摘 要

语言作为人类交际的重要工具主要包括口头语言，书面语言以及肢体语言。其中肢体语言包括一个人的眼神交流、面部表情、手势、身体姿态以及体触等等。人们在向外界传递信息时，通过肢体语言传递的信息甚至比有声语言所传递的信息还要多。由于肢体动作往往是人们下意识的行为，因而它更能反映出人们的真实心理状态，传递更为正确的信息。然而，在人际交往过程中，其功能和意义常常被忽视了。此外，由于文化差异、风俗习惯等各方面的原因，不同文化背景下的肢体语言存在着差异性。在跨文化交际过程中，对肢体语言文化差异性的忽视很可能导致误解甚至是文化冲突。
本文旨在通过分析肢体语言的交际功能，比较肢体语言在不同文化背景下的差异性来探讨导致差异性的原因。对肢体语言进行全面解密以唤起人们对肢体语言交际功能的认识并且提高跨文化交际的质量。
  
关键词：肢体语言；交际功能；差异性；原因

Abstract

Language, as an important tool of interpersonal communication, includes verbal language, written language and body language. Body language consists of eye contacts, facial expressions, gestures, body postures and touch. When a person communicates information, the body language usually carries much more information than the verbal language. Since the body actions are often done by people subconsciously, body language can better reflect people’s real state of mind and deliver correct messages. However, the functions and significance of body language have always been overlooked in the course of communication. Moreover, due to the cultural dissimilarities, different customs and some other reasons, body languages from different cultures contain many different features. In cross-cultural communication, ignorance of these kinds of cultural differences in body language is likely to cause misunderstandings and even cultural conflicts.
This paper is intended to probe into possible causes of the differences in body languages  through an analysis of body languages’ communicative functions and a comparison of body languages under different cultures for the purpose of  arousing people’s awareness of the different body languages and improving the quality of cross-cultural communication.

Keywords: body language; communicative functions; differences; causes

Chapter 1 Introduction
Culture arises along with the generation of human society. With an ancient and continuous history, culture has accumulated and coagulated the crystallization and essence of human civilization. Just like the totem of a nation, a national culture transmits the spirit and identity of the nation from generation to generation. Whereas, as the key part of culture, language is the carrier of culture. It preserves, disseminates, strengthens, and transmits culture.