nonverbalcommunication跨文化交际.ppt

What’s wrong here? Case study One of the very common manners of touching handshaking may result in conflict when performed with no consideration of cultural differences. Among middle-class North American men, it is customary to shake hands as a gesture of friendship. When wanting to communicate extra friendliness, a male in the U.S. may, while shaking hands, grasp with his left hand his friend’s right arm. Once, a North American businessman visiting Middle Eastern countries attempted to emphasize the sincerity of his friendship in this manner to his Saudi Arabian business partner. However, the Saudi Arabian business man was greatly displeased. Why? In the Muslin world, the left hand is profane (亵渎的) and touching some one with it is highly offensive. 1.2 Paralanguage (伴随语言) It refers to voice characteristics and vocal qualities. Paralinguistics is the study of such non-semantic aspects of speech as tone, volume, pitch and tempo, pause and the like which are together with verbal information. Our voice may be one of the most informative elements in building up our images. (1) Pitch Pitch decides hesitation or emphasis. When one is excited, his/her voice would be high in pitch, quick in rate, and there will be no pauses between sentences; When one is sad or depressed, his/her voice traits would surely be the opposite. (2) Volume Control The English always speak in lower voice than Chinese when they make speech or a lecture, or talking with each other, or phoning. But Chinese often speak in loud voice in the aforesaid occasions. American are more skilled in regulating their voice volume and use very many different volume levels depending on the size of the audience and the physical environment. (3) Silence Silence can be longer between friends or intimates than the strangers who have to converse. Chinese pay more attention to the function of silence in the talking, an