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Multimodal Analysis of Handshake Etiquette at a State Visit Welcome Ceremony based on the ELAN Program

Tszyan Shan'

PhD in Philology

Postgraduate student, Department of General and Russian Linguistics, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia

117198, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 3, sq. 462

699shan@gmail.com
Other publications by this author
 

 
Chulkina Nina Leonidovna

Doctor of Philology

Professor, Department of General and Russian Linguistics, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia

117198, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 10, office 643

nina.chulkina@yandex.ru

DOI:

10.25136/2409-8698.2022.11.39252

EDN:

PARLHO

Received:

25-11-2022


Published:

02-12-2022


Abstract: The handshake is an important element of etiquette in many cultures. It is used in various, not only official, but also informal situations that express greetings, farewells, gratitude, etc. In this work, the object of study is the etiquette of shaking hands during the welcome ceremony of a state visit. The subjects of the study are various modalities and their meanings when performing a handshake. The authors consider in detail such aspects as the requirements of a handshake in official communication: the duration of the handshake, the distance between the communicants, the types of modalities: facial expressions, visual gaze, body movement. Particular attention is paid to highlighting and analyzing the significance of handshake modalities during the welcoming ceremony. The conducted research provides information about the meaning of the handshake and the role of other non-verbal modalities: distance, gestures, gaze and facial expressions, which are designed to demonstrate politeness in a communicative situation. A special contribution of the authors to the study of the topic is to identify the function and meaning of various modalities during a handshake. The study helps to study the expression of politeness in various modalities during a welcome ceremony. The novelty of the study lies in the analysis of etiquette in terms of multimodality. Using the ELAN software, the modalities of the handshake at the ceremony are displayed visually, which allows statistical methods to match verbal and non-verbal elements during the handshake.


Keywords:

welcome ceremony, handshake, etiquette, facial expressions, gaze, distance, body movement, politeness, multimodality, ELAN

This article is automatically translated.

In the modern world, a state visit is an effective means of intensifying exchanges and promoting friendly relations between the two countries. All countries attach great importance to the visits and meetings of honored guests. A state visit is an official diplomatic visit by the head of state of one country at the invitation of the head of another state, this is the highest level of diplomatic exchange between the two countries. The purpose of such visits, as a rule, is to discuss important political issues and plans for cooperation between the countries[16]. The welcoming ceremony is the most important event during the state visit, which expresses the highest respect for the guest of honor. And, accordingly, the diplomatic etiquette at the ceremony must be fully understood and observed so that the ceremony can be conducted in accordance with official protocol and to the satisfaction of both parties. Diplomatic etiquette is regarded as an international courtesy. International politeness (etiquette) is "the rules of benevolence, correctness, restraint, attention, mutual respect of participants in international communication." Politeness and etiquette are interrelated concepts with a common goal of regulating interstate relations [3].

