美國人的肢體語言

Nonverbal Communication

美國人的肢體語言

The boy and girl glance around the crowded room. Their eyes meet. Embarrassed, they look away. Nervously, they steal glances at each other, averting their eyes when they see the other one looking back. The boy acts cool, crossing his legs and affecting a casual air-even though his heart is beating wildly. The girl, obviously smitten herself, is afraid the boy will see her looking at him. A few seconds pass. He looks at her again. She starts to blush. He nervously looks at the ceiling and whistles softly to himself. They continue their cat-and-mouse game for a seemingly inter-minable period of time. Will they ever talk to each other?

那個男孩和女孩瞥視那擁擠的屋內。他們的視線相遇了。不好意思，又把視線挪開。惴惴不安地，他們互相偷看着，當發現對方也在回望自己時，又轉移視線。男孩表現得很酷，交叉着雙腿，裝着一副漫不經心的樣子--雖然他的心正狂野地跳動着；女孩，顯然地已墜入情網，很怕男孩看到自己在看他。幾秒鐘過去了，他再度看她；她的臉紅了起來。他緊張地看着天花板，自己輕吹着口哨。他們似乎沒完沒了地玩着這個貓捉老鼠的遊戲。他們到底會不會交談呢？

The fact is, they have already communicated a lot, without ever saying anything. Nonverbal elements form a major part of any communication interchange. Some people would say it's the most important part. According to one study, words convey only 7 percent of a person's message. Intonation and voice quality communicate 38 percent, and nonverbal cues transmit a whopping 55 percent. That means people pick up more from nonverbal communication than from the words a person says. When studying about a foreign culture then, it just makes sense to pay attention to how people use nonverbal cues.

事實上，他們沒說一句就已經溝通過了。非語言之要素在任何形式的雙向溝通中佔了很重要的一部份。有些人會認爲那是最重要的一部份。根據一項研究，言語只傳達了百分之七的訊息。語調及音色傳達了百分之三十八，而非語言的暗示傳遞了極大的百分之五十五。這就表示了人們從非語言溝通中領悟到的比從說出來的話語中的還多。所以，在研習一個外國文化時，注意人們如何使用非語言暗示是很有道理的。

Gestures comprise a major form of nonverbal communication. In contrast to sign language, used by deaf people to communicate elaborate messages, gestures function as visual icons which represent a single idea. But often these gestures are embarrassingly culture-bound. For example, when the Maoris of New Zealand stick out their tongue at someone, it is a sign of respect. When American schoolchildren make the same gesture, it means just the opposite. Also, Americans often indicate "OK" with their thumb and forefinger touching to form a circle. The same gesture means "money" to the Japanese, "zero" to the French and a vulgarity to Brazilians. For that reason, people in a foreign culture must use gestures with caution.

手勢是非語言傳達中很重要的一環。與聾人用來溝通複雜訊息所使用的手語不同的是，手勢的功能就像是視覺上的圖像，它代表的是單一的意念。而往往這些手勢極受文化限制，甚至造成尷尬的誤解。例如，當紐西蘭的毛利人對某人伸舌頭，這是尊敬的表象。當美國學童作同樣的動作時，它表達的意思正好相反。還有，美國人通常用大拇指及食指環繞起一個圓圈表示「沒問題」。同樣的手勢對日本人是「錢」的意思，對法國人是「零」的意思，對巴西人是極低俗的手勢。因此，處在外國文化中的人必須小心地使用手勢。

Another cultural aspect of nonverbal communication is one that you might not think about: space. Every person perceives himself to have a sort of invisible shield surrounding his physical body. When someone comes too close, he feels uncomfortable. When he bumps into someone, he feels obligated to apologize. But the size of a person's "comfort zone" varies, depending on his cultural or ethnic origin. For example, in casual conversation, many Americans stand about four feet apart. In other words, they like to keep each other "at arm's length." People in Latin or Arab cultures, in contrast, stand very close to each other, and touch each other often. If someone from one of those cultures stands too close to an American while in conversation, the American may feel uncomfortable and back away.

另一個非語言溝通的文化層面可能是你不會想到的東西：空間距離。每一個人都會假想在自己身體四周有一種隱形的盾牌。當有人太靠近時，他會覺得不舒服。而當他不小心撞到別人時，他會覺得非道歉不可。但是每個人的「舒服區」的大小各有不同，這與其文化或種族有關。例如，在閒談時，許多美國人維持着大約四呎遠的距離。也就是說，他們喜歡讓彼此保持一隻手臂的距離。而相反的，拉丁或是阿拉伯文化的人，彼此站得很近，他常互相碰觸。假如一個來自於這些文化的人在談話時站得太靠近美國人，那個美國人會覺得不舒服，而退後一步。

When Americans are talking, they expect others to respond to what they are saying. To Americans, polite conversationalists empathize by displaying expressions of excitement or disgust, shock or sadness. People with a "poker face," whose emotions are hidden by a deadpan expression, are looked upon with suspicion. Americans also indicate their attentiveness in a conversation by raising their eyebrows, nodding, smiling politely and maintaining good eye contact. Whereas some cultures view direct eye contact as impolite or threatening, Americans see it as a sign of genuineness and honesty. If a person doesn't look you in the eye, Americans might say you should question his motives-or assume that he doesn't like you. Yet with all the concern for eye contact, Americans still consider staring-especially at strangers-to be rude.

當美國人在談話時，他們期望別人對其所講的有所響應。對他們來說，有禮貌的談話者應該靠着表示出驚喜、討厭、吃驚或悲哀的表情來與別人心領神會。那種帶着一張「撲克臉孔」的人，他的情緒隱藏於毫無表情的面容下，會被別人以懷疑的眼光看待。美國人在談話中也會以揚眉、點頭、有禮貌的微笑以及保持適度的目光接觸來表示他們的注意。然而某些文化的人認爲直接的凝視是不禮貌而具有威脅感的；美國人認爲這是一個真摯誠懇的表徵。假如一個人不用正眼看你，美國人可能會覺得，你應該要對他的動機起疑，或者假設他不喜歡你。即使目光接觸有其利害關係，美國人也是認爲瞪着眼睛看人--特別是對陌生人--是不禮貌的。

Considering the influence of nonverbal communication, we never really stop communicating. How we walk, how we stand, how we use our hands, how we position our bodies, how we show emotions-all send a message to others. That's why it's possible, as the saying goes, to "read someone like a book." And if you read the person right, as the boy and girl in the crowded room later discovered, it just might turn into a love story.

想到非語言溝通的影響範圍，我們其實從未真的停止溝通過。我們如何走路、站立、如何用雙手、如何舉手投足、如何表現情緒，都發送出一個訊息。這也就是爲什麼可以做到像俗語所說的：「看一個人像讀一本書一樣。」假如你看懂了一個人，就像在那擁擠房間中的男孩及女孩後來發現的一樣，也許就會變成一個愛的故事。