Cross-cultural non-verbal communication cues

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Kazakh national women's teacher training university

Institute of Kazakh and world languages

The independent work of students

Cross-cultural non-verbal communication cues

Abetai Aruzhan

Plan

Introduction

1) Cultural differences in non-verbal communication

2) Comparison of nonverbal communication signals of two or more cultures.

3) Еxamples of different gestures in another cultures

Conclusion

List of used literature

1. Cultural differences in non-verbal communication

In this work I want to reveal the topic of cultural differences in Non-verbal communication

Non-verbal communication is communication that occurs without words which is continuous. It is not what is said with words but how it is said and expressed.

Non-verbal communication is different from person to person and especially from one culture to another. As there are differences in meanings of non-verbal communication, miscommunication can occur when inter-cultural people communicate. People can offend others without meaning to due to their cultural differences in non-verbal communication. According to researches, six expressions are universal; they are, happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, anger and surprise. But it might also be different like the extent to which people show these feelings, in some cultures people express openly and in some people do not.

The most important thing to keep in mind about non-verbal behaviors is that they do not translate across cultures easily and can lead to serious understanding. Human behaviors are driven by values, beliefs, and attitudes, and it is helpful to consider how these invisible aspects of culture drive the behaviors we can see.

Before we visit a country, we should familiarise ourselves with its customs and know how to communicate both verbally and nonverbally. We can't fix or ruin everything with just words after all. In some countries, nonverbal communication is much more important than verbal.

Some of the most common forms of nonverbal communication include gestures, facial expressions, proxemics (interpersonal distances), haptics (touching), posturology (posture), paralinguistics (phonetics) or eye contact.

2. Comparison of nonverbal communication signals of two or more cultures

Eye Contact - Western cultures mostly consider eye contact to be a good gesture. It shows attentiveness, confidence and honesty. Other cultures such as Asian, Middle Eastern, Hispanic and Native American do not take it as a good expression. It is taken as a rude and offensive expression.

Unlike in Western cultures taking it as respectful, other do not consider it that way. In Eastern cultures women should especially not have eye contact with men as it shows power or sexual interest. In some cultures, whereas, gazes are taken as a way of expression. Staring is taken as rude in most cultures.

Also, there are gender rules around eye contact, with many Eastern cultures discouraging women from making eye contact with men as it conveys authority or sexual interest.?

Facial Expressions - Face shows feelings, attitudes and emotions. The degree of facial expressions are determined by cultures. People from United States show emotions more than their Asian counterparts.

Many Asian cultures suppress facial expression as much as possible.

Many Mediterranean (Latino / Arabic) cultures exaggerate grief or sadness while most American men hide grief or sorrow.

Some see «animated» expressions as a sign of a lack of control.

Too much smiling is viewed in as a sign of shallowness.

Women smile more than men.

Physical Space (Proxemics) - People from different cultures have different tolerance for physical distance between people. In Middle Eastern culture people like to go near to others to talk while in others people might get afraid if anybody does so.

Even Europeans and Americans do not have that much acceptance on the breach of physical distance and less acceptance for it among Asians. People have specific personal space which they do not want intruded. In some cultures, even close physical contact between strangers is acceptable.

Voice - People from Anglo-Saxon countries wait their turn to talk if they've been taught their manners. Interrupting is considered rude. In many Latin cultures interrupting is not rude and is expected. Asian cultures often take the wait-your-turn rule to extremes, giving a pause before responding.

Paralanguage - vocal characterizers (laugh, cry, yell, moan, whine, belch, yawn). These send different messages in different cultures (Japan - giggling indicates embarrassment; India - belch indicates satisfaction) vocal qualifiers (volume, pitch, rhythm, tempo, and tone). Loudness indicates strength in Arabic cultures and softness indicates weakness; indicates confidence and authority to the Germans,; indicates impoliteness to the Thais; indicates loss of control to the Japanese. (Generally, one learns not to «shout» in Asia for nearly any reason!). Gender based as well: women tend to speak higher and more softly than men.vocal segregates (un-huh, shh, uh, ooh, mmmh, humm, eh, mah, lah). Segregates indicate formality, acceptance, assent, uncertainty.

Touch - Northern Europe and the Far East as classed as non-contact cultures. There is very little physical contact beyond a handshake with people we don't know well. Even accidentally brushing someone's arm on the street warrants an apology. In much of the Arab world, men hold hands and kiss each other in greeting, but would never do the same with a woman. In Thailand and Laos, it is taboo to touch anyone's head, even children. In South Korea, elders can touch younger people with force when trying to get through a crowd, but younger people can't do the same.

Postures - Posture can convey a wealth of information about how a person is feeling as well as hints about personality characteristics, such as whether a person is confident, open, or submissive. Sitting up straight, for example, may indicate that a person is focused and paying attention to what's going on.

Consider the following actions and note cultural differences:

Bowing (not done, criticized, or affected in US; shows rank in Japan)

Slouching (rude in most Northern European areas)

Hands in pocket (disrespectful in Turkey)

Sitting with legs crossed (offensive in Ghana, Turkey)

Showing soles of feet. (Offensive in Thailand, Saudi Arabia)

3. Еxamples of different gestures in another cultures

Handshake

USA, England, Germany, and New Zealand - it's used when meeting or parting

France and the rest of Europe - people shake hands even if they know each other well, sometimes even several times a day

Russia - shaking hands in a doorway is considered impolite and allegedly brings bad luck

India, Middle East, and Asia - people can still hold each other's hands, even after they shook hands

Japan - handshakes are considered impolite, people bow instead and the lower they bow the more respect they are showing

Thumbs up

USA - «OK»

Brazil - «Thank you»

Iran - a rude gesture, similar to giving someone the middle finger

Egypt and Israel - «very good» or «perfect»

Denmark, Finland, and Australia - «excellent», «great», and «well»

China - «you're the best!»

Ok sign

USA and England - «OK»

France and Belgium - «zero»

Japan - «money»

Touching

England, Japan, Germany, USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, North Europe, and Portugal - they don't like to touch

Spain, India, Iran, France, Turkey, Greece, Arabia, parts of Asia, and Italy - touches are acceptable/common

Asia - touching or pointing with your feet is considered impolite, you can't rest your feet on a chair or table

Nepal - crossing your legs is a serious faux pas

Nodding you head

In most countries - a sign of agreement meaning «yes»

Bulgaria - a sign of disagreement meaning «no»

Japan - «yes, I understand», «yes, please, continue», sometimes «yes, I agree»

India - agreement is shown by tilting your head side-to-side

Conclusion

How do different cultures interpret non-verbal messages?

Different cultures have distinct interpretation toward nonverbal communication. When a person is laughing or smiling, it may not simply mean they are happy when you consider broader cultural context.

Non-verbal communication is different from person to person and especially from one culture to another. Cultural background defines their non-verbal communication as many forms of non-verbal communications like signs and signals are learned behavior.

List of used literature

non-verbal communication culture

1. https://online.pointpark.edu/business/cultural-differences-in-nonverbal-communication/

2. https://www.lexika-translations.com/blog/cultural-differences-in-nonverbal-communication/

3. https://www.andrews.edu/~tidwell/bsad560/NonVerbal.html

4. https://translationsinlondon.com/cultural-differences-in-non-verbal-communication/

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