Abstract Since the human society has created language, it plays a crucial role as a means of communication, but not the only means of it。 Body language also plays a significant role to help people exchange information, which is the one of the most useful ways to break down the language barriers of cross-cultural communication。 With the development of international economy and cross-cultural communication, it seems that cultural communication obstacles have been becoming more and more severe。 Nevertheless, even if we understand the meanings of some conventional body language, it is still difficult for us to master it thoroughly。 Because different languages have great differences in different cultural backgrounds and have different social functions。 If we use the body language incorrectly, we would probably be caught in a dilemma in international communication, which would even cause conflicts。 This article mainly discusses the comparison and flagrant contrast of different body languages in various cultures in terms of gestures, postures, facial expressions, eye contact and physical distance。 It aims to illuminate the differences and similarities of body language and concludes some principles of reducing cultural barriers in order to make people avoid misunderstandings。76321

Keywords: international communication; body language; cultural difference

摘要人类社会自有语言以来，言语交际便扮演着人与人之间交流的决定性角色，但它并非是交际的唯一手段。身势语同样也在人类交流中扮演着重要的角色，而且是在减少跨文化交流障碍中最有效的交流方式之一。随着国际经济的扩大，以及跨文化交际交流的频繁化发展，我们应更谨慎地看待因语言和文化产生的交际障碍问题。然而，即使我们对常用的身势语有所了解，但要完全地掌握及运用它们，还是有一定难度的。因为不同的语言在不同的文化背景下有着巨大的差异，甚至同一语言在此前提下也是蕴含不同意义及不同社会功能的。如果我们在跨文化交流中错误地使用了身势语，那么此举便会让我们自身陷入尴尬的境地，甚至引发矛盾。本文通过手势语，身体姿势，面部表情，眼神接触以及身体距离来对比研究身势语的文化异同之处，以及总结出了一些减少跨文化交流障碍的行为准则，从而使人们减少甚至避免误解。

毕业论文关键词：跨文化交际；身势语；文化差异

Contents

1。 Introduction 1

2。 Literature Review 1

3。 General description of Body Language 2

3。1 Conception 3

3。2 Characteristics 3

3。3 Categories 4

4。 Differences of English and Chinese Body Language 4

4。1 Gestures 5

4。2 Postures 5

4。3 Facial expressions 6

4。4 Eye contact 7

4。5 Physical distance 7

5。 Reasons for the Differences of English and Chinese Body Language 8

5。1 Religious beliefs 8

5。2 Values and ways of thinking 9

5。3 Morals and social regulations 9

6。 Principles of Reducing Barriers in Cross-Cultural Communication 10

6。1 Trying to learn body language purposefully