ABSTRACT
Two of the most powerful nonverbal codes are kinesics—or body movements—and vocalics—variously referred to as paralanguage, prosody, or speech. Each code can be described according to its building blocks (structure) and its functions (communication purposes) or meanings. Kinesics has drawn the most research attention of any nonverbal code, and it includes body movement, facial displays, and eye behavior. This chapter organizes the material on kinesics into the origins and acquisition, features, and norms and expectations. It then does the same for the vocalic code. The chapter reveals how complex these two codes are and many of the ways in which people use them in their everyday lives.
