Олимпиады Министерства образования

Secondary School №46 with in-depth study of individual subjects

Intercultural communication is an important factor in today’s globalized world. People travel and they need to communicate, and in most cases, it’s out of one’s culture. Given this, how do the Russian, American and British cultures differ in the way they use language (spoken and body), gestures, mannerisms, facial expressions and eye contact to create a clear message that hopefully will be understood by the other culture

Students 8 “G” Grade with in-depth study of the English language:

Violetta A. Andreeva      Daria Y. Egorova            Evgenia I. Dudko

    Anna A.                    Valeria S.             Vitalina E.                Anastasia A.

      Kim                        Maslova                 Nikulina             Romadanovskaya              

Surgut, 2018-2019

Муниципальное бюджетное общеобразовательное учреждение средняя общеобразовательная школа №46 с углубленным изучением отдельных предметов

На пути к взаимопониманию: преодоление трудностей межкультурной коммуникации. В русской, американской и британской культурах есть свои особенности использования вербальных и невербальных (жесты, мимика, поза, взгляд) средств общения. Что нужно иметь ввиду, чтобы быть правильно понятым представителями другой культуры?

Студенты 8 «Г» класса с углубленным изучением английского языка:

Андреева Виолетта        Егорова Дарья        Дудко Евгения

Андреевна                    Юрьевна                             Ивановна

    Ким Анна           Маслова Валерия           Никулина Виталина Ромадановская

Александровна        Сергеевна                   Евгеньевна        Анастасия

                                                                        Андреевна

Surgut, 2018-2019

Intercultural communication is an important factor in today’s globalized world. People travel and they need to communicate, and in most cases, it’s out of one’s culture. Given this, how do the Russian, American and British cultures differ in the way they use language (spoken and body), gestures, mannerisms, facial expressions and eye contact to create a clear message that hopefully will be understood by the other culture

Written by: Andreeva Violetta, Egorova Daria, Dudko Evgenia, Kim Anna, Maslova Valeria, Nikulina Vitalina, Romadanovskaya Anastasia

Supervisor: Olga. V. Bragina

A comparative analysis of non-verbal ways of communication in Russia, the UK and America is made in this essay. In introductory part the actuality of the sign language is revealed using the situation of everyday life, thereby focusing on cultural differences. The actuality of the problem is emphasized by attracting excerpts from fiction. Firstly, the question of the importance of personal space is raised, which depends on the size of the country. In the following paragraphs a comparative analysis of the meanings of gestures is demonstrated in vivid examples. The individuality of Russia is surprisingly revealed by transfer of finger counting through the prism of the artistic image with the help of animation that is not reflected in the realities of the Americans. A well-known method of silence is used in the essay to let the reader's imagination run free and hint at a familiar school situation in which a problem of non-verbal intercultural communication among teenagers of different countries is raised by an example of twisting one’s index finger at one’s temple. Particular interest causes the gesture showing an index and a middle finger together, which is also perceived differently in the UK and America. The ambiguous interpretation of the sign V and its use is observed by historical figures in the last, but no less significant example of non-verbal ways of communication. This work also highlights different meanings of poses, mimics and eye contact, which in turn should also be taken into account. However, some examples of gestures with similar meanings in the countries are considered, too such as raspberry blowing, nose thumbing, clutching one’s head, the signs “loser”, “money” and “okay”. The family situation described in the essay demonstrates the presence of similarities in these gestures. The final stage of the comparative analysis has been carrying out a social survey at school №46, the results of which show that students have basic understanding of the differences in gestures of Russia, America and the UK. In conclusion, this essay emphasizes the caution of using different ways of non-verbal communication during the stay in Russia, America and the UK in order to avoid embarrassing situations and misunderstandings.

Intercultural communication is an important factor in today’s globalized world. People travel and they need to communicate, and in most cases, it’s out of one’s culture. Given this, how do the Russian, American and British cultures differ in the way they use language (spoken and body), gestures, mannerisms, facial expressions and eye contact to create a clear message that hopefully will be understood by the other culture

Written by: Andreeva Violetta, Egorova Daria, Dudko Evgenia, Kim Anna, Maslova Valeria, Nikulina Vitalina, Romadanovskaya Anastasia

Supervisor: Olga. V. Bragina

“The same gestures do not always mean the same thing in different countries. Somewhere a gesture may indicate something good…respect for a person or a greeting. Sometimes a gesture can even offend a person. Therefore, it is important to know meanings of some similar gestures in different countries of the world.”

