Have you ever realised the significance of the role that gestures have and continue to play throughout our lives?
你有没有意识到手势在我们一生中发挥和继续发挥的作用的重要性？
The word by definition means, “a movement of part of the body, to express an idea or meaning”. As infants, when we still didn’t grasp the capacity of verbal language, we relied on the use of non-verbal gestures to communicate and react to our surroundings.
这个词的定义是“身体部位的运动，表达一个想法或意义”。 作为婴儿，当我们仍然没有掌握语言的能力时，我们依靠使用非语言手势来沟通和对周围环境做出反应。
And as we get older, perhaps becoming more disfluent in speech, once again, we must rely on representational gestures to communicate.
随着我们年龄的增长，也许在言语方面变得更加不流利，再一次，我们必须依靠代表性的手势来交流。
In fact, there is a theory that the human language was developed from gestures that were a primitive form of communication, as opposed to the vocal signals that might have been adapted by non-human primates.
事实上，有一种理论认为，人类语言是从原始交流形式的手势中发展起来的，而不是可能由非人类灵长类动物适应的语音信号。
As already established, culture consists of all the shared products of human society, and language plays an essential role in it. Without the usage of language, culture would not be possible as ideas, customs and social behaviour would not have the ability to be passed down centuries of human civilisation.
正如已经确立的那样，文化由人类社会的所有共享产品组成，语言在其中发挥着至关重要的作用。 如果不使用語言，文化就不可能存在，因為思想、習俗和社會行為就無法傳承幾個世紀的人類文明。
On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture, and it reflects culture.
另一方面，语言受到文化的影响和塑造，它反映了文化。
Despite our failure to realise it, we communicate by much more than words when the conversation takes place. By using facial expressions, gestures, and other body movements, we send messages to those around us. Different cultures have different ways of making nonverbal communication and different people have different gestures to convey their expressions.
尽管我们没有意识到这一点，但当对话发生时，我们交流的不仅仅是语言。 通过使用面部表情、手势和其他身体动作，我们向周围的人发送信息。 不同的文化有不同的非语言交流方式，不同的人有不同的手势来表达他们的表达。
However, nonverbal communication, like traffic, is not random; it has a purpose and there are common rules to guide its flow.
然而，非语言交流，如交通，不是随机的；它有目的，有共同的规则来引导其流动。
Learning the different common rules of body language in different cultures is very useful for us to understand each other better.
学习不同文化中不同的肢体语言规则对我们更好地了解彼此非常有用。
China, specifically, is considered, like many other Asian countries, to possess a more low-contact culture than that of the United States, for example, making their nonverbal communication different from, and sometimes in conflict with American mannerisms involving the practice of gestures.
具体来说，中国和许多其他亚洲国家一样，被认为拥有比美国更低接触的文化，例如，这使得他们的非语言交流与涉及手势练习的美国人的举止不同，有时甚至与之冲突。
Nevertheless, there is evidence in all regions of China of Westernisation and changing cultural and societal ideas of normality, the area of nonverbal communication being no exception.
然而，中国所有地区都有西方化和不断变化的文化和社会观念的正常性的证据，非语言交流领域也不例外。
Although, we can classify many of these cultural norms in China as the result of differences in lifestyle, we must acknowledge that differences do and need to exist, regionally as well as individually in such a large and vast country.
虽然我们可以将中国的许多文化规范归类为生活方式差异的结果，但我们必须承认，在这样一个庞大而辽阔的国家中，差异确实存在并且需要存在。
Chinese and other East Asian cultures are known to place the most emotional importance on the eyes when expressing and recognising emotions. According to one study, “Western Europeans fixate more on the mouth region, and East Asians fixate more on the eye region when recognising facial expressions”.
众所周知，中国和其他东亚文化在表达和识别情绪时，对眼睛最重视情感。 根据一项研究，“西欧人在识别面部表情时更关注口腔区域，而东亚人更关注眼部区域”。
In Chinese culture, information and gestural signs are communicated through the eyes rather than through suggestive smiles or frowns which Western cultures typically use to communicate.
