When studying foreign speech, don’t forget about body language, says Anne Merritt.
學(xué)習(xí)外國語言時，別忘了身體語言，語言學(xué)作家安妮·梅里特講到。

Something as simple as a smile can display friendliness in one culture, embarrassment in another, impatience in a third. Even silence means different things in different places.
有些動作，簡單如一個微笑，可以在第一種文化中表示友好，第二種中表示尷尬，第三種中表示不耐煩。甚至沉默在不同的地方也有不同的意味。

Language learners will put a lot of time (and money) into mastering the vocabulary and structure of a foreign language without ever considering these non-linguistic parts of communication.
語言學(xué)習(xí)者投資了大量的時間（和金錢）去掌握一門外語的詞匯和語法結(jié)構(gòu)，卻從來沒有考慮過這些在溝通過程中和語言學(xué)無關(guān)的方面。

To help you master these significant parts of communication – or simply avoid making an embarrassing faux pas – here are four non-verbal traits that vary from culture to culture...
為了幫助大家掌握這些交流中的重要方面——或者只是簡單地避免失態(tài)——以下是四種在多個國家文化中各不相同的身體語言……

Gestures
手勢

When trying to communicate through a language barrier, it’s natural to use gestures as a way of illustrating your point. We assume it’s helpful, since our words are being visually reinforced. Hand motions are, however, culturally relative, and the wrong gesture can inadvertently lead to confusion or offence.
嘗試戰(zhàn)勝語言障礙交流的時候，自然而然地就會用手勢作為一種描述自己觀點(diǎn)的方式。我們認(rèn)為這會有所幫助，因?yàn)檫@樣一來我們說的話會在視覺上得以強(qiáng)調(diào)。然而，手勢和文化相關(guān)，錯誤地使用手勢會在無意中帶來交流中的困惑或冒犯。

The thumbs-up sign is equivalent to the middle finger in Greece and Sardinia. Tapping your finger to your temple is a gesture to show memory in North America, but suggests insanity in Russia. Even nodding yes or shaking one’s head no can be misunderstood abroad. The yes-no gestures are reversed in countries like Bulgaria and Albania. In Turkey, “no” is gestured by nodding the head up and back.
在希臘和撒丁島，豎大拇指等同于豎中指。用手指敲太陽穴，在北美表示記憶，在俄羅斯則表示精神錯亂，甚至連點(diǎn)頭肯定或者搖頭否定在國外也可以被誤解。這個肯定和否定的方式在諸如保加利亞和阿爾巴尼亞這樣的國家是反著的。在土耳其，否定是通過上下點(diǎn)頭表示的。

It’s not just the individual gestures that can cause miscommunication, but the rate of gesturing. Some societies, like Italy and Spain, are known for talking with their hands. Others are more reserved with body movement as a form of politeness. In parts of East Asia, gesturing is considered boorish behaviour, and would be rude in a professional setting.
不僅是這些單個的手勢可以造成錯誤傳達(dá)，還有手勢的使用程度。在有些國家，像意大利和西班牙，人們以用手勢交談著稱。其他國家在使用身體語言方面則更加保守以表示禮貌。在有些東亞地區(qū)，使用手勢被認(rèn)為是粗魯?shù)男袨?，而且在職業(yè)場合中會很無禮。

Silence
沉默

Though it can feel like a void in communication, silence can be very meaningful in different cultural contexts. Western cultures, especially North America and the UK, tend to view silence as problematic. In our interactions at work, school, or with friends, silence is uncomfortable. It is often perceived as a sign of inattentiveness or disinterest.
盡管沉默感覺上是交流的空缺，它卻可以在不同的文化背景中充滿含義。西方文化中，尤其在北美和英國，傾向于將沉默看做有疑問的。平時在工作，學(xué)校以及和朋友的交流互動中，沉默是讓人不舒服的。它通常被當(dāng)作不在意或者不感興趣的表現(xiàn)。

In other cultures, however, silence is not viewed as a negative circumstance. In China, silence can be used to show agreement and receptiveness. In many aboriginal cultures, a question will be answered only after a period of contemplative silence. In Japan, silence from women can be considered an expression of femininity.Though the North American/European instinct may be to fill the silence, this can be cross-culturally perceived as pushy and arrogant.
然而，在其他文化中，沉默卻不是負(fù)面的反應(yīng)。在中國，沉默可以用來表示認(rèn)同和接受。在許多土著文化中，一個問題提出后，只有在沉默中思考之后，才會有人回答。在日本，女性的沉默被看作是女性氣質(zhì)的展現(xiàn)。盡管北美/歐洲人的直接反應(yīng)是去填補(bǔ)沉默的空缺，這在其他文化中卻會被認(rèn)為是愛出風(fēng)頭或者自大的表現(xiàn)。

Touch
身體接觸

Britain, along with much of Northern Europe and the Far East, is classed as a “non-contact” culture, in which there’s very little physical contact in people’s daily interactions. Even accidentally brushing someone’s arm is grounds for an apology. By comparison, in the high-contact cultures of the Middle East, Latin America, and southern Europe, physical touch is a big part of socialising.
英國以及大多數(shù)北歐和遠(yuǎn)東國家，被歸為“沒有身體接觸”的文化，因?yàn)槿藗兊娜粘；又袔缀鯖]有身體接觸。甚至不小心擦到別人的手臂也必須要道歉。與之形成對比的，是中東，拉丁美洲和南歐等這些人與人之間有著頻繁身體接觸的國家——身體接觸是社交活動中的很大一部分。

What’s more, there are different standards for who touches whom and where. 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.
此外，關(guān)于誰和誰接觸以及接觸哪個部位都有不同的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。在大多數(shù)阿拉伯世界，男性之間會在問候的時候握手并親對方，但絕不會對女性做同樣的事情。在泰國和老撾，觸摸任何人的頭部，甚至小孩子，都是禁忌。

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. Naturally, these different standards of contact can lead to misunderstanding. An Argentinian may see a Scandinavian as cold and aloof, while the Scandinavian may see the Argentinian as pushy and presumptuous.
在南韓，年長者想要穿過人群時可以使些力氣去碰觸年輕人，但是年輕人不能這樣做。這些不同的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)自然可能引發(fā)誤解。一個阿根廷人也許認(rèn)為斯堪的納維亞人冷漠，然而這個斯堪的納維亞人則可能認(rèn)為阿根廷人自大冒昧。

Eye Contact
眼神接觸

In most western countries, frequent eye contact is a sign of confidence and attentiveness. We tend to assume that a conversation partner who looks away is either disengaged or lying. Of course, this is not the standard around the world.
在大多數(shù)西方國家，頻繁的眼神接觸是自信和專注的表現(xiàn)。人們傾向于認(rèn)為眼神飄離的談話者要么不在意，要么在說謊。當(dāng)然，這絕不是世界標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。

In many Middle Eastern countries, same-gender eye contact tends to be more sustained and intense than the western standard. In many Asian, African, and Latin American countries, however, this unbroken eye contact would be considered aggressive and confrontational. These cultures tend to be quite conscious of hierarchy, and avoiding eye contact is a sign of respect for bosses and elders. In these parts of the world, children won’t look at an adult who is speaking to them, and nor will employees to their bosses.
在很多中東國家，同性間的眼神接觸比起西方國家會更多更久。然而，在很多亞洲，非洲和拉丁美洲國家，這種不間斷的眼神接觸會被認(rèn)為是充滿侵略和對抗意味的。這些國家很在意等級，避免眼神接觸是對老板和年長者表示尊重。在這些地區(qū)，孩子不會盯著對他們講話的大人看，員工也不會這樣看老板。

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