     (created by Nastya Romadanovskaya)

Imagine you are travelling around England. Around England with outgoing people, gorgeous nature and rich history. People are absolutely friendly and will definitely give you a hand in any situation. But imagine you have got lost, so what steps are you going to take? It is not a problem because local residents will help you in any case! For instance, you have seen a senior citizen. Your actions? You are likely to call her and inquire how and where you can reach your destination. Everything would seem perfect, but an elderly woman has gone utterly dissatisfied and almost furious. What have you done wrong? The same situation but in America. Having known the consequences of the previous meeting, you are still HIGHLY GENTLE and FAIL AGAIN. And WHY? It would seem that the rules are identical everywhere, the sign language is universal and there is no need to even think. But is it really so? After all, we can insult a person even without knowing it.  Do you believe there are any differences? When we use dozens of gestures daily, we hardly ever think of their underlying meaning. It is known that basic communicative gestures in the whole world are similar: when people are on the top of the world, they smile; when people get the hump, they are mournful; when people do not know or misunderstand what is being talked about, they shrug their shoulders. However, the same expressive movement of different nations can have absolutely diverse meanings. And this frivolous usage of popular gestures can lead to unexpected consequences. Let us consider the quotation of Jeaniene Frost, an American writer, taken from her book “A Night Huntress Novel. This Side of the Grave”: “Are you having performance issues?” I asked in surprise. “Bite your tongue”, Vlad said, with a snort. “I was seeing if Dermot understood sign language, but from the look on his face, it seems not” [3]. Everybody can be on Dermot’s place and get into a hobble. Consequently, it is of vital importance to be aware of the sign language.

The first thing to be highlighted is such an unusual fact connected with private space. It is said that the personal distance between people while communicating depends on the size of the country. The bigger the country is, the greater the degree of the personal privacy is; and the smaller the country is, the less the degree of privacy is. In particular this phenomenon is widespread in America and the UK. In America it is 90 cm but in England it is 52-60 cm. However, great amazement arouses our hospitable country! In Russia the degree of the private sphere depends on the type of the meeting. If it is an appointment of the elite, you keep the distance within 3.6 m. On the other hand, if it is an intimate meeting, you can maintain a gap approximately 45 cm-1.2 m. It is unbelievable, but a fact.

The following phenomenon that incredibly triggers our imagination is the finger counting. Russian people preserve a centuries-long tradition of counting fingers folding them. It can be argued, but the Soviet Union’s cartoons will convince you otherwise. For instance, the main character of the cartoon “Vovka in the Faraway Kingdom” (V. Moseenkov, film producer) folds his fingers while counting sausages, sweets and other things. Nevertheless, in the USA local residents unfold their fingers. Strange fact, isn’t?

Another situation …. Just imagine a student from the UK, whose name is Jonathan, arrives in Russia to learn by exchange program. Once upon a time he and his classmates were writing a test. Jonathan seeing that Maxim was trying to cheat showed him a finger twisting at his temple. How do you think what Maxim’s reaction would be? It is out of the question that it can lead to misunderstanding and, finally, to scuffle on the lesson. Let us have a look at the problem in more detail. British people twisting their index finger at their temples indicate “Do your best and think yourself”. In Russia it is considered to be a sign of humiliation demonstrating that you are stupid.

One more gesture to be taken into account is showing an index and a middle finger together while others are folded. In the USA it means that we are a tight-knit team whereas in the UK it is a form of aggression (“Wait, I’ll get you!”).

While listing the Instagram’s news you may come across photos with the V sign. But you are likely to be unaware of its meaning. It dates back to the battle of Agincourt when English archers showed this way that their fingers are safe to shoot. If the French military armies captured them, they would cut these two fingers. Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965), the prime-minister of the UK, also used this gesture to inform about the victory. Vadim Oleshin, the author of the article “The sign V or “Fate knocking at the door” gives the explanation of this sign: “The V sign is the symbol of the unconquerable will of the occupied territories, and a portent of the fate awaiting the Nazi tyranny” [5]. But every coin has two sides. If you turn your hand around with its back towards the other people and your palm towards yourself, it is known to be a very offensive gesture. In America people do not mind any difference as well as in Russia.

There is a great variety of signs of non-verbal communication in the countries under consideration. Although, the British culture calls for special attention because local residents are reserved, self-sufficient as Sherlock Holmes who never reclined at ease on his armchair. The British are known to be extremely sensitive to the effect of their words on people being talked to. That is why in their armory of non-verbal communication one can trace mimics such as eyebrows uplifting that means skeptical attitude to any idea. The last thing to be mentioned is absence of eye-contact and winking predominance, which notifies attentive listening to a person.

