VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ DỊU THE USE OF BODY LANGUAGE IN INAUGURAL
ADDRESSES MADE BY THE US PRESIDENTS
VIỆC SỬ DỤNG NGÔN NGỮ CƠ THỂ TRONG CÁC BÀI
PHÁT BIỂU NHẬM CHỨC CỦA CÁC TỔNG THỐNG MỸ

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Linguistics
Code: 60.220.201
HANOI – 2014
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ DỊU THE USE OF BODY LANGUAGE IN INAUGURAL
ADDRESSES MADE BY THE US PRESIDENTS
VIỆC SỬ DỤNG NGÔN NGỮ CƠ THỂ TRONG CÁC BÀI
PHÁT BIỂU NHẬM CHỨC CỦA CÁC TỔNG THỐNG MỸ


Date: Hanoi, April 22, 2014
ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Duong Duc Minh, PhD for his
patient guidance, and careful correction in my thesis.
I am indebted to my teacher, Nguyen Thi Hang for her useful materials advices.
My special thanks are to my boyfriend, Nguyen Van Tien who have encouraged and
helped me a lot during this study.
Finally, my heart- felt gratitude goes to my family members, especially, my mother for
their assistance and encouragement in my training course. iii

ABSTRACT
To date, there have been a lot of researches to build the suggestion that nonverbal communication,

Figure 1: The Illustrator used in communication 7
Figure 2:Transition signals used in interpersonal communication 7
Figure 3. Emblems used in communication 8
Figure 4: Affect Display of personal emotion 8
Figure 5. Various Facial Expressions of the communicators 11
Figure 6. Four distance zones in interpersonal communication 21
Figure 7. Comparisons of the uses of left and right hands of the two Presidents 27
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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1. Spoken clauses used by the two presidents in the analysis 25

List of figures iv
List of tables v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale for the Study 1
2. Aims of the Study 3
3. Significance of the Study 3
4. Scope of the Study 4
5. Organization of the Study 4
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5
1.1. Introduction to Body Language or Nonverbal Communication 6
1.1.1Definition of body language or nonverbal communication 6
1.1.2. Elements of nonverbal communication 6
1.1.2.1.Gestures 6
1.1.2.2.Facial Expression 8
1.1.2.3. Eye behaviors 11
1.2. Theories, Structures and Significance of Nonverbal Communication 12
1.2.1. Theories of Nonverbal Communication 12
1.2.1.1. Ray Birdwhistell's Theory on Kinesics (1970) 12
1.2.1.2. Edward Hall‘s Theory on Proxemics 12
1.2.1.3. Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen‘s Theory on Kinesics (1969) 13
1.2.2 Functions of Nonverbal Communication 14
1.2.3. Structure and Properties of Nonverbal Communication 15
1.3. Significance, Benefits and Limitations of Nonverbal Communication 17
1.3.1. Relationships between verbal and nonverbal communication 17
1.3.2. Studying fields of nonverbal communication 18
1.3.3. Significance of nonverbal communication in social activities 19
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humans. Since ancient times, the language systems of humans have associated with a
number of crucial elements, such as the movements, gestures, sounds or symbolic items.
To date, there have been a lot of hypotheses of the origin, the spot of time, the methods and
conditions of the appearances of languages in the world, and the first one to be used in the
world is still a great topic for debates.
The origins of languages have been in efforts of scientists to figure out the first
appearing one, and the progress is still very long for the world to continue. There have
been a number of approaches that scientists have used as tools to find out the true. The first
approach is the ―Continuity theories‖. The assumption of this type of theories is that the
languages cannot be the single form as the starting point to the ending ones used in today‘s
context. Our primate ancestors should have generated a lot of pre-linguistic systems as the
foundation for the later developments of lines of languages. Based on the demographic,
ethnic, living and communicating conditions, each language can have their separate
developments from those systems in their evolutions.
In another type of theories, the "Discontinuity theories", which have the
assumption that languages integrated unique characteristics, and that they should have had
their appearances in the long progress of human evolution.
Another important approach is that the languages can be formed in the
combinations of the genetic codes and the social interactions, through appearances,
experiences and modifications (U1bek, 1998). However, the common important agreement
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of those theories is that language is the multifunctional tool, which can critically help the
developments of human communications. It can serve humans with countless cultural,
communal, and societal functions.
Firstly, with the cultural functions of languages, it can help the particular society to
preserve and transfer the cultural elements from this generation to the others. For instance,
the Vietnamese people have the customs to teach the children the traditional values such as
patriotism, respect, and worshipping the ancestors; the American kids can learn the
traditional values by themselves to individualism and freedom in social activities.

