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Module 3 Reading Greetings Around the World If you say the word "communication", most people think of words and sentences. Although these are very important, we communicate with more than just spoken and written words. Indeed, body positions are part of what we call "body language". We see examples of unconscious body language very often, yet there is also "learned" body language, which varies from culture to culture. We use "learned" body language when we are introduced to strangers. Like other animals, we are on guard until we know it is safe to relax. So every culture has developed a formal way to greet strangers, to show them we are not aggressive. Traditionally, Europeans and Americans shake hands. They do this with the right hand—the strongest hand for most people. If our right hand is busy greeting someone, it cannot be holding a weapon. So the gesture is saying, "I trust you. Look, I'm not carrying a threatening weapon." If you shake hands with someone, you show you trust them. We shake hands when we make a deal. It means, "We agree and we trust each other." Greetings in Asian countries do not involve touching the other person, but they always involve the hands. Traditionally in China, when we greet someone, we put the right hand over the left and bow slightly. Muslims give a "salaam", where they touch their heart, mouth and forehead. Hindus join their hands and bow their heads in respect. In all of these examples, the hands are busy with the greeting and cannot hold a weapon. Even today, when some people have very informal styles of greeting, they still use their hands as a gesture of trust. American youths often greet each other with the expression, "Give me five!" One person then holds up his hand, palm outwards and five fingers spread. The other person raises his hand and slaps the other's open hand above the head in a "high five". Nowadays, it is quite a common greeting. Body language is fascinating for anyone to study. People give away much more by their gestures than by their words. Look at your friends and family and see if you are a mind reader! Module 3 身势语 说起“交流”，大多数人会想到单词或句子，虽然单词与句子十分重要，但我们并不只是用口语和书面语进行交流，身体的姿态是我们所称的“身势语”的一部分。我们经常看到无意识的身势语，但也有“习得”的身势语。习得的身势语在不同的文化中各不相同。 当我们被介绍给生人时，我们使用“习得的”身势语。跟动物一样，我们会保持警觉，直至知道安全的时候才放松。因此，在所有的文化中人们都有一种向陌生人打招呼的正规的方式，以表示他们并不具有侵犯倾向。欧美人的传统是握手，他们用右手握手——右手对多数人来说更有力一些。假如右手用于忙着与人打招呼就不可能握武器。因此，这种手势的意思是“我信任你，瞧，我没带威胁性的武器”，假如你和人握手，就是在表明你信任他们。我们在做交易时与人握手，意思就是“我们达成了协议，相互信任”。 亚洲人打招呼是不接触他人身体的，但他们要用手。与人打招呼时，中国人的传统方式是右手放在左手上，拱手，稍稍躬身而行礼。穆斯林行额手鞠躬礼，用手触左胸、嘴和额。印度人双手交合，恭敬地鞠躬。在上述例子中，手都在忙于打招呼，不可能拿武器。 即使是现在，人们在非正式场合打招呼时，还会用手来表示信任对方。美国青年常常说着“击掌”来打招呼。说完后这个人举起手，手掌向外，五指展开。另一个人同样举起手，拍打对方举过头顶的手。这是现代常见的打招呼方式。 身势语对于任何研究者来说都具有吸引力。人们通过姿势表达的意思要比通过话语表达得更多。看看你的朋友和家人，你能洞悉他们的心思吗？ Cultural Corner Clapping Why do we clap? To show we like something, of course. But we don't clap at the end of a television programme or a book, however good they are. We clap at the end of a live performance, such as a play, or a concert, to say thank you to the performers. First they give, and then we give. Without us—the audience—the performance would not be complete. The custom of clapping has early beginnings. In classical Athens, applause meant judgement and taking part. Plays were often in competition with each other, and prolonged clapping helped a play to win. The theatre was large —it could hold 14,000 people, half the adult male population of the city, which meant that the audience could make a lot of noise. Applause was a sign of being part of the community, and of equality between actors and audience. The important thing was to make the noise together, to add one's own small handclap to others. Clapping is social, like laughter: you don't very often clap or laugh out loud alone. It is like laughter in another way, too: it is infectious, and spreads very quickly. Clapping at concerts and theatres is a universal habit. But some occasions on which people clap change from one country to another. For example, in Britain people clap at a wedding, but in Italy they sometimes clap at a funeral. |
