1. Introduction 1
2. Literature review 2
2.1 Conceptions of relative words 2
2.2 Overseas and domestic literature review on body language 3
3. Comparison of body language in Chinese and American cultures 5
3.1 Same body language with the same meaning 6
3.2 Same body language with different meanings 7
3.3 Different body language with the same meaning 11
3.4 Unique body language exists in Chinese and American culture respectively 13
4. How to improve the ability of intercultural communication 14
5. Conclusion 15
Acknowledgements 16
References 17
ABSTRACT
Body language is a very important part in human language and it plays a vital role in Sino-American cross-cultural communication. Divided into gestures, posture, eye contacts and facial expressions, the body language in China and America had been compared and analyzed from four aspects by case analysis and comparison method. The four aspects included (1) the same body language with the same meaning, (2) the same body language with different meanings; (3) different body language with the same meaning, (4) the special body language exists in Chinese and American culture respectively. Furthermore, cultural background of body language in two countries was discussed. Results showed that the similar features in both life and production in two countries were the major reason for existence of common cognition of body language. The special historical characteristics and different ways of language expression played an important role in the differences of body language between the two countries. Therefore, in order to improve Sino-American cross-cultural communication, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of body language under different cultural backgrounds in China and America.
Key words：body language; cultural differences; cross-cultural communication
