Communication

A well-known phrase says that a man is a social animal. Without digging too deeply into the meaning of this saying, one cannot but notice that socializing is one of the basic needs of a human being, along with food and sleep. Indeed research shows that lack of socialization adversely affects your health just as smoking or excessive drinking do. Communication is crucial in our life, and one’s ability to communicate easily in a given social environment is the key element to making friends, attaining professional success, or sometimes, simply surviving. This is all the more true when we find ourselves outside our normal or usual habitat.

Verbal fluency in a foreign language is the ability to understand speech, and to be able to speak, read and write effectively. There are a number of non-verbal nuances that accompany our speech as well, and, may prove even more important than the words we pronounce. A recent study performed by a University of California researcher demonstrates that 55% of the message we convey is due to body language, while the proportion of words is a mere 7%. The remainder of the message is conveyed by the tone of our voice and by how we say what we say. The issue is that patterns of body language may differ from place to place and from culture to culture almost as widely as languages. This often results in miscommunication and misunderstanding.

Let us briefly look at just one culture and a very limited scope of body language patterns to appreciate that communication is not just about verbal means, but also (or even primarily) about non-verbal ones. Smiling is a common feature of body language. All human beings smile. In North America a smile is ubiquitous. People smile when they meet and when they leave, they smile to friends and to strangers, to people they adore and to people they don’t particularly care for. They often smile when someone steps on their foot or says something like “sorry, we are closed.”

On the contrary, people in Russia and elsewhere in Eastern Europe are often portrayed as “smile poor”, too serious, or even gloomy. Some explain it with the perplexed history of those countries, others blame long winters and the lack of sunshine, and some are of the opinion that Russians and other Eastern Europeans are just unhappy or unfriendly people by nature. I would say that the answer lies in a different sphere. To be concise, a smile in Easterrn Europe conveys a different meaning and is used under different circumstances. In Eastern Europe smiles and laughter are often saved for your family, friends and other people with whom you feel comfortable. In other words, if you are in Moscow and people around you smile often, you may assume you are among friends. Smiling at a stranger who just stepped on your foot would be perceived as puzzling and odd behavior. Russian parties are full of laughter, smiles and fun just like North American parties, as many travellers to Russia soon discover.

Smiling and laughter among strangers may take place, but it would have a reason, such as a funny situation or a good joke told by someone. A Russian proverb says: “Laughter without a reason is a sign of stupidity.” Therefore, a customary North American smile may be perceived by Eastern Europeans with litttle knowledge of North American culture as shallow, frivolous, or silly.

Anyone who is studying a foreign language should not forget that intonation and body gestures are means of communication. Learning them should ideally go along with learning grammar or vocabulary. 

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