Lesson21 Body Language

Americans feel that physical contact can be important in breaking down barriers between people. Such physical acts as hugging, shaking hands and kissing in public are seen as displays of affection. In China, on the other hand, this is not common because physical contact is not the custom. Interestingly enough, most Chinese who spend some time in America come to like hugging; they learn that Americans use body language to express feelings. It is a way of saying “I like you and I care about you.”
Shaking hands is another traditional way of greeting someone in America. Shaking hands is a more formal way of greeting than hugging. Whereas hugging shows closeness, shaking hands means that there is a little more formality in the relationship. Western people usually shake hands when meeting someone for the first time, or when they see someone again after a certain amount of time has passed. In Japan, people traditionally bow as a form of greeting. Other countries have different customs, like patting someone on the back or kissing.

barrier 障礙
affection 情感
formal 正式的
formality ? 拘謹，禮節
bow ? 鞠躬
pat 拍打

肢體語言

美國人認為身體接觸對于打破人與人之間的障礙很重要。這些諸如擁抱、握手及在公眾場合親吻等身體接觸都被看作是友好的表現。然而，在中國，身體接觸就不那么普遍了，因為沒有這樣的習俗。有趣的是，大多數在美國度過了一段時間的中國人開始喜歡擁抱，他們知道美國人通過肢體語言來表達感情。這是一種表達“我喜歡你，我在意你”的方法。
在美國，握手是另一種傳統的問候方式。握手比擁抱更加正式。擁抱表示親密，而握手意味著兩人關系中更多了一些拘謹與禮節。當第一次見面或隔了一段時間未見后再次見面時，西方人通常都是握手。在日本，人們通常以鞠躬表示問候。其他國家也有不同的習俗，比如拍某人的背或親吻。