Ermolenko S.W, Hannoshchenko S. V., Myklashchuk V. P., Titareva M. S. Gestures as a way of communication.

Abstract

This article deals with conscious and unconscious gestures and nonverbal language, as way of communication in the German-speaking cultural circle. Representatives of other linguistic cultures practically do not understand or incorrect understand the gestures and signals that are considered in this article. The article deals with the question of the classification of gestures proposed by the most famous psychologists Paul Ekman and Wallace V. Friesen, who were pioneers in the study of emotions and body language and who have the greatest influence for body language. This classification was presented by examples and descriptions. Five types of gesture are proposed, which are very common and are recognized today in the German-speaking language environment. We show some universals and cultural differences in gestures in the German-speaking culture and others.
The communication consists not only of the verbal signs and of the words, but also of the nonverbal signals, of the so-called language of the senses, of body language, of gestures and facial expressions or optical signs. Today researchers claim that 55 percent of a person's credibility consists of body language, 38 percent of the voice and only 7 percent of the meaning of the words.
As an object of our investigation, we can designate the body language that speaks more than a thousand words without uttering a word. Every communication starts much earlier than the first word has been said. That's why we took the gestures of non-verbal communication in the German language community and culture as an object of investigation. The purpose of this study would be for us a small attempt to find the most common gestures in the German-speaking community, to interpret and to systematize. In addition to studying a foreign language, you also have to learn how to understand other people's gestures and make targeted use of your own gestures, which in turn can only bring benefits to us both at work and in our personal lives.