In order to analyze the signs of non-verbal communication similar in Russia, the UK and America let us go back to Jonathan’s arrival to Russia to study there by exchange program. Once upon a time Jonathan was sitting and reading the newspaper about the Russian culture when suddenly a little host sister (Masha, 7 years old) ran out of her bedroom and blew a raspberry to her own brother (Maxim, 8 years old) who was running after her having his nose thumbed as Buratino from the Russian cartoon “The Golden Key or Buratino’s adventure” (Vladimir Kilburg, film producer). What caused this incident? It is quite evident that they hadn’t shared the laptop. As a result of this innocent prank the laptop was broken into pieces. The mother’s scream “Ohhhhh!” was heard from the kitchen. The kitchen she left with the speed of light clutching her head. In the meantime their father was slowly clapping demonstrating his sarcasm. Masha showed a letter “L” made with the thumb and the index finger on her forehead signaling that Maxim was a “loser”. The host mother addressed herself to her husband with the sign of needing money for a new laptop rubbing her thumb and first two fingers. Her husband having realized how much money should be spent said nothing and showed a circle made with the index finger and the thumb with the other first raised to mean “Okey”. Jonathan recognized his family members from England in this Russian host family because these gestures are used in his country as well as in America.

In the secondary school №46 with in-depth study of individual subjects, Surgut, Khanti and Mansi autonomous okrug, the sociological survey has been held so as to study children’s understanding of gestures used in Russia, America and the UK. 328 students at the age of 12-16 have taken part in this survey. The results show that 50% of students have come across such a problem of misunderstanding gestures while interacting with an interlocutor in Russia. And only 30% of students (Diagram 2) are familiar with gestures, mimics and poses in the countries represented. Also, half of respondents think that the British are not impulsive but rather stay calm in their manner of communication. Most of the students are also astonished by the fact that they can only blink without looking in your eyes while speaking because only 51% of them have been unaware of that amazing fact. First it seemed that students knew all the gestures and their meanings, but when they came across one of the most popular gestures, they did not know that the “Thumb up” is used in Russia, America and the UK with the same meaning. We have also made sure that our students still do not distinguish two almost identical gestures that have completely opposite meanings such as the Victory sign and turning one’s finger to one’s head. The situation that has been described earlier with Maxim and Jonathan is not characteristic of our school’s students because the survey’s results demonstrate their sufficient knowledge on the signs of non-verbal communication. Taking everything into account, students understand gestures and facial expressions of the Russians, the Americans and the British quite well, which greatly simplifies communication between the countries.

As Myron Uhlberg, the author of children’s books, once said: “Sign is alive, contemporaneous, visual-gestural language and consists of hand shapes, hand positioning, facial expressions, and body movements. Simply put, it is for me the most beautiful, immediate, and expressive of languages, because it incorporates the entire human body” [6, p. 92]. Gestures that are inherent in one person may not be familiar to another at all. Therefore, in the practical application of gestures one must be very careful. Before going to any country you need to get acquainted with what gestures are acceptable for this country. In our daily routine sign language knowledge helps in personal relationships. We will be able to behave correctly in this or that country understanding properly the interlocutor’s gestures. Despite all the differences of gestures in Russia, America and the UK, a universal expression of kindness will be a warm smile. Smile, be positive and it will attract lots of people!

Bibliography

1. British and American sign language / Alex Case [Electronic source]. URL: https://www.usingenglish.com/articles/british-american-body-language-gestures.html (address date: 1.02.2019)
2. Notes about people living in the English remote places / Tanya Brisco[Electronic source]. URL: https://www.britanya.me.uk/top-10-osobennostey-anglijskogo-mentaliteta/ (address date: 1.02.2019)
3. Quotes / Jeaniene Frost [Electronic source]. URL: https://www.morefamousquotes.com/quotes/2290366-are-you-having-performance-issues-i.html (address date: 1.02.2019)
4. The Sign language of the English and the Americans: peculiarities of non-verbal communication / Svetlana Loginova [Electronic source].

URL: https://englex.ru/english-and-american-nonverbal-communication/ (address date: 1.02.2019)

5. The sign V or “Fate knocking at the door / Vadim Oleshin[Electronic source].URL:https://www.vakin.livejournal.com/1264433.html  (address date: 1.02.2019)
6. Uhlberg Myron. Hands of My Father. A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and the Language of Love / Myron Uhlberg. – New York: Random House Inc, 2009. – 213p.

Appendix I

Diagram 1. “Understanding of gestures”

Diagram 2. “Understanding of gestures abroad”

Diagram 3. “Meaning of the sign “Silence”

Diagram 4. “Nature of the British communication”

Diagram 5. “Meaning of the sign “thumb up”

Diagram 6.“Eye contact”

Diagram 7. “Meaning of the V sign”

Diagram 8. “Turning one’s finger to one’s head”