In a situation of diplomatic communication, a handshake is a very important element of etiquette. According to Erasmus of Rotterdam, the handshake was introduced by Quakers at the end of the XVII century, who did not want to bow or take off their hat in front of another person. This gesture was conceived as a greeting of an equal to an equal, since bowing or removing the hat often carried undesirable connotations of inequality between the gesticulating and the addressee[5]. Greeting is usually accompanied by additional non-verbal means, such as gestures, facial expressions, tone, proxemics, etc. [12]Greeting gestures can be divided into substitutive and accompanying[1]. First of all, each nation has an idea of the appropriate communication distance for different communicative situations[11]. When shaking hands, both sides should face each other, keep about one step apart, palms slightly straight forward and down, thumbs separated from palms, and the other four fingers naturally closed. The right hand is used to shake hands: the palms and five fingers hold each other tightly, and the left hand naturally hangs on the outside of the thigh[4]. Secondly, a handshake can be very informative, especially its intensity and duration, which are also part of the etiquette of a handshake[6]. The handshake time is about 1-3 seconds. Especially in the case of a welcoming ceremony, when a lot of people gather, it is inappropriate to shake hands with only one person for a long time, so as not to cause misunderstanding of others. At the same time, the strength of the handshake should be moderate, too strong handshakes seem rude, and too easy grasping of the fingertips when shaking hands seems arrogant or careless. As a sign of respect, when shaking hands, the upper part of the torso is slightly tilted forward, the head is slightly lowered, a smile is on the face, the interlocutor's eyes meet, and greeting words are pronounced. When shaking hands, you can shake your hands up and down to show enthusiasm, but it is not recommended to shake from side to side or be stiff. The handshake sequence is also a very remarkable moment. The order of extending the hand should be determined in accordance with the social status, age, gender and personality of the giver and the recipient of the handshake. As a rule, the principle of "decisions of respected persons" is observed, that is, the so-called priority of the superior, the priority of the senior, the priority of the master and the priority of the lady [15]. Obviously, the handshake (strong, sluggish, faceless) says a lot. This is a kind of "signal", just like a smile[2]. In order to better visualize and analyze the functions of different types of modalities during the handshake, it is necessary to use the ELAN program, which helps to identify the modalities used in the communication process. The ELAN program is widely used in multimodality research. In the modern study of intercultural communication in linguistics, scientists are increasingly considering "multimodality" as an important area of research. The definition of "multimodality" has been dynamically developing since its inception. According to A.A. Kibrik, the concept of (multi)modality in the narrow sense of the word refers to the difference between human sensory organs, primarily the difference between the visual and auditory channels. However, within each of these channels there are further, more fractional differences, which are also covered by the concept of multimodality. Modality is how things are perceived and happen. A person lives in a world consisting of many information modalities, including visual, auditory, textual, olfactory and many others, we call this a multimodal problem. Basically, the modalities are studied, including "3B": verbal (text), vocal (speech) and visual. As stated in A.A. Kibrik's work “Multimodal linguistics”, verbal and nonverbal components interact in communication. Nonverbal components include gestures, gaze direction, facial expressions and other aspects of “body language”. [7] If we take as an example the meeting ceremony in China and Russia, then, due to the language barrier between the two sides, etiquette can manifest itself through certain gestures or body language, which also reflects the multimodal nature of communication. [8] A multimodal study of the correlation of verbal and nonverbal components of communication is conducted on the basis of different programs for annotation of video fragments. [9]

ELAN is one of the most frequently used programs. Elan was developed by the Max Planck Institute in the Netherlands for the study of psycholinguistics. The purpose of the program is to provide good technical support for annotation and multimedia development. ELAN is a professional tool for complex annotations of video or audio files. When using ELAN, you can add an unlimited number of annotation layers to video and audio. Annotation can be carried out using sentences, words, translations, or a description of the details of the video[13] (see Figure 1). The "layer" is the main function of the ELAN program. This is the basis for transcription and annotation. Different annotation contents can be assigned to different layers. In accordance with the needs of the research object, various annotation layers are installed in the annotation software in order to annotate the corpus from different points of view[17].

Fig. 1

This paper analyzes the etiquette of a handshake between a person being met (Xi Jinping) and a greeter (the head of the welcoming delegation of the Russian Federation) at a meeting ceremony at the airport, which is presented in the video "Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow to begin his state visit to the Russian Federation on June 5, 2019" [10]. Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on a state visit URL?http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2019-06/05/c_1124587811.htm [Accessed: 10/20/2022]. The video is divided from 00:02:24:680 to 00:02:30:047 into eight layers (see Fig. 2), the used modalities of the met (Xi Jinping) and the greeter (the head of the welcoming delegation of the Russian Federation) when shaking hands are annotated.

Fig. 2

Table 1Statistics

Layer

Start time

Xi Jinping's Handshake

00:02:24:691

The handshake of the greeter

00:02:24:680

The main purpose of the Xi Jinping handshake and the greeter's handshake layers is to reflect the sequence of stretching hands. Judging by the sequence in the annotations (see Table. 1), the first person who will extend his hand in the video is the greeter (the head of the welcoming delegation of the Russian Federation). According to the international general rules, the host is obliged to be the first to extend his hand to the guest. Therefore, when meeting foreign guests of honor at the airport, regardless of whether it is a man or a woman, the receiving party should be the first to extend its hand to express its greeting. [14].