在中国文化中，信息和手势是通过眼睛传达的，而不是西方文化通常用来交流的暗示性微笑或皱眉。
However, it is also demonstrable that uninterrupted and extended eye contact is avoided in China. This is because, it has been said that Chinese and East Asian people seem to perceive the faces of others as angrier and more unapproachable when making eye contact. This shows a clear contrast toward the cultural perceptions from the West.
然而，也可以证明，在中国避免不间断和长时间的眼神接触。 这是因为，据说中国人和东亚人在进行眼神交流时，似乎认为别人的脸更愤怒，更难以接近。 这与西方的文化观念形成了鲜明的对比。
There are a few particular gestures that hold a different meaning in China than in other cultures. For example, placing the forefinger to the lips and creating a “shah” or “shh” sound resembles hissing and represents disapproval in China, more severe than its meaning of silence in the United States and other Western cultures.
有一些特殊的手势在中国具有与其他文化不同的含义。 例如，将食指放在嘴唇上并发出“沙”或“嘘”的声音类似于嘶嘶声，在中国代表不赞成，比美国和其他西方文化中的沉默含义更严重。
Additionally, to entice somebody to approach you in China, the gesture is known to be a hand extended toward the person with the palm facing downward. This is often confusing for Americans, as it appears as if the person is waving goodbye. The American gesture is an upward-facing hand with the index finger moving back and forth. This has previously been considered offensive in China as they avoid pointing with a finger.
此外，在中国，为了吸引某人接近你，众所周知，手势是将手伸向手，手掌朝下。 这往往让美国人感到困惑，因为看起来好像这个人在挥手道别。 美式手势是朝上的手，食指来回移动。 在中国，這以前被認為是冒犯性的，因为他们避免用手指指指。
Although attitudes toward the non-acceptance of physical contact are gradually declining in China and other Asian countries, touching fondly and public displays of affection remain very different compared to Western cultures. A study concluded that, “Asian couples were far less likely to walk with arms around one another than Latino couples.”
尽管中国和其他亚洲国家对不接受身体接触的态度正在逐渐下降，但与西方文化相比，深情和公开表达感情仍然非常不同。 一项研究得出结论，“与拉丁裔夫妇相比，亚洲夫妇抱臂走路的可能性要小得多。”
Normally, close contact is avoided in public, and touching is kept at a minimum in China, especially in business and professional situations.
通常，在中国，避免在公共场合密切接触，尽量减少接触，特别是在商业和专业场合。
However, gestures like handshakes have become an internationally accepted form of greeting and are typically used during introductions and business meetings.
然而，握手等手势已经成为一种国际公认的问候形式，通常用于介绍和商务会议。
The study of body language should be in harmony to language learning because it acts as a way to promote the understanding of the culture. Moreover, the instruction of body languages should be interpreted within a given context to eliminate a situation that would be otherwise misleading.
肢体语言的研究应该与语言学习相协调，因为它是促进文化理解的一种方式。 此外，肢体语言的指令应在给定的语境中进行解释，以消除否则会误导的情况。
Thanks to modern transportation and communication methods, the world is getting smaller and smaller, as is suggested by the “shrinking world theory”.
得益于现代交通和通信方法，正如“缩小世界理论”所暗示的那样，世界变得越来越小。
This has led people from different cultural backgrounds to have a better chance of communicating with one another. However, the cultural shocks also become more extreme and inevitable in the process.
这让来自不同文化背景的人有了更好的机会相互交流。 然而，文化冲击也在这个过程中变得更加极端和不可避免。
So, to communicate effectively in a foreign nation, one must not only learn the native language, but also the different gestures, etiquette, and body motions to accompany a particular language.
因此，为了在外国有效交流，人们不仅必须学习母语，还必须学习不同的手势、礼仪和身体动作来配合特定语言。