TRADITIONS OF NONVERBAL GREETINGS IN INTERCULTURAL SPACE

Abstract

The behaviour of each person is determined by the values and norms of the culture and society in which he exists. They determine the verbal and non-verbal means of communication that people use in a certain situation. Since there are several cultures that are different from each other, the participants of the communication can also belong to different cultures. Belonging to the interlocutors in the same culture makes communication easier, but in different cultures it makes it much more difficult. The participants of normal interpersonal communication understand all verbal and non-verbal nuances. Knowledge of the non-verbal language of another nation is an essential component of intercultural communication and the very first step to establishing successful communication between representatives of different nations and cultures. Addressing a person tactlessly for a certain culture due to ignorance of non-verbal features can make communication impossible even before it begins. The article reveals the peculiarities of non-verbal communication as a necessary component of foreign language proficiency and one of the main components of intercultural competence. The category of politeness, which occupies one of the central places in the implementation of successful communication, is considered. A detailed analysis of non-verbal greeting signs characteristic of speakers of different languages and cultures was carried out, and their role in the intercultural communication was indicated. It was found that the most common forms of greeting are a handshake, a kiss, a hug, a greeting with a look, and a smile. In everyday polite and public-official communicative situations, greetings are closely related to bows, which are inherent in Eastern peoples. Little-known greeting gestures that are characterized only for certain peoples are also described in the manuscript. Non-verbal means of communication retain ethnic features, despite the development of international political, economic, and cultural ties, which promotes the interaction of national communication styles and forms uniform parameters of communication, including non-verbal communication. Therefore, you should use non-verbal means very carefully, even if they seem natural and understandable to everyone. Thus, mastery of non-verbal means of communication and knowledge of their features in different cultures contributes to the development of intercultural competence of a person in the modern globalized world. Mastering a foreign verbal communication system, that is, a foreign language, should be supplemented by mastering non-verbal communication skills in order to promote more effective and conflict-free communication between representatives of different countries. Key words: intercultural communication, language, non-verbal communication, gesture, greeting.