15. Kinesics: the intercultural aspect of body motion communication.

Edward Sapir wrote that we respond to gestures in accordance with an elab­orate and secret code that is written nowhere, known by none, and under­stood by all. Even though people can often identify a certain type of com­munication behavior when they see it, they may not be able to describe the behavior when asked.

Body motion language, like vocalic language, culture by culture is com­posed of distinctive elements that can be, by rules for coding, combined in a virtually infinite number of ordered combinations that rule the commu­nicative aspects of human behavior.

Finns and Japanese do not seem to have any body language. I say do not seem because in fact both cultural groups do use body language that is well under­stood by fellow nationals in each country. In both societies the control and disci­plined management of emotions leads to the creation of a restrained type of body language that is so subtle that it goes unnoticed by the foreign eye. Because Finns and Japanese are accustomed to looking for minimal signs, the blatantly demonstrative body language of multi-active Italians, Arabs and South Ameri­cans is very disconcerting for them (cultural shock). The danger is, of course, that overreaction sets in—a judgmen­tal reaction to the multi-active's expressive body language. Japanese consider Americans and Germans as charging bulls; Finns see the French as too clever, Italians as overemotional and even Danes as a bit slick.

According to Hall, we have specialized the language of the body to be congruent with everything we do; therefore it must be understood in its cul­tural context. Just as there are no universal words or sound complexes that carry the same meaning universally (the symbols of verbal language are to­tally arbitrary), so there are no body motions, facial expressions, or gestures that have identical meaning across cultures. With regard to body motion language, Ray L. Birdwhistell wrote, "Not only is kinesic activity systemat­ically patterned, but this pattern varies significantly from culture to culture and even from subgroup to subgroup." Even so, there is a prevalent belief by persons of any specific culture that they themselves practice a natural pat­tern of movement—communication through kinesics—that people of other cultures must have learned badly, not evolved to, or lost.

Research by Birdwhistell indicates that the body motion languages of French, Germans, and North Americans vary to a degree comparable to the range of differences heard when these languages are spoken. There is, at least for Western European languages, a set of necessary and formal body motion behaviors that are directly tied to linguistic structure. Studies show that the Kutenai of British Columbia move differently when speaking Kutenai than when speaking English. Fiorello La Guardia of New York spoke Italian, Yiddish, and American English. In studying film clips, kinesicists or any observer familiar with the three cultures could immediately determine which language he was speaking—even with the sound of the film clips re­moved. An equally manifest shift in behavior was evident in a U.S. Amer­indian who spoke Taos and English, and also in a Lebanese who was simi­larly transformed when switching from English to Arabic then French. There is a systematic relationship between audible and visible communica­tive behavior. They are coercive and interdependent language systems.

Cultures tend to concentrate activity in certain body areas and permit the activity of others only under certain limited circumstances, which is in­teresting in the study of national character. Even on fairly casual observa­tion, distinctions in body motion communication are so evident that the children of one family that frequently traveled internationally invented a body language game when waiting for inevitably delayed flights in airports. The children would try to guess from a distance the nationality of people (all in Western dress) from their gestures and body language. Then one of the children would sidle over near the speakers to hear what language they were speaking or otherwise identify nationality to see if their guesses were correct.

One aspect of intercultural communication which is often open to misinterpretation is this one of smiling or laughing. Many researchers have argued that smiles or laughing are universal human char­acteristics which we all immediately understand. This is, of course, true. There is little doubt that any human being would know when some other human was smiling.

Communication research supports the view that there are some universal patterns of facial expression. There appears to be the most agreement that happiness is recognizable. However, cultural rules may dictate the use of a facial expression for other purposes. In China and Japan "happiness" may express anger or mask sadness, both of which cul­ture dictates one may not overtly show. A Westerner may be confused by the smiling explanation of an employee in Japan that she was absent because her mother died. The employee is smiling because one should not inflict the unpleasantness of grief on others. A smile portrays friendliness in one soci­ety, embarrassment in another, and in yet another may contain the warning that unless tension is reduced, attack will follow.

Physiologists have estimated that the musculature of the face can produce over twenty thousand different facial expressions.

While Americans primarily associate smiling with friendliness, a smile can mean something different in another culture. In Japan, people smile when they are sad, happy, apologetic, angry, or con­fused. In Korean culture, smiling signals shallowness and thought­lessness. The Korean attitude toward smiling is expressed in the proverb, "The man who smiles a lot is not a real man." Lack of smiling by Koreans has often been misinterpreted as hostility when Korean shopkeepers interact with non-Korean customers. After the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Byung Sik Hong, a Korean American management expert, began coaching Korean immigrants in Los Angeles and other counties about the importance of smiling and other ways to convey friendliness to Americans.

