摘要

随着世界的全球化趋势，非语言交流对于促进国际间的文化、政治、经济交流变得越来越重要，空间距离学作为非语言交流不可分割的一部分，是对人类空间行为的研究。了解空间距离学可以帮助不同文化背景的人们消除在空间距离上产生的误会，由此促进跨文化交流的顺利进行。本论文介绍了空间距离学的来源，定义，内容及其重要性，并举例阐述空间距离学在不同文化中的表现，最后通过分析两个文化模式（低语境、高语境; 个人主义和集体主义）揭示空间距离学所蕴含的文化差异。

关键词：非语言交流，空间距离学，文化差异

ABSTRACT

Nonverbal communication is becoming more and more important to boost the cultural, political and economic communication as the world becomes more globalized. As an indispensable component of non-verbal communication, proxemics aims to study people’s use of space. The knowledge of proxemics can promote cross-cultural communication and diffuse misunderstanding between cultures. This paper first introduces the origin, the definitions, the contents and the importance of proxemics, and then focuses on illustrating different countries’ perceptions of proxemics; finally, this paper explains the cultural implications behind proxemics from two culture patterns: low context and high context, individualism and collectivism.

Key words: nonverbal communication, proxemics, culture difference

1  Introduction
The term "proxemics", the study of the human use of space within the context of culture, was coined by an anthropologist Edward Twitchell. Hall in 1963. The foundation for Hall’s lifelong research on cultural perceptions of space was laid during World War II when he served in the U.S. Army in Europe and the Philippines. During this time, as well as during his subsequent service as director of the Foreign Service Institute training program for technicians assigned to overseas duty, Hall observed many difficulties created by failures of intercultural communication. Hall began to believe that basic differences in the way that members of different cultures perceived reality were responsible for miscommunications of the most fundamental kind. Since then, He has published numerous practical and academic books on cross-cultural communication.
In The Hidden Dimension, Hall developed his theory of proxemics, arguing that human perceptions of space, although derived from sensory apparatus that all humans share, are molded and patterned by culture. He argued that differing cultural frameworks for defining and organizing space, which are internalized in all people at an unconscious level, can lead to serious failures of communication and understanding in cross-cultural settings.