BODY LANGUAGE

by Don L. F. Nilsen and Alleen Pace Nilsen

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AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE

Contrast sign language and finger spelling. Iconic Sign Language: Male-Female, Past-Future, Hand shape, location, movement, palm orientation, finger spelling

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FACE
Frown Giggle Grimace Grin Guffaw Laugh Scowl Smile Smirk Snarl
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HEAD
Flutter eyelashes Grit teeth Hold nose Nod head (yes) Raise eyebrows Shake head (no) Stick out tongue Wink Wrinkle nose Yawn
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SHOULDERS

Rolling shoulder suggestively

Shrugging shoulders in disbelief or wonderment

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HANDS, FINGERS & THUMB

Applauding Extending pinkey Crossing fingers (to lie) Giving the finger Holding hands Pointing Shaking hands (note gender & ethnic differences) Thumbing a ride Thumbs up Twiddling thumbs
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UNCLE SAMS FINGER

There is a very effective recruitment poster showing Uncle Sam wagging his index finger at the reader. It reads I want you! (Mey 223)

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DAVE CHAPPELLES THUMB

Chappelle tells about a high-jacked airplane in which he sees another Black male and they do a a thumbs up to each other. We were just communicating that we understood the situation. We were both seeing the same thing. What we understoodwas simplyterrorists dont take black hostages. (Chappelle 2003)
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ARMS
Limp wrist Raise hand in class Sign of the cross Waving hand (note gender differences) Sports Signals (See the next slide)

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SPORTS BODY LANGUAGE

BASEBALL: Fair Ball, Foul Ball, Hardball, Home Run, Out, Softball, Strike Plus Signals from the Catcher to the Pitcher, to the Infield, and to the Outfield Plus Coach Signals for the Batter, from the First-Base Coach, and from the Third-Base Coach BASKETBALL: Basket Counts, Basket Doesnt Count, Blocking Foul, Held Ball, In Bounce, Moving Screen, Offensive Fowl, Out of Bounce, Time Out FOOTBALL: Clipping, Face Mask, Illegal Celebration, Illegal Procedure, Late Hit, Offside, Pass Interference, Roughing the Kicker, Roughing the Passer, Safety, Touchdown, Unnecessary Roughness Plus Metaphors related to most of these expressions

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LEGS & FEET

Crossing legs (note gender & ethnic differences) Sitting on a park bench Sitting on a bus seat Slapping knee while laughing
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SPACE BUBBLES:
Asian vs. Latin American Doorway, Subway, Elevator University of Texas: Texas Tower Sniper

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TIME EXPECTATIONS
Latin American vs. Mormon

Cocktail Party vs. Dinner vs. Class

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UNINTENTIONAL BODY LANGUAGE

blinking blushing cowering cringing shuddering trembling twisting hair weeping

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BODY METAPHORS:
To be on your toes To be stuck up To be up in arms To break a leg To count noses To foot the bill To have your tongue in your cheek To keep a stiff upper lip To keep your chin up To play it by ear To put your foot in your mouth To see eye to eye To shake a leg To throw in the towel

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INTONATION
Use only the words John and Marsha to indicate the following: Anger vs. Fear Resignation vs. Exhuberance Sadness vs. Surprise Pretentiousness vs. Aloofness Hate vs. Passion

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PARALANGUAGE
Giddyup (plus lateral click) Hiss Huh? Raspberry (Bronx Cheer) Shush Swearing (*&#@+&%$@~*) Tsk tsk Uchhhhh Uh huh (yes & no) Wolf whistle Yuchhhh

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EXPLAIN HOW THE FOLLOWING GESTURES ARE INTERPRETED DIFFERENTLY IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

Biting your thumbnail Kissing someone on the cheeks Putting your hands on your hips Using arm gestures Using eye gestures Using finger gestures Using hand gestures Using lip gestures

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Peace Symbol: Nuclear Disarmament (N & D)

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BODY LANGUAGE WEB SITES:

THE BABYS EVIL EYE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBSYD0dQCAw SACHMO ARMSTRONG: A WONDERFUL WORLD SHADOWS: http://uk.video.yahoo.com/watch/2561209/7672569

A VERY FUNNY PANTOMIME: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9xCZI12XEo

RICHARD SIMMONS: WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY: IMPROV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0-7EfR37Dg

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References: Chappelle, Dave. Killing Them Softly: Dave Chappelle. Dir. Stan Latham. Urbanworks Entertainment, 2003 (originally aired in 2000). Cienki, Alan, and Cornelia Mueller. Metaphor, Gesture, and Thought. The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought. Ed. Raymond W. Gibbs Jr., New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Clark, Virginia, Paul Eschholz, and Alfred Rosa. Language: Readings in Language and Culture, 6th Edition. New York, NY: St. Martins Press, 1998. Damico, Jack, and Nina Simmons-Mackie. The Base Layer and the Gaze/Gesture Layer of Transcription. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics 16.5 (2002): 317-327. Emmorey, Karen. Sign Language (Clark, 78-95)

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Kemp, William and Roy Smith. Signals, Signs, and Words: From Animal Communication to Language (Clark, 658-680) Mey, Jacob L. Pragmatics, An Introduction, 2nd Edition. Oxford, England: Blackwell, 2001. Miller, George A. Nonverbal Communication (Clark 96-110) Nilsen, Alleen Pace. Living Language Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1999. Nilsen, Alleen Pace, and Don L. F. Nilsen. Encyclopedia of 20th Century American Humor. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2000, http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/OXHUMOR.aspx

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