A second aspect of kinesic behavior or body movement that is immedi­ately noticed when one travels between Asia and western countries is bow­ing. Most of us will be quite aware of the fact that shaking hands in the west is the most common form of greeting, especially when being introduced to someone or when seeing someone whom one has not seen for a long time. In Asia there is considerable variability in practices, which include bowing as the main form in Japan and Korea, but also sometimes including shaking hands when westerners are involved. The traditional Chinese practice of clasping one's hands before the chest while making a short bow is now rarely seen outside of movies depicting an earlier time.

There are several problems which arise with these practices. Such greet­ings are distributed differently in different Asian countries (Japanese and Koreans bow more frequently and more deeply than Chinese), and cultural changes are bringing about changes in these practices. Furthermore, in western countries changes are taking place in handshaking practices. For example, it is now generally assumed that when a woman and a man are introduced they will shake hands in acknowledgement of the introduction, especially, of course, in professional or business circles. It has only been relatively recently, however, that this practice has been widely accepted. Even just a few years ago, it was somewhat unusual for men and women to shake hands. They would generally have nodded to each other.

Kinesics can be classified as follows:

EMBLEMS (GESTURES). Emblems are body movements that can be translated into words and that are used intentionally to transmit a message. One type of emblem that is particularly important, perhaps ranking second only to facial expressions, is hand gestures. People talk with their hands. Hand gestures like the thumbs up or the thumb and forefinger circle (okay) sign, the palm outward gesture (silence, or stop), and circling a forefinger near- one's head (crazy) all have a widely understood meaning in the United States. But the meanings of these emblems may be quite different in another nation. For example, the thumb and forefinger circle is a sign for the sex act in some Latin American nations. The North American thumbs-up gesture of approbation has obscene "middle-finger" meaning in many Middle Eastern nations, in Australia, and in Nigeria. Imagine the amazement of many global TV watchers when the U.S. presidential nominee Bill Clinton signified his pleasure by the thumbs-up sign at the 1992 Democratic Convention. One can just envision the amazed reaction of global TV watchers whose interpretation of the thumbs-up gesture was different.

There are gender differences as well as cultural differences in hand ges­tures. An emblem unique to Japanese women is the hand held in front of the mouth when smiling or laughing. People from the United States perceive this gesture as girlish, polite, and cute. Only women in Japan cover their mouth when smiling. Men never do.

Don't use the crooked-index-finger "come here" gesture with Japanese or other Asian people. Japan is not the only country where this gesture has negative connotations. In Yugoslavia and Malaysia, it is used to call animals; in Indonesia and Australia, the gesture beckons prostitutes; in Viet­nam, this gesture is used to call animals or to beckon an inferior. Frequently, when used between persons of equal status, it becomes an act of hostility. Among other Southeast Asians, it is a threaten­ing gesture to children and an insolent one to adults.

The hands are among the most expressive parts of the body. Immanuel Kant called them "the visible parts of the brain." There are entire books written on hand gestures.

Head. In addition to hand gestures, head movements can also communicate non-verbally. Like hand movements, head movements differ from one culture to another. In India the head gesture for a positive response to a question is a sideways movement which is perceived by most non-Indians as a head shake meaning no. But after visiting India for a period of time, the typical foreigner is likely to have picked up the sideways head nod. When the per­son returns to the home country and uses shaking the head sideways to mean yes, further confusion occurs. In Turkey, an up-and-down movement of the head conveys a negative rather than a positive expression (as in the United States).

It is said that the mouth is one of the busiest parts of the human body, except in Finland where it is hardly used (except for eating and drinking). This is, of course, not strictly true, but most societies convey a variety of expressive moods by the way they cast their lips. The tight-lipped Finn shrinks away from such communicative indulgences as the mouth shrug (French), the pout (Italian), the broad and trust-inviting smile (American) or even the fixed polite smile of the Asian. Kissing one's fingertips to indicate praise (Latin) or blowing at one's finger-tip (Saudi Arabian) to request silence are gestures alien to the Nordic and Asian cultures.

In Albania, shaking the head from side to side means "yes" and nodding the head up and down means "no."

Reversal of meaning of yes/no head gestures occurs in Bulgaria, too.

People from Southern India tilt their heads to one side or both to indicate agreement.

On many South Pacific Islands, they signal yes by raising their eyebrows.

The Rest of the Body. Multi-active cultural groups, far more than others, also use all the rest of their bodies to express themselves. For example, they have very mobile shoulders, normally kept still in northern societies. Latins keep their shoulders back and down when tranquil and observant but push them up and forward when alarmed, anxious or hostile.

