[Abstract] “Body language” is a kind of nonverbal communication with the richest meanings and great function. Like verbal language, it is also a part of culture. But not all body languages mean the same thing in different cultures. Different people have different ways of making nonverbal communication. For example: different people have different ideas about the proper distance between people conversing; the appropriateness of physical contact varies with different cultures. One could draw up quite a list of “rules” about eye contact: to look or not to look; when to look and how long to look; who and who not to look at. Facial expressions also vary among individuals and cultures; gestures can be particularly troublesome, for a slight difference in making the gesture itself can mean something quite different from that intended, and, a wrong interpretation of a gesture can arouse quite unexpected reactions and so on. So in order to communicate effectively in a foreign language, one should also know the gestures, body movements and mannerisms etc. that accompany a particular language. Some authorities feel that the two are dependent on each other. This is certainly true in most situations. But it is also true that in certain situations body action contradicts what is being said, just as the spoken words may mean something quite different from what body language communicates. When this occurs, one must try to get further information, or guess the meaning from the context of the situation. In a sense, all body language should be interpreted; within a given context; to ignore the overall situation could be misleading. A comparative study of Chinese and American body language shows a number of similarities and diversities of body language. It shows the importance of knowing the specific gestures that go with a language. Observation shows that a truly bilingual person switches his body language at the same time he switches languages. In the following, the importance of body language on nonverbal communication in different cultures and their origins will be focused in order to lessen conflicts in cross-culture communication and make it much better and easier.

[Key Words] nonverbal communication; body language; different culture; different ways

浅析不同文化中的身势语

【摘 要】 “身势语”同语言一样，都是文化的一部分。在不同文化中，身势语的意义并不完全相同。各民族有不同的非语言交际方式