Sun, Jaclyn Kayen (2010). Deciphering the Chinese smile: The importance of facial expressions in linguistic communication. Cross-Sections, 6, 105-120.
This paper explores the role of facial expressions in Cantonese people’s communication, with a focus on 笑 siu3 (lit. ‘smiling’, ‘laughing’, ‘grinning’). The communicative implications underlying linguistic communication are discussed with reference to two core cultural values, 和諧關係 wo4 haai4 gwaan1 hai6 or wo6 haai4 gwaan1 hai6 (lit. ‘harmonious relationship’, ‘together relationship’) and 含蓄 ham4 chuk1 (lit. ‘implicit’, ‘contained’, ‘control’), which govern the facial movements of the Chinese. Semantic explications of cultural key words and cultural scripts are generated based on the author’s personal reflections as a native speaker of Cantonese who has resided in Hong Kong for 20 years. The Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) is used as the methodology of this paper so that these cultural values can be captured through an insider perspective, in a language that is culture-independent. The use of NSM in this present study effectively avoids ethnocentrism, while meanings can be spelt out in an undistorted way that can be understood and translated systematically across different languages, serving as a rigorous tool for comparing different cultural norms. It is hoped that this will aid better understanding of the communicative styles involved and so help to facilitate an effective intercultural communication between Chinese speakers and cultural outsiders.
The following Cantonese words are explicated: 臉色 lim5 sik1 ‘complexion, look’; 賠笑 pui4 siu3 ‘compensating smile’; 苦笑 fu2 siu3 ‘bitter smile’
Note: Provided the first line (“many people think like this”) is dropped, the cultural scripts proposed by the author for particular types of smiles are at the same time semantic explications for the phrases used in Cantonese to identify the smiles in question.
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
