Kinesics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kinesics is the interpretation of body motion communication such as facial
expressions and gestures, nonverbal behavior related to movement of any part of the body or
the body as a whole. The equivalent popular culture term is body language, a term Ray
Birdwhistell, considered the founder of this area of study,[1]neither used nor liked (on the
grounds that what can be conveyed with the body does not meet the linguist's definition of
language). Even so, many people use the term.

Contents
[hide]

1Birdwhistell's work
2Modern applications
3See also
4References
5External links

Birdwhistell's work[edit]
Kinesics was first used (in 1952) by Ray Birdwhistell, an anthropologist who wished to study
how people communicate through posture, gesture, stance, and movement.[2] His ideas over
several decades were synthesized and resulted in the book, Kinesics and Context.[3] Interest in
kinesics specifically and nonverbal behavior generally was popularized in the late 1960s and
early 1970s by such popular mass market (non academic) publications as How to Read a
Person Like a Book.[4] Part of Birdwhistell's work involved filming people in social situations
and analyzing them to show elements of communication that were not clearly seen otherwise.
One of his most important projects was The Natural History of an Interview, a long-term
interdisciplinary collaboration including Gregory Bateson, Frieda Fromm-Reichmann,
Norman A. McQuown, Henry W. Brosin, and others.[5]
Drawing heavily on descriptive linguistics, Birdwhistell argued that all movements of the
body have meaning and that nonverbal behavior has a grammar that can be analyzed in
similar terms to spoken language. Thus, a "kineme" is "similar to a phoneme because it
consists of a group of movements which are not identical, but which may be used
interchangeably without affecting social meaning."[6]
Birdwhistell estimated that no more than 30 to 35 percent of the social meaning of a
conversation or an interaction is carried by the words.[7] He also concluded that there were no
universals in these kinesic displays, a claim that was disputed by Paul Ekman, who was
interested in analysis of universals, especially infacial expression.[8]

Modern applications[edit]
In a current application, kinesic behaviors are sometimes used as signs of deception by
interviewers looking for clusters of movements to determine the veracity of the statement
being uttered.
Relevant concepts[9] include these:

Emblems - Body movements or gestures that are directly translatable into a word or
phrase
Illustrators - Accompany or reinforce verbal messages
Batons - Temporally accent or emphasize words or phrases
Ideographs - Trace the paths of mental journeys
Deitic movements - Point to a present object
Kinetographs - Depict a bodily action
Spatial movements - Depict a spacial relationship
Pictographs - Draw a picture of their referent
Rhythmic movements - Depict the rhythm or pacing of an event
Affect Displays - Show emotion
Regulators - Control the flow and pace of communication
Manipulators - Release physical or emotional tension

Kinesic behaviors are an important part of nonverbal communication. Body movements

convey information, but interpretations vary by culture. As many movements are carried out
at a subconscious or at least a low-awareness level, kinesic movements carry a significant
risk of being misinterpreted in an intercultural communication situation.

See also[edit]

Intercultural competence
Metacommunicative competence
Nonverbal communication
Body language
Cold Reading
Eye contact
Facial expression
Gesture
Posture
Proxemics
Paralanguage

References[edit]

1. Jump up^ Danesi, M (2006). "Kinesics". Encyclopedia of language &

linguistics.: 207213.
 2. Jump up^ Birdwhistell, R. L. (1952). Introduction to Kinesics: An Annotation
System for Analysis of Body Motion and Gesture. Washington, DC: Department of
State, Foreign Service Institute.
3. Jump up^ Birdwhistell, R. 1970. Kinesics and Context. University of
Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
4. Jump up^ Nierenberg, G. I., & Calero, H. H. (1971). How to Read a Person
Like a Book. New York: Hawthorn Books.
5. Jump up^ Jump up ^ Leeds-Hurwitz, W. (1987). The Social History of The
Natural History of an Interview: A multidisciplinary investigation of social
communication. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 20, 1-51.
6. Jump up^ Knapp, M. 1972. Nonverbal Communication in Human
Interaction. Reinhart and Winston, New York, pp. 94-5.
7. Jump up^ McDermott, R. 1980. Profile: Ray L. Birdwhistell. The Kinesis
Report, 2, 3: 1-16.
8. Jump up^ Ekman, P; Friesen, W (1971). "Constants across cultures in the
face and emotion" (PDF). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 17 (2):
1249. doi:10.1037/h0030377. PMID 5542557.
9. Jump up^ Ekman, Paul (2004). "Emotional and conversational nonverbal
signals" (PDF). Language, knowledge, and representation: 3950.

