Nonverbal Communication Like all animals, people communicate by their actions as well as b

Nonverbal Communication

Like all animals, people communicate by their actions as well as by the noises they make. Language is obviously essential for human beings, but it is not the whole story of human communication.

There are many different cultures in the world, and in each of them the children must learn a great many things that are expected of everyone who participates effectively in that culture. These things are taken for granted by everyone who shares the culture. When I say that they are taken for granted, I mean that nobody needs to describe them or write them down or try self-consciously to teach them to children. Indeed, the children begin to learn them before their linguistic skills are far enough developed to understand a verbal description of what they are learning. This kind of learning has sometimes been called "imitation," but that is much too simple an explanation for the complex processes that go on when a child learns what is normal and expected in his own community. Most of the norms (标准) are communicated to the child nonverbally, and he internalizes them as if no other possibilities existed. They are as much a part of him as his own body; he would no more question them than he would question the fact that he has two hands and two feet, but only one head.

What is an example of the sort of thing that children learn nonverbally？ One of the simplest examples to observe and analyze and discuss is the way people use clothing and bodily ornamentation (装饰) to communicate. At any particular time in any particular culture there is an accepted and normal way to dress and to arrange one's hair and to paint the face and to wear one's jewelry. By adopting those conventions for dressing himself, a person communicates to the world that he wants to be treated according to the standards of the culture for which they are appropriate. When a black person in America rejects the normal American dress and puts on African clothing, he is communicating to the world that he wants to be treated as an Afro-American. On the surface, dressing up in unusual costumes would seem to be one of the more innocent forms of dissent that a person would express, but in fact it is deeply resented by many people who still feel bound by the traditional conventions of their culture and who become fearful or angry when those norms are violated. The nonverbal message that such a costume communicates is "I reject your culture and your values," and those who resent this message can be violent in their response.

Eye contact also has an important role in regulating conversational interactions. In America, a typical pattern is for the listener to signal that he is paying attention by looking at the talker's mouth or eyes. Since direct eye contact is often too intimate, the talker may let his eyes wonder elsewhere. As the moment arrives for the talker to become a listener, and for his partner to begin talking, there will often be a preliminary signal. The talker will often look toward the listener, and the listener will signal that he is ready to talk by glancing away.

Such eye signals will vary, of course, depending on what the people are talking about and what the personal relation is between them. But whatever the pattern of eye signals that two people are using, they use them unconsciously. If you try to become aware of your own eye movements while you are talking to someone, y6u will find it extremely frustrating. As soon as you try to think self-consciously about your own eye movements, you don't know where you should be looking. If you want to study how the eyes communicate, therefore, you should do it by observing other people, not yourself. But if you watch other people too intently, of course, you may disturb them or make them angry. So be careful!

Eye communication seems to be particularly important for Americans. It is part of the American culture that pe

A．Y

B．N

C．NG