The annotation in the layer of Xi Jinping's facial expressions is a smile (see the table. 2). A smile is a form of greeting that requires a relaxed, natural face and slightly raised corners of the mouth. A smile shows respect for a person. The rigidity and indifference of the face when shaking hands can cause people to feel detached and dissatisfied.

Table 2 Annotation statistics

Layer: Xi Jinping's Facial Expressions

Layer: Xi Jinping's View

Annotation

Average duration

Annotation

Average duration

Smile

5.367

Si looks at the greeter when talking

5.367

 

In the layers of Xi Jinping's gaze and the gaze of the greeter, one nonverbal signal that accompanies a handshake is a glance. (see the table. 2). It is very important to look into each other's eyes when shaking hands. If your eyes look around or run around, you will look defiant and careless, which, of course, is extremely impolite.

In two layers, the accompanying gestures of Xi Jinping and the greeter are marked by the accompanying actions shown by the two sides when shaking hands (see Table 3). The torso leans slightly forward, and the head drops slightly when shaking hands, which indicates the respect of both sides for each other.

Table 3 Annotation statistics

Layer: Xi Jinping's accompanying gestures

Layer: accompanying gestures of the greeter

Annotation

Annotation

Xi Jinping nods his head for the first time

The body of the greeter is slightly tilted forward

Xi Jinping nods his head for the second time

The greeter bends slightly

Xi Jinping leans slightly

 

Xi Jinping's body tilts slightly forward

 

 

In this layer, attention is paid to the sequence and duration of actions (see the table. 4). According to the “Average duration” column, it can be seen that the handshake lasts a little more than a second, which also corresponds to the optimal range of handshake duration, which we mentioned above.

Table 4Annotation statistics

Layer: duration of handshake

Annotation

Average duration

Both sides reached out to each other

0.291

Handshake gesture

1.199

Both sides separated their hands

0.381

 

Conclusion

A handshake is the most common element of etiquette that people use in almost any communication situation. A handshake accompanied by speech or replacing speech, and as a non-verbal means, has a rich content. This article analyzes the use of handshake etiquette at the state visit welcome ceremony, the main meanings are greeting (the greeter) and gratitude (the met). With the help of ELAN software, the functions of other nonverbal means when performing this element of etiquette are analyzed. The analysis allows us to draw the following conclusion: the meaning of handshake etiquette is very rich, as is the role of other nonverbal modalities, such as distance, gestures, gaze and facial expressions, which are also worth paying attention to, since they are designed to demonstrate politeness in a communicative situation.

References
1. Anisimov L.N. (2010) The Nature of International Law Norms // St. Petersburg: Leningrad Law Journal. No. 3 (21),34
2. Borunkov A.F. (2007) Diplomatic protocol in Russia. Ed. 3rd, add. M.: International Relations,103
3. Kapkan M.V., Likhacheva L.S. (2017) Business etiquette Yekaterinburg: Ural University Press,30
4. Kibrik A.A. (2010) Multimodal linguistics // Cognitive research-IV. M.: IP RAN.,148
5. Kibrik A.A. (2010) Multimodal linguistics // Cognitive research-IV. M.: IP RAN.,145
6. Kreydlin G.E. (2002) Non-verbal semiotics. Body language and natural language M .: New Literary Review,311
7. Kreydlin G.E. (2002) Non-verbal semiotics. Body language and natural language M .: New Literary Review, 314
8. Kudinova E.S. (2020) Modern methods of speech interaction research // Bulletin of the Moscow State Linguistic University. Humanitarian sciences. No. 1 (830),126
9. Larina F.Sh. (2008) Diplomatic protocol in the law of foreign relations: author. dissertations of a candidate of legal sciences. Kazan,12
10. Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on a state visit http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2019-06/05/c_1124587811.htm [Date of access: 20.10.2022]
11. Talybina E.V. (2005) Non-verbal means of communication in Russian speech etiquette // Bulletin of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. Series: Russian and foreign languages and methods of their teaching. No.1,60
12. Formanovskaya N.I.(1984) The use of Russian speech etiquette M: Russian language,15
13. Wu Ruizhu, Li Hanjing, Lu Huihua, Yao Dengfeng (2019) Building a Chinese Parallel Corpus in Sign Language Software: Ekining LAN magazine. No.2,46
14. Zhang Yan, Han Yuhe (1993) Foreign Affairs Etiquette Nanjing: Yiling Publishing House,34
15. Xiao Yang (2017) Etiquette in Foreign Affairs and Etiquette of Foreign Visitors Shenyang: Liaoning People's Publishing House,30
16. Jin Zhengkun (2017) Etiquette in International Relations (Fifth Edition) Beijing: Capital University of Economics and Business Press,119
17. Huang Lihe (2015) Corpus 4.0: Multimodal construction of the corpus and its application // Luo Yang: Journal of the PLA Institute of Foreign Languages. No.3,4

First Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The article submitted for consideration "Multimodal analysis of handshake etiquette in the welcoming ceremony of a state visit based on the ELAN program", proposed for publication in the journal "Litera", is undoubtedly relevant, due to consideration of extralinguistic features of behavior at official international events and receptions. The author conducts research in the field of psycholinguistics based on data from a specialized computer program. This program allows you to analyze the non-verbal aspects of negotiation. The uniqueness of the program lies in the analysis of "body language", which makes it possible to compare verbal and non-verbal elements using statistical and mathematical methods. In the reviewed work, the author draws attention to the peculiarities of handshaking when conducting business negotiations at the interstate level. This paper analyzes the etiquette of a handshake between a greeter (Xi Jinping) and a greeter (the head of the welcoming delegation of the Russian Federation) at the airport meeting ceremony, which is presented in the video "Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow to begin his state visit to the Russian Federation on June 5, 2019." The article is innovative, one of the first in the Russian linguistics, dedicated to the study of such topics in the 21st century. The article presents a research methodology, the choice of which is quite adequate to the goals and objectives of the work. The author turns, among other things, to various methods to confirm the hypothesis put forward. The following research methods are used: statistical, logical-semantic analysis, hermeneutical and comparative methods. This work was done professionally, in compliance with the basic canons of scientific research. The research was carried out in line with modern scientific approaches, the work consists of an introduction containing the formulation of the problem, the main part, traditionally beginning with a review of theoretical sources and scientific directions, a research and a final one, which presents the conclusions obtained by the author. Some of the conclusions are presented in tabular format. It should be noted that the introductory part does not contain historical information on the study of this issue both in general (research directions) and in particular. There are no references to the work of the predecessors. In addition, the objectives and purpose of the study are not clear, which does not allow them to be correlated with the conclusions obtained. The bibliography of the article contains 10 sources, among which theoretical ones are published exclusively in Russian, which narrows the scientific novelty and separates the study from global linguistics. The question arises - are the works of Chinese researchers presented in translation into Russian or did the author not include the original titles in the bibliography? Unfortunately, the article does not contain references to fundamental works such as monographs, PhD and doctoral dissertations. In addition, questions cause a violation of the generally accepted GOST when making a bibliographic list, a violation of the alphabetical order of the sources. The article contains typos, unclear wording, logical and semantic errors. Typos: "respect may be shown", "accompanying gestures", "Xi Jinping bows", "met (Xi Jinping)" (named after P.?), The sentence needs to be reformulated: Through analysis, it was found that a handshake is not as simple as holding two hands together, it also requires both sides handshakes reacted appropriately in terms of facial expressions, gaze, gestures and other modalities. The proposal requires reformulation: The handshake duration layer marks the process from two sides A strange logical judgment "Handshake is etiquette" The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of using its results in the teaching of university courses on intercultural communication, psycholinguistics and language theory. The article will undoubtedly be useful to a wide range of people, philologists, undergraduates and graduate students of specialized universities. The article "Multimodal analysis of handshake etiquette in the welcoming ceremony of a state visit based on the ELAN program" can only be recommended for publication in a scientific journal. After serious revision and correction of language inaccuracies.

Second Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

Modern man lives in a world consisting of many information-related modalities. The modality can be differentiated into visual, auditory, textual, olfactory and many others. The study of this series makes it possible to explain the communication process more objectively, to identify the most difficult stages of the implementation of the so-called constructive dialogue. The ELAN digital platform has already proven itself and the statistical study of the accumulated experience, in my opinion, is of some practical interest. As the author of the study notes, "ELAN is one of the most frequently used programs. