【正文】 c t i o n ………………………………………… ...… . . . . .1 2 The S i g n i f i c a n c e and F e a t u r e s of Body L a n g u a g e … … … . 2 2. 1 Significance of Body Language………………………………………… . . . 2 2 . 2 T he Fe at ur e s of B od y Language…………………………………………… 3 3 Tab o o s in B o d y L a n g u a g e … … … … … … … … … … … … … . . 3 3. 1 Taboos of Facial Expressions……………………………………………… . 3 3 . 1 . 1 Sm il in g… … … … … …… …… …… …… …… …… …… …… …… …… … 4 3 . 1 . 2 Sm ac k in g… …… ……… …… ……… …… ……… ……… …… ……… …. 4 3 . 1 . 3 Covering the Mouth………………………………………………………. 4 3 . 2 Taboos of Eye Contact…………………… …………………………………. 4 3 . 3 Ta b oo s o f G esture……………………………………………………………. 5 3 . 3 . 1 Wa v in g… …… …… …… …… ……… …… …… …… ……… …… …… …. 5 3 . 3 . 2 “V” Gesture……………………………………………………………….. 6 3 . 3 . 3 “OK” Gesture……………………………………………………………... 6 3 . 3 . 4 M id d le F in ge r up………………………………………………………….. 6 3 . 3 . 5 T h u m b s up……………………………………………………………….... 7 3 . 3 . 6 S h a k in g H ands…………………………………………………………….. 7 3 . 4 Ta b oo s o f Posture…………………………………………………………….. 8 3 . 4 . 1 S it t in g…………………………………………………………………….. . 8 3 . 4 . 2 Cr ouch in g………………………………………………………………….. 9 3 . 4 . 3 Wa lk in g………………………………………… ……………………….. . 9 3 . 5 Tab o os o f Tou ch …………………………………………………………… .. . 9 iii 3. 5. 1 Touching with Stringers’ Body………………………………………….. 1 0 3. 5. 2 Touching with Bodies of the Same Sex…………………………………. 10 3. 5. 3 Touching with Children’s Body…………………………………………. 10 4 C o n c l u s i o n ………………………………………… ...…… ..11 5 R e f e r e n c e s … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ...…… . … 12 6 Ac k n o w le d ge m e n t s … … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … … … … . . . . 1 3 iv Taboo in Body Language between China and West 【 Abstract】 The two ways of human munications, the verbal munication and nonverbal munication are plementary to each other and bee undivided entirety. Body language is the most normal nonverbal munication in human munication, including facial expression, eye contact, gesture, posture and touch, etc. The same act of body language can be considered as the different signal and information by the people with different cultural background. Once leaving it out, one may outrage others. Therefore, in the interculture munication between China and the West, only by acquiring taboos in body language of each other can people avoid culture conflict. 【 Key words】 Nonverbal munication, body language, taboo, intercultural munication 【摘要】 人類交際有兩種形式 :語言交際和非語言交際。 nations of far northern take third, because few gestures are used to municate with each other (Xia and Zhang, 2021). Thereby, using gesture should be quite careful otherwise taboo is easily made. Waving Chinese and American all have gesture to wave people to e, but people can be misunderstood by each gesture for which suggests different connotations. When Chinese wave someone to e, they often stretch out their arm, palm down, and the hand swing up and down, back and forth while westerners think this action seem to tell them pejoratively to go away。 [10] 賈玉新《跨文化交際學》 [M ]，上海：上海外語教育出版社 ,1997 年 :456。 even with appreciative sight can make the other angry too. Many foreigners usually feel angry or annoyed when local people looking at them with curiosity for a long time during their travel or lectures in china (Guo Mingchen, 2021). Though there is no maliciousness, it is still impolite. In intercultural munication, once neglect the usage and connotation of eye contact, 5 people can be rude to some extent and violated a taboo. For instance, when two Arabs talk together and stare at each other with warm eyes, this eye contact is not appropriate for two men by reason that long time to gaze is always considered to be a part of homosexual subculture’s codes in body language from the angle of American culture. Furthermore, an educated British believes that keeping his eyes on others directly when munication is gentility。因此 ,在中西方跨文化交際中 ,人們應(yīng)了解彼此的體態(tài)語 禁忌 ,這樣才能避免因不當?shù)捏w態(tài)語行為而引起文化沖突。 learn about customs and habits of the country one goes to。 布羅斯納安 .《中國和英語國家非語言交際對比》 [M]，北京：北京語言學院出版社，1991 年。s Collegiate Dictionary says body language is the gestures, movements, and mannerisms by which a person or an animal municates with others. A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phoics thinks it is a term in semiotics for the systematic use of facial expression and body gesture to municate meaning, especially as these relate to the use of language (e. g. when a smile or a frown alters the interpretation of a sentence) (David, 2021). To summarize, body language delivers a message to make the conversation with each other go on in term of acts of the parts of a body, including facial expression, eye contact, gesture, posture and touch, etc. Body language of human beings has something similar among those who speak varied languages, live in different regions and have diverse cultures, so they can municate effectively to some extent. Moreover, body language as well as language is the vehicle of culture, and is a set of clear, definite and model sign which es into existence from the culture of its own. Meanwhile, as the language, body language also has the cultural mission interweaving with culture together. Body languages of different nationalities reflect different cultural environments, life styles, thoughts or ideas, religions and services, concept of values, and habits of thinking which are rooted in the historical and cultural traditions of their own region, own nationality and own country(Geng,1988). They are unique for diverse cultures so that they make different appearances of body language. At the same time, due to these behaviors, it is easy for people to make a taboo in body language that can cause misunderstanding of munication or cultural conflicts even a war. Therefore, the main body of the pape