The main aims of this study will be elaborated as to:
- The different roles of hand gestures and facial expressions in their uses in official
events of the US Presidents.
- The differences in the uses of dominant and non-dominant hands of the US
presidents in relation with their valances to the good or bad things.
The findings in this study will be exploited to test the validity of the hypotheses:
- The Presidents have the tendency to use more body movements as elements of
body languages than facial expressions.
- Different uses of dominant and non-dominant hands of the presidents, according to
the nature of the object in the speeches and the valences.
3. Significance of the Study
In our time of globalization of the business and social environment, cross-cultural
interactions have been the important elements to be identified and deployed. Culture has
been recognized to be very important in the international context of interactions (Hofstede,
2001). However, there have been little reaches into the roles of nonverbal interactions in
the course of cross-cultural communications. Culture matters, as well as the methods and
time of their effects, should be identified and discussed due to their increasingly important
role in international communications (Leung, Bhagat, Buchan, Erez, and Gibson, 2005;
Kirkman, Lowe, and Gibson, 2006).
Derived from such situations, nonverbal interaction should be placed into the
higher level of significances. The findings in this study will be expected to identify and
discuss the relationships between the differences in cultural applications of the nonverbal
interactions in social affairs, as well as the effects they may provide the communicators in
different contexts. With the official Western uses of nonverbal communicating elements
identified and analyzed in this study, the roles, applications and effectiveness of those
4

elements can have significant enhancements for the learners and communicators of English
in international contexts.
4. Scope of the Study

receiving information through the moves of our body. Body languages can appear in the
two specific ways. The open body language and close body language.
According to many theorists, the body language should be considered as the very
old method of transferring information, onto which we can date back to the time of our
ancestors. Within the gestures and movements, body languages can convey the meanings
to the receiver, even when sounds have no other roles in communication. For instance, the
open language can show the receiver that the communicator has no weapons concealed;
contrarily, with close body language, the receiver may understand that the communicator is
hiding something, which can be threatening to them. All the above subconscious behaviors
will be understood by the receiver through body langue or nonverbal communication.
In this part of the study, we have a progress to examine all possible aspects of
nonverbal communication, or body languages. We will even bring in many examples of
body language used by many US Presidents in the history. In the first chapter of this part,
we will make the initiative demonstration of the uses and affection of the body languages
to the communicators, as well as the communicating effects that this type of language
transferring may bring to the communicator. In the second chapter, we can have more
theoretical insights into the traits and effects of the nonverbal communication in social
affairs.
Coming next in the progress to chapter 3 of this part of the study, we will provide
the readers with a number of possible strategies to deploy this method of communication
into social and communal affairs. Besides, we can also list and analyze the possible
limitations and advantages of nonverbal communication for social communication.
In chapter 4, the last chapter in this part, we will make the real approaches to the
body language used by the US Presidents through data collection and analysis, so that such
official uses of body language of the Presidents can help us to determine the possible
applications of this type of communication for the English leaner and communicators.
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1.1. Introduction to Body Language or Nonverbal Communication
1.1.1 . Definition of body language or nonverbal communication

7 Figure 1: The Illustrator used in communication (Gregersen, 2007)
 Regulators: is another type of gesture as in figure 2 used in inter-personal
communication to point out the personal turn or procedure in communication. In
social communication, turn-taking has its important role in determining the
interaction pattern of the communication, so that each participant can have his or
her meaning of the meaning and intention of the speaker. In most social affair, this
used to be done unconsciously and smoothly, as it can covey the intention of both
the listener and the speaker for the coming session of the communication (Duncan,
1972, 1974). Most of the time, turn-taking in conversation is conducted by
transition signals. It is important that the participants should understand the use of
the transition signal, otherwise the conversation may be interrupted and the
meaning of the conversation can be limited.

Figure 2:Transition signals used in interpersonal communication (Gregersen,2007)
 Emblems: are the nonverbal behaviors used by the participants that can be
translated into an underlying message. They can be substitute for words, and the
verity can change from this culture to another one. For the good understanding of
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the meaning of those elements in nonverbal communication, the learners of every
language should learn all the possible meaning of those emblems. And in figure 3 is
an example:

Figure 3. Emblems used in communication (Gregersen, 2007)
 Affect Display: As can be seen in figure 4 is another type of expression of the body
that can be used by the communicators to express the personal emotion at the very
time. Most of the time, this type of expressions can be communication through the

Signals readiness Smiles and flashes used in greeting
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Smiles temper a negative message Conspiratorial wink
Eyebrows meet to communicate confusion Happiness

