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Thekinesic language It is one that is part of non-verbal communication. Also called body language, It is fundamental and generally acts as a complement to verbal language, but at times it can become just as or more significant.
Kinesic language includes gestures, gaze, body movements, and posture. For example: a hug, a caress, a wink.
There are fields of activity in which the kinesic language acquires enormous relevance, such as in acting. For a time there was what was called "silent cinema", which told stories only through the gestures and movements of the actors. Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton or Mary Pickford are some of the most famous exponents of the domain of the Kinesic language.
- It can serve you: Connotative language, Denotative language
Examples of kinesic language
Here are some examples of the use of kinesic language; its expressive value is indicated in parentheses:
- Blow (annoyance, tiredness)
- Quickly open and close your eyes (shame, modesty)
- To sigh (melancholia)
- Put your hands together under the chin as a prayer (appeal)
- Raise your thumb (approval)
- Wink the eye (complicity)
- Shake your hand up and down (equivalent to 'hurry up')
- Shake your hand towards yourself (equivalent to ‘come closer’)
- Cross the index finger in front of the lips (equivalent to 'silence' or 'don't divulge it')
- Turn head from side to side horizontally (denial).
- Move head up and down (affirmation).
- Frown (disappointment or 'I don't understand')
- Yawn (boredom, sleepy)
- Cover your mouth with your hand (equivalent to 'I shouldn't say it')
- Laugh (joy, comedy)
- Smile (bliss, satisfaction)
- Cry (grief)
- To blush (embarrassment, discomfort)
- Crossing your legs (equivalent to 'I take time for this')
- Draw circles with your hand on the abdomen (equivalent to 'how rich' or 'how hungry').
About body language
- Not all cultures share their gestural codes. There are notable differences in gestures when comparing Eastern culture with Western culture.
- Everything that surrounds the word is known as paralinguistics, a category that encompasses phonic modalities (including silences and pauses) and physiological or emotional sounds. Even the way of dressing and makeup are added to the communicative package of the Kinesic language.
- Timbre, tone of voice, and intensity are an important part of non-verbal communication. The look is too, not only the look of the speaker, but also the look of the listener. Within the physiological, for example, yawning is often interpreted as boredom or outright disinterest in what is being said, while crying clearly reflects pain or sadness, or even joy or emotion.
- In our basic communication we very often resort to body language: we stop the bus by stretching our arm forward, but we call the waiter by raising our arm: these are culturally consensual gestures in a given time and place. We also nod or shake our heads.
- In an intermediate plane between verbal communication and kinesic language are the so-called quasi-lexic elements: vocalizations or onomatopoeias that contribute to the expressiveness of the speaker but that lack lexical value per se. For example: Mmm, Ugh!
