kinesics

Definition of Kinesics

(noun) The study of non-verbal body movements such as facial expressions and gestures as a means of communication.

Example of Kinesics

• Analyzing eye movement, posture, and touching in relation to gender and power dynamics.
  

Etymology of Kinesics

• Coined by Ray Birdwhistell (1918–1994) in 1952.

Kinesics Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: ki·ne·sics

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /kəˈnisɪks/
• British English – /kᵻˈniːsɪks/

Usage Notes

• A kinemes is the smallest unit of movement, similar to morphemes or phonemes.
• Also called:
  • nonvocal communication
  • pasimology
• Informally called body language.

Additional Information

• Sociolinguistics Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “kinesics” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com

Related Terms

• grammar
• language
• morpheme
• phoneme
• phonology
• semantics
• speech

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Works Consulted

Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Tischler, Henry L. 2011. Introduction to Sociology. 10th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).

Cite the Definition of Kinesics

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “kinesics.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved October 15, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/kinesics/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

kinesics. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/kinesics/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “kinesics.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed October 15, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/kinesics/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“kinesics.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 15 Oct. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/kinesics/>.