When you learn a foreign language, you must learn more than the vocabulary and the grammar. To communicate successfully, you must also learn the non-verbal language, or “body language” of that culture. “Body language” is a term used to describe facial expression, gestures, and other movements of the body that send messages. This means of communication is so important that we may actually say more with our movements than with words.
当你学习一门外语的时候，你必须学习词汇和语法以外的东西。为了能够顺利沟通，你必须学会那一文化的肢体语言。“肢体语言”是用来描述面部表情，姿势以及其他传递信息的身体动作的术语。这种沟通方式很重要，因而我们实际上可能用动作比用话语表达的更多。
For some messages, words are not enough. Speaking a foreign language is sometimes difficult because we may not understand the non-verbal signals of another culture. For example, nodding the head up and down is a gesture that may communicate different messages in different parts of the world. In North America, it means “I agree”. In the Middle East, nodding the head down means “I agree” and up means “I disagree”. In a conversation among Japanese it often simply means “I’m listening”.
对于有些信息，言语是不够的。有时候说一门外语很难，因为我们可能不理解另一文化的非语言信号。比如，上下点头这一姿势在世界不同的地方表达的信息也是不一样的。在北美，这一姿势意味着“我同意“。在中东，点头表示”我同意“，而抬头表示”我不同意“。在日本人的对话当中，它通常只是表示”我在听“。
Eye contact is also very meaningful, but it can also mean different things in different countries. In some Spanish-speaking countries, children show respect to an old person by not looking directly into the person’s eye during a conversation. In other cultures, looking into a person’s eye is expected. For example, if you don’t do it in the United States, people may think that you are afraid, embarrassed, or angry. In the Middle East, direct eye contact in a conversation is more continuous than in many other parts of the world. People who are not used to this may feel uncomfortable.
眼神接触也很有意义，但是它在不同的国家也可以表示不同的意思。在一些说西班牙语的国家，孩子们在与老人的对话中通过不直视对方的眼睛来对对方表示尊敬。在其他文化中，人们期待别人直视眼睛。比如，在美国，如果你不这样做，人们可能会认为你害怕，尴尬或者生气。在中东，对话中直接的眼神接触比世界上很多其他地方更持久。不习惯的人可能会觉得不舒服。
来自：VOA英语网
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