Body Language.The Smile in Intercultural Communication

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Communications - Intercultural Communication, grade: 1,00, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegytem (Department of English and American Studies), language: English, abstract: Against the widespread belief that facial expressions are universally understood, I argue that smiling is a socially and culturally dependent phenomenon. The awareness of the perception and appropriateness of smiling in another society can be crucial to communicating successfully in an intercultural situation.

This paper first gives a theoretical overview of the topic, followed by a brief glimpse of the evolution of smiling. Then, attention is given to the exploration of smiling in different cultures. Furthermore, the connection between smiling, gender and power relations is displayed. Before concluding, the impact of lying on smiling is discussed.

Work completed under the supervision of Dr Dorottya Holló in fulfilment of the requirements of the Module Intercultural Communication, Eötvös Loránd University, 2018.