Non-Verbal Communication and the Chinese Culture - Essay Example

Non-verbal Communication and the Chinese Culture xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Describe and Discuss Non-Verbal Communication and Related Cultural Values in Two Cultures. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course instructor Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date submitted Different communities have different ways through which they communicate contextually. These forms of communication are not only reveled through the linguistic sense but also through the norms and conventions of interactive linguistics. Cultural scripts are ways through which the different discourse conventions are spelt out through the use of metalanguage of collective semantic primes (Baldwin & Lindsley, p.94). Cultural scripts are much more utilized to spell out the cultural norms with greater precision than if the technical labels were used. Some of the labels that are spelt out include polite, formal and informal. Cultural scripts are able to spell out the cultural norms in more simple and in terms that are more translatable thus being able to eliminate the dangers of ethnocentric bias. The scripts provide descriptions to assumptions that are commonly held which revolve around how people perceive social interactions. However despite the everyday use of the assumptions in people’s interactions, the scripts are essential as they do not determine the everyday individual interactions. This paper will aim at discussing the non verbal communication and related cultural values in the Chinese and Anglo cultures (Goddard, 1997). The cultural scripts adopted are utilize to emphasize the various ways through which the Chinese and the Anglo culture think and the associated modes of speaking. The culture encourages the employment of various cognitive styles in thinking. The Anglo culture is characterized as being more thinking oriented than the other global cultures. This cultural script analyses and characterizes the different modes of thinking. The approach will utilize the conceptual universals and lexical in the analysis of cultural notations. The Anglo American culture is known for the employment of the interrelated attitude portfolio which is best illustrated as thinking that is positive in the informal terms. This is seen as a factor that places a lot of emphasis on the self esteem. The notion can be spelt better in the semantic prime as illustrated below. Some partial Anglo–American cultural scripts for thinking a. It is good if I often think that something good will happen b. It is good if I often think “if I want to do something, I can do it” c. It is good if I can think many good things about me (Hymes,1961) In the illustration below, the Chinese culture in the Middle way philosophy to an acceptance to a change of life which is accompanied by an emotional detachment from the evets that occur in the present. “A partial Chinese script for thinking in line with the Philosophy of the Middle Way when something very bad happen to me, it is good if I think like this: something good can happen to me because of this if I think like this, I will not feel something very bad at that time” n “... when something very good happens to me, it is good if I think like this: something bad can happen to me because of this if I think like this, I will not feel something very good at that time”(Whorf, 1938) To begin with, culture incorporates family roles, socialization, nonverbal communication, history, traditions, expectations, language, and altitudes of different group of people. On-verbal communication is a form of passing or conveying message through the body expression without use of words. Non verbal communication includes the utilization of the facial communication, voice intonation, eye contact and gestures. This plays a significant role in the daily lives an at times it is more often used to accompany the verbal communication to give more emphasis to the message the communicator wants to convey. Different gestures in the Chinese community have different meanings and contextual usage. The non verbal communications in the Chinese culture have been in existence and are presently influenced by the Confucius philosophical thinking. Gestures used in the Chinese culture may be perceived to be dead but could be present and widely used in some populations. The gestures have symbolic expressions in meaning and are often used in combination with other representation modes that are iconic. The non verbal communications in the Chinese community not only include the gestures and body language but also the use of mimics which form part of facial expressions. The contemporary gestures that are currently used are normally distinguished between the two main regions and are classified in to two types. These include: the gestures from the south and the gestures from the north. Paralanguage is a non-verbal form of communication that is also accompanied by verbal communication that may alter the non-verbal language like use facial expression to alter a meaning of a given statement or phrase or tone (Michelle 2003). The Facial expression. Chinese interpersonal relationship is based on and only the person you know and have a good relationship while the Anglo cultural values aremorediverse to even express their feelings to a stranger like smiling to a person on the hospital bed, a young baby with her mother in a supermarket. An expression of unsatisfied deed by a person direct to his face is considered unsatisfying; an expression of your thoughts or feelings to a person direct on the person. In this case the person passing the message of un-contentment is the person that is directly not welcomed “likesaying Ithink what you’re doing is bad for me” this is considered bad expression‘Diu-mian-zi’since one tends to lower the other person’s esteem and hence to Chinese cultural value you are termed not to wish this particular person good (Goddard, 1997). In contrary to the face metaphor of the Chinese the Anglo – American’s have the freedom to express s their feeling without any ambiguity and plainly to the other party but due respect is maintained (Michelle 2003). In Chinese cultural values considers facial expression as of paramount importance towards expression of something that you would like or not like with preservation towards saving the persons feelings from any hurt. For instance ‘Gei-mian-zi’ one might just accept to something just to please the otherparty’s feelings while the facial expression clearly indicates a decline of the same. Smiling by Chinese may be either sign of happiness or sadness or even embarrassment. Winking in Chinese is taken as bad manners or rudeness. In addition, the Chinese refers a prolonged eye contact to someone as a sign of disrespect (Rowe, 2006). On the other hand, the smile is one of the most misunderstood facial expressions. The USA perceives a smile to take pace only in friendly