your eyes wide open. You feel insulted (обиженный), don't you? Wait a moment. This gesture has two meanings: craziness and intelligence. If your partner is from Asia or Northern Africa the “temple tap” means intelligence. Your partner just wants to show his respect to you.

A foreigner shows you a fig gesture. You think he is a rude and impolite (невежливый) person, because in Russia this gesture has the insulting meaning. You will interpret (интерпретировать) it as “I’ll give you nothing”. But young people who are interested in sports may have seen many German stickers (наклейка, этикетка) having a “fig gesture” on them. They simply say: “if you are good at sport, you’ll be good at sex”.

In Italy you can see an adult playfully grabbing a small child’s nose and pretending to pull it off the face, then, he shows it to the child in the form of a fig gesture.  So the adult shows the child a fig. It seems strange, doesn’t it? But it is just a little game common (обычная) in Italy, and people interpret the fig-sign as a joke action meaning “Look, I have stolen your nose”.

In Portugal, Sicily and Sardinia the “fig gesture” is used as protection against the evil  [        ] eye.

Anyone can mimic the act of drinking if he is thirsty and he’ll be understood everywhere in the world. But sometimes even well-known gestures can cause (вызвать) misunderstanding. In Bulgaria, for example, shaking one's head means "yes", nodding one's head means “no".

Another example is the ring gesture. Its dominant meaning is “O.K.”. But there are some exceptions.

In France the ring means that something is worthless or zero.

In Germany, it is interpreted as vulgar sexual comments or invitations. This gesture will also look insulting in Brazil.  

In Tunisia people use the ring gesture as a threat signal giving it a fourth basic meaning. It is interesting that the verbal equivalent of the gesture is “I'll kill you tomorrow". It shows that the victim (жертва) is so worthless that his death can be postponed [                    ] to a more convenient time.

In Japan the ring gesture is often interpreted as a symbol of money.

In Latin America people use the ring gesture in the meaning of "Thursday". Simply, they count the days of the week on the fingers using the thumb as the counting digit [           ]. The thumb is pressed first to the little finger (=Monday), then the ring finger (=Tuesday), then the middle finger (=Wednesday) and finally the forefinger (=Thursday). At the moment when Thursday comes the hand looks like the ring gesture.

If a person puts his thumb up, it means "It's O.K.”.

The second widespread meaning of this gesture is “Please, stop and help us”. It is often used by tourists at the roadside.

But in Greece  it's not safe to use the "thumbing-a-lift" gesture. The message transmitted to the passing drivers by people at the roadside doesn’t mean "please, help us" but is vulgar and insulting, and doesn't encourage (вынуждает) drivers to stop, except to pick up a fight.

[The meaning of sexual insult wasn't observed in ancient Rome which this gesture is ascribed to. In the sovereign's presence the crowd advised their ruler. Waving cloths and displaying up-turned thumbs they shout ed "Mitte!" (Let him go free); or by turning down their thumbs they shouted "Iugula!'' recommending that the fallen gladiator should pay the penalty. When the Emperor happened to share their feelings he confirmed the crowd's verdict and, with his thumb downturned, ordered the glad iator's immediate execution. So, if the defeated gladiator had fought well, he could be saved by a thumbs-up gesture. If he had fought badly he could be killed by a thumbs-down. From this specific use of the two thumb signals (though it's argued) our modern usage came: with the thumbs up mean ing "all's well - O.K." and the thumbs down meaning "no good - failure". This has become the dominant interpreta tion of the two gestures throughout Europe and much of the rest of the world.]

Some Other Gestures

Imagine an Italian, invited to dinner by a German partner, screws (крутить) his forefinger against the centre of the cheek meaning that the food is tasty. The German businessman loses his temper (контроль над собой), because he interprets this gesture as an insult with the meaning that he is crazy.

So, it is helpful for businessmen and tourists to know  the customs (обычаи) of the country the poten tial partner comes from before having a talk.  

If an American claps his hands it means hope.

In the state of Iowa [              ] you can see a man showing a vertical horn sign. By this gesture he is making a declaration of love to a lady.

Protection against the Evil Eye

To protect himself against the evil eye a Russian person usually spits over the left shoulder three times or knocks three times on some wooden object.

In  the English-speaking countries people just say “touch wood” and then touch some wooden object. In Mediterranean [                               ] region people touch metal for this purpose (цель).

The Sign of Victory

And how should a journalist interpret the famous photo of Mrs. Thatcher making a palm-back V-sign? The wide spread meaning of this gesture is victory and it is clear from her happy smile at the moment of triumph [                  ] following the election gain.

The Five-finger Salute

Knowledge of different names of the same gesture could also be helpful. The nose thumb gesture, for example, means mockery (насмешка). It consists of two elements - sticking the nose in the air and projecting it forwards. This gesture can be  described by an English-speaking person as follows: to thumb the nose, to make a nose, to pull a snook, to make a long nose, the five-finger salute, the Shanghai gesture, Queen Anne's fan, the Japanese fan, the Spanish fan.

The origin of "the five-finger salute" version seems very interesting. The nose thumb is used nowadays by school-children who pretend to make a respectful salute and then let their hand slip down from temple to nose. There was rhyme during World War I that went as follows: "Salute the King, Salute the Queen, Salute the German Submarine". On the word "King" a military salute was given, on the "Queen" again, and on the "Submarine" the saluting hand was dropped to the nose

to make a ironic nose-thumb gesture.

Now that Russia's international contacts are broaden ing, Russian people face  the necessity of "being at home" in a foreign cultural context.

People of different nationalities should be able to interpret gestures correctly to avoid misunderstanding. This information can help people to avoid unpleasant situations.   THANK YOU FOR ATTENTION!