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The Secret Language of Barrier Signals
障碍信号的秘密语言
People feel safer behind some kind of physical barrier. If a social situation is in any way threatening, then there is an immediate urge to set up such a barricade. For a tiny child faced with a stranger, the problem is usually solved by hiding behind its mother's body and peeping out at the intruder to see what he or she will do next. If the mother's body is not available, then a chair or some other piece of solid furniture will do. If the stranger insists on coming closer, then the peeping face must be hidden too. If the insensitive intruder continues to approach despite these obvious signals of fear, then there is nothing for it but to scream or flee.在某种物理障碍后面,人们感觉更安全。如果一种社会形势有任何威胁,那么立即就会有建立这种障碍的冲动。对于一个面对陌生人的小孩来说,问题通常是通过躲在母亲身后,偷看入侵者,看他或她下一步会做什么来解决的。如果母亲的身体不在,那么一把椅子或其他一些结实的家具就可以了。如果陌生人坚持要走近,那么偷窥的脸也必须藏
起来。如果麻木不仁的入侵者不顾这些明显的恐惧信号继续接近,那么除了尖叫或逃跑,它就别无他法了。
This pattern is gradually reduced as the child matures. In teenage girls it may still be detected in the giggling cover-up of the face, with hands or papers, when embarrassed. But by the time we are adult, the childhood hiding, which decreased to adolescent shyness, is expected to disappear altogether, as we bravely stride out to meet our guests, hosts, companions, relatives, colleagues, customers, clients, or friends. Each social occasion involves us, once again, in encounters similar to the ones which made us hide as scared infants and, as then each encounter is slightly threatening. In other words, the fears are still there, but their expression is blocked. Our adult roles demand control and suppression of any primitive urge to withdraw and hide ourselves away. The more formal the occasion and the more dominant or unfamiliar our social companions, the more worrying the moment of encounter becomes. Watching people under these conditions, it is possible to observe the many small ways in which they continue to "hide" behind their mother's skirts. The actions are still there, but they are transformed into less obvious mov
ements and postures. It is these that are the Barrier Signals of adult life.随着孩子的成熟,这种模式逐渐减少。在十几岁的女孩中,当她们感到尴尬时,用手或纸捂着脸,咯咯地笑,仍然可以发现这种情况。但是,当我们长大成人的时候,当我们勇敢地大步走出去迎接客人、主人、同伴、亲戚、同事、顾客、客户或朋友的时候,童年的隐藏,也就是青春期的害羞,预计将完全消失。每一个社交场合都会让我们再次遭遇类似的遭遇,这些遭遇让我们像受惊的婴儿一样躲起来,因为每次遭遇都带有些许威胁。换句话说,恐惧仍然存在,但是它们的表达被阻断了。我们的成人角要求我们控制和抑制任何想要逃避和躲藏的原始冲动。场合越正式,我们的社交伙伴越占主导地位或越不熟悉,相遇的那一刻就越令人担忧。在这种情况下观察人们,就有可能观察到他们继续“躲”在母亲裙子后面的许多细微之处。动作仍然存在,但它们被转化为不那么明显的动作和姿势。这些是成人生活的障碍信号。
The most popular form of Barrier Signal is the body-cross. In this, the hands or arms are brought into contact with one another in front of the body, forming a temporary "bar" across the trunk. This is not done as a physical act of fending off the other person. It is done, usually at quite a distance, as a nervous guest approaches a dominant host. The a
ction is performed unconsciously and, if asked about it immediately afterwards, the guest will not be able to remember having made the gesture. It is always disguised in some way, because if it were performed as a primitive fending-off or covering-up action it would obviously be too transparent. The disguise it wears varies from person to person. Here are some examples:最常见的障碍信号形式是身体交叉。在这种情况下,手或手臂在身体前面互相接触,形成一个临时的“横杆”穿过躯干。这不是一种身体上的行为,以抵御另一个人。当一位紧张的客人接近占统治地位的主人时,通常会在相当远的距离内完成。这个动作是无意识地进行的,如果在之后马上被问及这个动作,客人就不会记得做过这个动作。它总是以某种方式被伪装起来,因为如果它是作为一种原始的防御或掩盖行动来执行,它显然会过于透明。它的伪装因人而异。以下是一些例子:
The special guest on a ceremonial occasion is getting off his official limousine. Before he can meet and shake hands with the reception committee, he has to walk alone across the open space in front of the main entrance to the building where the function is being held. A large crowd has come to watch his arrival and the press cameras are flashing. Even for the most experienced of celebrities this is a slightly nervous moment, and the mild fear th
at is felt expresses itself just as he is halfway across the "greeting-space". As he walks forward, his right hand reaches across his body and makes a last-minute adjustment to his left cuff-link. It pauses there momentarily as he takes a few more steps, and then, at last, he is close enough to reach out his hand for the first of the many hand-shakes.在一个正式场合,这位特别的客人要下他的官方豪华轿车。在与接待委员会见面握手之前,他必须独自走到举办活动的大楼正门前的空地上。一大人前来观看他的到来,媒体的摄像机也在闪烁。即使对最有经验的名人来说,这也是一个有点紧张的时刻,当他在“问候空间”的中间时,这种轻微的恐惧就会表现出来。当他向前走的时候,他的右手伸过他的身体,在最后一刻调整了他的左袖扣。当他又走了几步时,它停了一下,最后,它离他很近,可以伸出手来,开始多次握手。
On a similar occasion, the special guest is a female. At just the point where a male would have fiddled with his cuff, she reaches across her body with her right hand and slightly shifts the position of her handbag, which is hanging from her left forearm.在类似的场合,特别来宾是一位女性。就在男人摆弄袖口的时候,她用右手在全身上下移动手提包的位置,手提包挂在她的左前臂上。unfamiliar
There are other variations on this theme. A male may finger a button or the strap of a wristwatch instead of his cuff. A female may smooth out an imaginary crease in a sleeve, or reposition a scarf or coat held over her left arm. But in all cases there is one essential feature: at the peak moment of nervousness there is a body-cross, in which one arm makes contact with the other across the front of the body, constructing a barrier between the guest and the reception committee.在这个主题上还有其他的变化。男性可以用手指拨弄钮扣或腕表表带,而不用指袖口。女性可能会把袖子上想象的折痕弄平,或者把围巾或外套重新放在她的左臂上。但在所有情况下,都有一个基本特征:在紧张情绪最严重的时候,会有一个身体交叉,一只胳膊在身体前部与另一只胳膊接触,在客人和接待委员会之间架起一道屏障。

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