THE WESTERN WORLD'S WAY WITH SPACE

So far we have considered body language in terms of spatial differences in widely disparate cultures, the East and Near East as opposed to the West. However, even among the Western nations, there are broad differences. There is a distinct difference between the way a German, for instance, handles his living space, and the way an American does. The American carries his two-foot bubble of privacy around with him, and if a friend talks to him about intimate matters they will come close enough for their special bubbles to merge. To a German, an entire room in his own house can be a bubble of privacy. If someone else engages in an intimate conversation in that room without including him he may be insulted. Perhaps, Hall speculates, this is because in contrast to the Arab, the German's ego is 'extraordinarily exposed'. He will therefore go to any length to preserve his private sphere. In World War II, German prisoners of war were housed four to a hut in one Army camp. Hall notes that as soon as they could they set about partitioning their huts to gain private space. In open stockades, German prisoners tried to build their own private dwelling units.

The German's 'exposed ego' may also be responsible for a stiffness of posture and a general lack of spontaneous body movement. Such stiffness can be a defence or mask against revealing too many truths by unguarded movements. In Germany, homes are constructed for a maximum of privacy. Yards are well fenced and balconies are screened. Doors are invariably kept closed. When an Arab wants privacy he retreats into himself but when a German wants privacy he retreats behind a closed door. This German desire for privacy, for a definite private zone that does not intrude on anyone else's, is typified by his behaviour in line-ups or queues.

At a movie house in a German-American neighbour hood I waited in line recently for a ticket and listened to the German conversation about me as we moved forwards in neat and orderly fashion. Suddenly, when I was just a few places from the ticket seller's window, two young men who, I later learned, were Polish walked up to the head of the line and tried to buy their tickets immediately. An argument broke out around us. 'Hey! We've been waiting on line. Why don't you?' ' That's right. Get back in line.' 'To hell with that! It's a free country. Nobody asked you to wait in line,' one of the Poles called out, forcing his way to the ticket window.

'You're queued up like sheep,' the other one said angrily. 'That's what's wrong with you Krauts.' The near-riot that ensued was brought under control by two patrolmen, but inside the lobby I approached the line crashers. What were you trying to do out there? Start a riot?' One of them grinned. 'Just shaking them up. Why form a line? It's easier when you mill around.' Discovering that they were Polish helped me understand their attitude. Unlike the Germans, who want to know exactly where they stand and feel that only orderly obedience to certain rules of conduct guarantees civilized behaviour, the Poles see civilized behaviour as a flouting of authority and regulations.

While the Englishman is unlike the German in his treatment of space - he has little feeling for the privacy of his own room - he is also unlike the American. When the American wishes to withdraw he goes off by himself. Possibly because of the lack of private space and the 'nursery' raising of children in England, the Englishman who wants to be alone tends to withdraw into himself like  the Arab. The English body language that says, 'I am looking for some momentary privacy' is often interpreted by the American as,' I am angry at you, and I am giving you the silent treatment.' The English social system achieves its privacy by carefully structured relationships. In America you speak to your next-door neighbour because of proximity. In England, being a neighbour to someone does not at all guarantee that you know them or speak to them. There is the story of an American college graduate who met an English Lady on an ocean liner to Europe. The boy was seduced by the Englishwoman and they had a wild affair. A month later he attended a large and very formal dinner in London and among the guests, to his delight, he saw Lady X. Approaching her he said,' Hello! How have you been?'