Abstract

As a kind of ability unique to human beings, language is important obviously, but it is not the only approach of communication. Many times, people also transmit information and express thoughts with the help of non-verbal means, such as: eye contact, gesture, distance, clothing and so on. However, in intercultural communication, people always pay more attention to verbal communication, and neglect the training of non-verbal ability, which always gives rise to the barriers of intercultural communication. Non-verbal communication has risen as a discipline at abroad from 1950s. It has attracted much attention from birth and always been a hot topic in academia. Since the early 1990s, the study of non-verbal communication has also been pushed to a new high in china. And several remarkable achievements sprung up in the period.
This paper investigates the functions of non-verbal communication, and makes a discussion on the cultural differences of non-verbal communication between China and Britain. Through an in-depth study and multiple comparative analyses, the author emphasizes the importance of non-verbal communication again. And some approaches and matters needing attention are also put forward as a reference to improve cross-cultural communication. The thesis is composed of five parts. The first part serves as the introduction. The second part, also the first chapter of the main body, is about the concepts of non-verbal communication and culture. The following two chapters are the most important parts in this paper, in which both the functions and the cultural differences of nonverbal communication are discussed. The last part is the conclusion.

Key words: culture; non-verbal communication; intercultural communication

摘  要

语言作为人类所独有的交际工具，其重要性不言而喻，但它却不是唯一的交际渠道。很多时候，人们还使用许多非语言的方式传播信息和表达思想，如：眼神、手势、服装及体距等等。然而在跨文化交际中，人们总是注重语言，而忽视非语言交际能力的培养，因此常常引起跨文化交际的失败。作为一门学科，非语言交际在国外的研究历史已达半个世纪之久,而且自产生之日起就备受关注并成为学术界研究的热门话题。我国也于上世纪90年代掀起了非语言交际研究的高潮，而且成果卓著。
本文在探究非语言交际功能的基础上，进一步对中英非语言交际的文化差异进行论述。通过深入学习和对比分析，作者再次提出非语言交际的重要性并总结出了一些推动跨文化交际顺利进行的方式方法和注意事项作为读者参考。全文一共分为五部分。第一部分是引入部分；第二部分，也就是正文第一章介绍了了非语言交际和文化的基本概念；正文第二章和第三章是全文的重点部分，其中着重介绍了非语言交际的功能，并深入探讨了中英非语言交际的文化差异及差异产生原因。最后一部分是全文的结论部分。
        
关键词： 文化；非语言交际 ； 跨文化交际；