Anger Disgust
Sadness Fear
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Surprised Face simulates emotion
Face intensifies emotion Face neutralizes emotion
Figure 5. Various Facial Expressions of the communicators (Source: Gregersen, 2007)
1.1.2.3. Eye behaviors
The eyes used to be called ―the window to the soul‖. Thus, in interpersonal
communication, the eyes used to be focused more than the other parts of the body. This is
due to the unconscious perception of the highly expressive nature, which can very
helpfully to send and receive the communicating messages in face to face communication.
By the fact that the eye has higher probability of being noticed in communication, it has
more prominent interaction signal to convey meanings.
Richmond and McCroskey (2000) describe the uses of the eyes to help us to control
interactions, elicit the attention of others, and show an interest of the specific piece of
information being transferred. There are two types of eye behaviors to be identified and
deployed into social affairs, including eye contact and eye gazing. Eye contact occurs in
communication when people participating into the communication looks into the eyes of
the others, while gazing can occur anytime a person look at another (Andersen, 1999).
According to Knapp and Hall (2006), gazing itself has five functions in
communication, such as Regulating the flow of conversation, monitoring feedback,
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there are many typos of spaces and distances that may create various effects for the
communicator:
 Types of Space
o Fixed Feature Space: this includes the unmovable objects involve in the
communication, such as the rooms and walls.
o Semifixed Feature Space: embraces the movables objects in the
communication to have better results.
o Informal Space: personal environment in which the communication created,
which may vary in different cultures.
 Types of Distance
o Intimate (0-18 inches): to be used in communications of closely related
persons, such as family, friends and love ones.
o Personal (1 ½ to 4 feet): to be used in some more formal communications,
such as the interviews or discussions.
o Social (4 to 12 feet): most commonly used in casual communication in daily
communication.
o Public (over 12 feet): mostly used in formal conferences a meeting, with
large number of people involved.
In this theory of Edward Hall, distance has an important role in communication to
provide the participants with the indications to the relations with the others, the way to
perceive the particular subject, the way to interact with others, and the way cultures can
have effects to the uses of distance in communication. Besides, the author also provided
the readers with the factors that the participants can use to affect the others in certain
conditions.
1.2.1.3. Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen‘s Theory on Kinesics (1969)
In this work, their theory mainly concern with the movements of hands and the
face. The outcomes of this theory can help the readers with more understanding of the
mood, personality, mood and actions of individuals in communication. The combination of
the different movements of the face and hands can help the participants to understand more

Nonverbal itself can serve a lot of functions in the curse of communication
(Harrison, 1973). Nonverbal communication can define the communications by offer the
background for the communication to be established. For instance, the context made by the
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participants in the room can indicate the content of the communication to be transferred. It
can also be the behaviors or the ways people dress to join the communication. Nonverbal
communication can also regulate the verbal communication of people.
Most of the verbal communication includes the nonverbal behaviors of the
participants, which people may realize and redirect the content t of the communication. For
instance, the movements of nod or smile in the communication may indicate that the
communicator is listening and understanding the content being transferred. For the
speakers, he may slow down or lower the voice at the end of the communication. Or if he
would like to continue the communication, the speaker would add the signals of pause into
the communication, which can help the listener to keep listening and focus on the progress
of the communication. Those subtle signals are the back channel of the communication.
They have the function at the peripheral side of the communication, and not in the main
concentration of the communication.
Nonverbal communication can also be the message itself. For instance, a smile can
indicate the joy of the speaker, a frown indicates happiness, and a wrinkled nose
associating with the saying ―I love you‖ may indicate deception. A series of hand
movements may indicate the saying ―Goodbye‖ of the communicator. There are no words
needed to convey those messages. Most of their meanings are culturally determined, and
they can change from this culture to another.
1.2.3. Structure and Properties of Nonverbal Communication
According to the suggestions of many scholars, nonverbal communication has the
same properties to the ones of verbal communication. Those properties are structured rules,
intentionality, awareness, the rate of overt, control, and how to be conducted publicly.
However, those properties may be slightly different from the ones of the verbal
communication (Andersen, 1999; Burgoon, Buller, & Woodal, 1996). In order to be able to

the person if he or she knows that laughing is not allowed in the situation (Frank, 2003), or
the smiling person in the situation where sliming is not allowed, despite his or her efforts
to control (Hurley & Frank, 2011).
Finally, verbal communication is more public than nonverbal communication. For
public speaking, the visible or audible messages should be available for large number of
people to hear or see, not just for the intended person to understand the meaning. To be
used in public context, the content of the communication used to be structured, while the
verbal communication tends to be foddered for private conversation. In the past, when
politician speak in front of a large number of people, their gestures and clothes are not the
objects to be discussed. However, this trend has been changed so far.