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Saving-Face: The Nonverbal Communicology of Basic Emotions

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Exploring the Translatability of Emotions

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Abstract

Emotion displays on your face are an iconic sign of comportment—your disposition to act in a particular way. Most importantly, these nonverbal kinemes suggest the semiotic system (Peirce’s tone, token, type) that will contextually code the action impact of your verbal message. In short, how your face looks (tone) when you speak (token) will set the meaning frame (type) for what your listener hears you say (a translation with value significations). These phenomenological facts are most obvious to persons who engage in transcultural communication. At this level of interaction, the full dynamic system of (1) intra-personal, (2) interpersonal, (3) intra-group, and (4) inter-group communication is on visual display. The analysis uses the basic model of space (proxemics) and kinesics (human body motion). Communicology includes research and application on the emotion cycle of face displays (Happiness > Surprise > Fear > Anger > Disgust > Sadness > [Happiness]). I review the cross-cultural research on the technology of “face recognition software” now current as a growing ethical and political concern for communication policy where there is a cultural perception preference. The analysis compares and contrasts Egocentric (US America) and Sociocentric (PR China) cultures of communication.

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  1. International Communicology Institute, Washington, DC, USA

    Richard L. Lanigan

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  1. The University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Susan Petrilli

  2. The University of Sydney, Sydney, ACT, Australia

    Meng Ji

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Lanigan, R.L. (2022). Saving-Face: The Nonverbal Communicology of Basic Emotions. In: Petrilli, S., Ji, M. (eds) Exploring the Translatability of Emotions. Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91748-7_11

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