Abstract:Broadly speaking, communication is of two kinds: verbal communication and nonverbal communication. Verbal communication consists of words language and the variations in meaning which a person puts into words through the ways they are said. Nonverbal communication means all the communication that conveys meaning without words. It’s a very important part in intercultural communication.

　　　This paper firstly provides a historical background of nonverbal communication, and then introduces the definition of nonverbal communication, the functions of nonverbal communication and the characteristics of nonverbal communication. Furthermore, it gives the specific details to illustrate the nonverbal intercultural differences in five aspects, namely body language, proxemics, time language, silence and paralanguage. In the end, this paper further emphasizes the important role of nonverbal communication in intercultural communication.

Key Words：nonverbal communication; intercultural communication;  cultural differences

中文摘要:在跨文化交际中，存在着语言交际和非语言交际两种手段。语言交际包括语言文字本身以及人们通过不同的表达方式表达出来的不同意义。非语言交际指语言行为以外的所有交际行为。它具有语言交际所不可替代的作用，是跨文化交际的重要组成部分。

　　本文首先介绍非语言交际的历史背景，接着，给出非语言交际的定义，介绍其功能及特征，然后，对非语言交际中的体态语，体距语，时间语，沉默语及副语言等方面进行详细分析，说明非语言交际在不同文化中的差异，最后，进一步强调非语言交际在跨文化交际中的重要地位。

关键词: 非语言交际；跨文化交际；文化差异