Arms, which are used little by Nordics during conversation, are an indispen­sable element in one's communicative weaponry in Italy, Spain and South Amer­ica. Frequent gesticulating with the arms is one of the features Northern Europeans find hardest to tolerate or imitate, being associated with insincerity, overdramatization and therefore unreliability. As far as touching is concerned, however, the arm is the most neutral of body zones; even English will take guests by the elbow to guide them through doorways or indulge in the occasional arm pat to deserving subordinates or approaching friends.

As we move even further down the body, less evident but equally significant factors come into play. Even Northern Europeans participate in "leg language like everybody else. As no speech is required, it inflicts no strain on them." In gen­eral the "legs together" position signifies basically defensiveness against a back­ground of formality, politeness or subordination. Most people sit with their legs together when applying for a job; it indicates correctness of attitude. This position is quite common for Anglo-Saxons at first meetings, but they usually change to "legs crossed" as discussions become more informal. The formal Germans and Japanese can go through several meetings maintaining the legs-together position. There are at least half a dozen different ways of crossing your legs; the most for­mal is the crossing of ankles only, the average is crossing the knees, and the most relaxed and informal is the "ankle-on-knee" cross so common in North America.

In general, some research indicates that men use gestures more frequently than women, and the uneducated use gestures more frequently than the educated.

HAPTICS (TOUCH).

A set of cultural conventions guides who may touch whom, under what conditions, and where to touch. For instance, same-sex touching in the United States is more permissible than cross-sex touching. Male-to-male touching is much less frequent (except in sports) than female-to-female touching, perhaps out of fear that such touching might be perceived as indi­cating a sexual preference. The differences in the displays of touching are not only gender based, they are also determined by status. In business, higher-status employees generally initiate touch; lower-status employees are less likely to do so since the behavior could be interpreted as assuming a famil­iarity which does not exist.

Shaking hands is an example of differing cultural perceptions. In the United States, a moist handshake transmits a message that the individual is nervous or anxious. Most people in that culture feel that a firm handshake is appropriate, and that a weak handshake is wimpy. The Massai, who live in Kenya and Tanzania, barely let the palms touch during a handshake. In India, however, where handshaking is not practiced very widely as a form of greeting, a rather limp handshake is culturally appropriate. Indians gener­ally greet each other by holding their palms together in front of their chest, while saying Hello. An Indian may greet another person, such as a parent or teacher or other highly respected individual by touching his/her feet. In Korea and in Mali a person touches his/her right forearm with the left hand while shaking hands. Moroccans kiss the other person's hand while shaking. Kurdish people in Turkey bargain only while they are shaking hands, and they shake continuously until a deal is completed.

Islamic men may greet each other by embracing and kissing first on one cheek and then on the other, while saying an expression in Arabic like Salaam aleikum (Peace be with you). Thais greet each other with a wai (pro­nounced "wi"), which is executed by placing the hands together in a praying position in front of the chest. Japanese peo­ple greet each other with a bow. The depth of the bow depends on the other person's status. Bows entail bending at the waist at about 30 degrees, 45 degrees, or 90 degrees, depending on the relative status of the other person. One should not rise from the bow until the person of higher status has risen. The arms should be at the sides while bowing, and one should gaze down­ward.

Touch can cause misunderstanding in intercultural communication. In South Africa, a vigorous handshake is desirable, but in Latin America this is considered hostile; some cultures will not shake hands when they want to show respect. In Thailand, one does not touch another in public, and one never touches on the head. Gender roles also influence touching rituals. Culture carefully dictates the variations of acceptable touch. An orthodox Jew or a fundamentalist Muslim will not shake hands with (touch) a woman as a greeting or when being introduced, because such touch of a nonfamily female is not culturally permitted. North Americans in many social or busi­ness settings usually consider a light touch on the forearm between a man and a woman nonintrusive. However, even a small variation in the length or pressure of such a touch might well carry sexual overtones.

• Avoid body contact with Japanese people.

• It is taboo for unrelated Muslim males and females to have body contact.

• Unrelated Orthodox Jewish men and women cannot touch.

• Koreans as well as most Asian cultures avoid touching strangers, particularly between members of the opposite sex but between the same sex as well.

• The avoidance of body contact does not necessarily signify rejection or discrimination. It may be customary or even a sign of respect.

Kinesics may not be a major aspect of discourse. Nevertheless, as part of the contextual background within which our discourses take place, it is extremely important to remember that as humans we simply cannot ignore the interpretations and misinterpretations we are making in reading the non-verbal signals of other participants in the discourse.

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