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Application of Kinesics in Linguistic Abilities

Kinesics: Human beings communicate a lot through body movements and facial expressions.
Kinesics is the study of this kind of communication. Kinesics is one of the most significant
aspects of applied Linguistic, as it studies the non-verbal component of expression and
communication. Kinesis is the study of physical movements during reading, writing, listening
and speaking. This physical movement signifies divergent aspects of personality which are
very important to study and plan further communication process. Let us look at how different
body movements and facial expressions communicate different messages.
1. Posture:
The way people sit or stand can reveal a lot about their attitudes and emotions. Posture
portrays confidence, anxiety, fear, aggressiveness and a host of other emotions. A boss who
wants to reprimand his subordinate may do so by standing, learning over the table and
peering down at the hapless employee. Here, he is using posture to establish his superiority.
Insecure or nervous people often their weakness by slouching, biting their nails or looking
down. A person who wants to tell everyone else that he is quite confident may sit back
expansively, wrap his arm over the back of the chair and stretch out his legs in front.
2. Gestures:
 Gestures are of various types. Four common ones are emblems, adaptors, regulators and
illustrators.
a) Emblems:
Emblems are gestures that have a meaning that is understood by the public at large. Of
course, most of them are culture specific. Sometimes the same emblem may have different
meanings in different cultures. For instance, forming an O with index and thumb means
OK in theUSwhile inJapanit means money and in parts ofFranceit means worthless or
zero.
b) Adaptors:
These are learned behavior patterns that we usually pick up in childhood. They way we use
spoons or our hands while eating is a good example.
c) Illustrators:
These are gestures that go with what we are saying verbally and tend to depict what is being
said. A good example is when you tell someone, Come, sit in this chair, and accompany it
by a nod of the head or a wave of the hand.
d) Regulators:
These are gestures that control the communication exchange. Patting an employee on the
back may encourage him to keep talking. Shuffling through your papers while hes talking
will certainly encourage him to stop.
3. Facial expressions:
The face plays a vital role in communicating various messages. The brows, the eyes, the root
of the nose, the lower face, are all capable of conveying attitudes and emotions. But minor
variations do occur from culture to culture.
Eyes: Of all facial expressions, those of the eyes are considered the most revealing. Studies
have provided numerous insights about eye contact:
1) Eye contact is perceived as an indication of honesty, confidence, openness and interest.
2) People who avoid eye contact are usually embarrassed or nervous.
3) Eye contact varies by culture. For instance, some Latin American cultures teach children
not to look directly at the face of an adult.

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Types of nonverbal communication

BLOGONLINGUISTICS OCTOBER 14, 2013 11 COMMENTS
 Image credit: European Parliament, EP
Journalism Prize 2011 winners are from France, Italy, Finland and Germany October 19,
2011, via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Nonverbal means of communication (NMC) have recently come to attention of linguists,
anthropologists, psychologists, communication and discourse studies scholars. It is now a
widely admitted fact that they play an important role in a communicative act. However, how
exactly NMC contribute to communication between individuals still remains an open
question. Moreover, the complexity and particularities (including micro and macro contexts)
of a given conversation may further complicate the case. This post provides a list of useful
categories which may be in play in a given situation.

First of all, let us define nonverbal communication. So, nonverbal communication can be
defined as a system of non-linguistic signs which complement or substitute linguistic signs.
This system includes the following components (Pankovskyi, 2010):
1) adornment items of clothing, hairstyles, and jewellery;
2) chronemics time use such as waiting and pausing;
3) haptics tactile communication or, simply, touch;
4) kinesics (= body language) foot tapping, gestures, nodding, shrugs, waving by hands,
and other body movements;
5) locomotion displacements in space such as limping, stumbling, running, walking;
6) facial expressions such as smiling, frowning, and squinting;
7) oculesics eye movements (e.g. winking, closed eyes, eyes wide open);
8) olfactics kinds of smell (e.g. pleasant, strong, strange, like Church incense, etc.);
9) paralanguage variations in voice qualities and manner of speaking:
a) silence pauses, secrecy;
b) sound symbols grunting, mumbling (e.g. ah, hm, uhu);
c) vocalics speed, timbre, tone of voice, and volume;
10) posture position of the body;
11) proxemics use of interpersonal space (see also Proxemics: Personal space post).
I hope that these types of NMC may help you and me to do better conversation and discourse
analysis or contribute to our knowledge on NMC. Please, feel free to add your comments.
Thank you!
References
Pankovskyi, I. (2010). Nonverbal means of communication: Benefits for SLA. Nauka I
studia:Przemyl, Poland, 31-44.

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