surroundings or circles and not in serious engagements or activities. In Puerto Rico, the smile takes place among women while greeting each other. The urban men in Puerto Rico smile less often than the rural men. Smiles can be used as an interruption of conversations and a source of embarrassment at times. In the American setting and culture, children and people have been brought to identify the eye contact as a way of being attentive. Staring in the eyes to this culture is not permissible in public for either sex. In Anglo institutions, teachers often fell offended when a student is not maintaining eye contact in class as this is seen as a sign of not paying attention. An American for example expects to maintain eye contact with the person they are in a conversation with. This to the dominant Anglo culture implies truth and honesty. Gestures Despite the continuous movement of fingers being perceived as nervousness, the Chinese community prefer not to use the “koutou” gesture invented the more discreet to signify respect and inferiority through the continuous up and down movement of fingers which metaphorically depicted repeated bowing not with heads down to the ground but with the fingers to the table. This is normally used as a sign of respect from the younger generation towards the elderly and more superior persons in the community (Dodd, p.24). On the other hand, the shaking of hands is not utilized by persons or groups of people from different social status but rather used by persons of the equal social status. In most instances, if a person placed his/her hand in the position of the heart it would imply a sincere promise. At given instances, a person would kiss the left hand a gesture that is normally utilized by the female gender that implies self satisfaction. This is normally used if the women do not want other people to know they are satisfied which is a more introvert kind of expression (Ekman, 1973). In addition, the Chinese community do not like being laid a hand on by a stranger. The index finger is not to be used to beckon but rather the use of the face of the palm placed downward while moving fingers in a scratching motion as a way of calling someone (Ye, 2002).. While at the same time, the community uses both hands to hold something to be given to a visitor to portray respect. Touching or pointing to tip of one’s nose with a raised finger means it is me. Unlike the other world communities, the use of the hand in the Chinese culture is custom. The crossing of fingers in the culture signifies the value ten unlike in the American culture which signifies luck (Ekman, 1979). To the Anglo culture, the gestures are normally what people think of when a non verbal communication is mentioned. Some of the signs and gestures may be universal but may imply different things to different cultures. Nodding to the Anglo culture will signify acceptance whereas shaking of the head will signify denial or refusal to an idea or performance of a duty (Dodd, p.24). The signaling of a thumb in the USA means OK whereas greetings are normally delivered through the shaking of the hand irrespective of the status of the person as this is normally viewed as a sign of surrender and peace. To many Anglo Americans, the signaling of the palm up one finger is insulting (Gudykunst & Kim, p.234). Body space and body touch It is quite evidence that people from different cultures keep a certain predesigned distance between themselves and those individuals they are talking to. People from different cultures are perceived to handle space as non verbal gesture in a different way. For instance, for the Anglo culture only family members, sweethearts and children communicate within small distance intervals. Comparing this statement to Chinese, people from china stand further apart while communicating regardless of who is involved (Dodd, p.24). For the Anglo when two men are communicating the perfect distance to communicate in between is two feet a part (Goddard and Wierzbicka, 1997). Chinese people tend to do more touching as opposed to Anglo. It is quite usual to see two Chinese men walking together while holding hands which are not common gestures to the Anglos whereby people of the same sex never keeps a close distance. Anglos cultures always perceive that when people of the same sex hold hands they are homosexuals which are widely disgusted by them (Jacob, 2004). Touching to the Anglo culture has many interpretations. The touching of an Indian chid on the head is viewed as offensive. However the everyday lives which involve the need to stand close to a person is or being packed close to one another in a commuter bus is thought to be acceptable across all the cultures. In the United States, the shaking of hands which is a common form of greeting is not so often used as it is in the United Kingdom. The holding of hands by 2 adults walking side by side is normal in most American Anglo culture. This however is not common with two persons of the same gender as it is normally associated with intimacy. This act to other Anglo cultures especially of the Arab descent is an alienated act and offensive in some instances. The touching of different persons of different sexes is also of great concern depending on how and where the act is committed as it could also be penalized in a court of law if it was done in an inappropriate manner (Porter & Samovar, 4). In conclusion, it is evident that different cultures are accustomed to certain distance that will make them comfortable during their personal conversations. Further, the way human beings space themselves during communication does not necessarily depend on culture but one own choice. Different feelings may emerge between people of different cultures. In Anglos hugging and kissing are common ways of greeting which is not the same case in china. The Chinese culture differs significantly with the other cultures in the use of non verbal communication. In the American culture for instance, a person may smile to express happiness which is contrary to the Chinese culture as a person may smile if placed in an embarrassing or uncomfortable situation. The Chinese culture unlike many cultures would find the act of winking to be extremely rude which to some cultures could imply an invitation of some sort. The pointing of one finger is considered rude, as the culture prefers to utilize the whole hand. In addition, the use of eye contact despite it being a form of respect to many communities it is viewed as rudeness to the Chinese culture. Starring in the Chinese culture is uncommon and is seen as disrespectful especially among people who are in a group. This is evident as the community does not show affection signs in public as they for many instances avoid direct eye contact which to the culture is perceived as a sign of respect and politeness. References Baldwin, J, & Lindsley, S, 1994, Conceptualizations of culture. 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