ABSTRACT

Although many people know that verbal communication is one of the most important ways to convey information, few people would recognize the importance of nonverbal communication. Actually, “seventy percent of what we say is conveyed nonverbally” [Knapp, M. & Hall, J.A., (1992) Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction (3rd ED)]. And nonverbal communication is a window to see people’s feelings as well. However, it will lead to embarrassment or even produce terrible social networks if you don’t know its characteristics. So, the objective of the thesis is to make out the role that nonverbal communication plays in the context of intercultural communication. The author will take The Joy Luck Club as an example. Through dividing its positive and negative effects in this thesis, the author will assert that nonverbal communication is a sword with two sides in the process of intercultural communication. Only if people understand the point will they use nonverbal communication better and avoid making some errors.

Key words: Nonverbal Communication  Intercultural Communication  The Joy Luck Club

摘  要

尽管许多人都知道语言是传递信息的最重要方式之一，鲜少有人认识到非语言交流的重要性。事实上，“我们所传达的70%内容都是非语言的”，并且通过非语言这扇窗，我们可以窥见人们的内心情感。但非语言交流也有其弊端，不正确的使用会让交流双方感到尴尬甚至造成糟糕的人际关系。本文的任务就是厘清非语言交流在跨文化交流的作用。作者会以电影《喜福会》为研究对象，通过区分它的利弊两方面来呈现非语言交流在跨文化交流中双刃剑的作用。只有理解这一点，人们才能避免在交流过程中犯一些错误。

关键词：非语言交流  跨文化交流  喜福会

Chapter One    Introduction
1.1 The Joy Luck Club
The Joy Luck Club is adapted from a same name written by Amy Tan. With the help of the editor Amy Tan and some other stuff, the director Wayne Wang put the famous novel into scene in 1993. The main contents of the movie tell stories about four Chinese mothers and their American-born daughters.
The beginning of the movie is about June. After having visited her two twins-sisters back, she was catching up to a regular party held by her mother’s friends. The main characters of this party were all her dead mother’s good friends and their daughters. They always play Chinese Mahjong together. But at that time, June replaces her mother for her mother’s absence.