Paper short abstract:

This paper presents findings from a study involving Chilean migrants in England and their observations on nonverbal behaviours among their hosts. Different gestures and other forms of physical communication were at times imitated and adopted in order to ‘fit in’ the mainstream culture, which also touches upon issues of belonging and ethnic identification.

Paper long abstract:

Over the past few decades, Chilean migrants in the UK have become a minority within the Hispanic population of the country. Adapting to living in England, particularly for extended periods of time, meant observing and often adopting some of the nonverbal behaviours of the English. Although Chileans in England have generally managed to maintain their ethnic identity, they have also consciously and unconsciously adopted some of the nonverbal behaviours observed among their hosts, which in turn has aided in the process of intercultural adaptation. In a study on identity and cross-cultural adaptation, Chileans reported observing differences among the English in terms of oculesics (eye contact and movement), haptics (touching behaviour), proxemics (the social use of space; e.g., the distance between people in a conversation), kinesics (gestures, facial expressions), and chronemics (meaning and use of time).

The study reveals that the differences in nonverbal behaviour generally made Chileans more conscious of their own actions, often felt puzzled about what to do, and made them uncomfortable about not 'fitting in.' As a result, learning and imitation became a constant exercise among the migrants where one's identity was continuously contested while adapting to living in a new cultural environment.