Viewing Non-verbal Communication from the Perspective of Linguistic Elements

He Desheng

【Abstract】 It is not only beneficial but also important for the theoretical research in this field to proceed smoothly along the correct and orderly road by using mature modern linguistic theories to examine and reflect on the basic theory of non-verbal communication.

【Key Words】 Modern linguistic theory; basic theory of non-verbal communication

【作者簡介】He Desheng ， Chongqing Vocational and Technical College of Water Conservancy and Electricity。

Non-verbal communication is not non-verbal communication， but a kind of language communication.

Linguistic theory has been fruitful and has become the symbol system of other human expressions.

The foundation and model of the unified study， therefore， apply the more mature modern linguistic theory.

Examining and reflecting on the basic theory of non-verbal communication， the theoretical research in this field follows the positive direction.It is not only helpful but also important to move forward smoothly.

The development of new disciplines such as semiotics and ideology has expanded the extension of language.It includes not only the traditional spoken and written languages， but also All non-verbal communication symbolic systems designed to express emotions. That is to say， the layout of newspapers Language， picture language of TV， symbol for music， sound and other non-verbal communicators in radio are all elements of language.

Take newspapers for example. In the past and even today， many editors and journalists only pay attention to the written language， but neglect the most important elements of language： layout， or do not take layout as a matter at all， let alone treat it from the height of language， which leads to the disorder of layout language and the difficulty of readers interpretation.

Readers are confused about the layout of some newspapers today：

In the same newspaper， you read this edition. It was flooded by floods in southern provinces. Thousands of miles， the collapse of houses， is the military and civilian struggle against the flood tragic deeds， is Vivid Report on Donation of Disaster Relief Material at home and abroad： In another edition， you will continue to read  the gorgeous display of “high consumption”， the advertisement words are also well written and elegant： “A life of stagnation before high consumption is a life of paleness！”

As readers， we are really confused， really at a loss！

In order to achieve the best dissemination effect， newspapers should not only pay attention to the content of dissemination.We should also pay attention to the mode of transmission. The content of communication is undoubtedly verbal， but the way of communication is Nonverbal. Human information transmission （especially emotional expression） ， at a large extent ，It depends on the way of communication - “how to say” rather than the content - “what to say”.

During Deng Xiaopings visit to the United States in the 1970s， the New York Times， on the one hand， publicized its visit activities and relations with China. On the other hand， it published anti-China and anti-Communist speeches and advertisements to dilute the impact of the visit. Such layout seems to be contradictory， but it is actually a message to the Soviet Union： we are not falling to China on one side. This information is not expressed through any speech symbol， but through conscientious layout， which is a form of non-verbal communication.

From this we can draw the following conclusions：

The content of communication is realized by the speech language of mass media （voiced language and written language）， and the mode of communication is embodied by the non-verbal language of mass communication; the verbal symbols convey direct information to the audience， while the non-verbal symbols convey implicit information to the audience.

Non-verbal communication， like verbal communication， is all verbal communication. Therefore， the two kinds of communication should be considered equally. Only by attaching great importance to the function of non-verbal communication and its application in practice from the perspective of language elements can we overcome the pervasive negative phenomena in mass media， such as despising newspaper layout language， television picture language and radio paralanguage. We can not only use verbal symbols to disseminate information， but also use non-verbal communication to evaluate letters. Information， express the attitude to information， so as to correctly reflect the medias editorial ideas and propaganda guidelines， accurate， comprehensive and efficient dissemination of information.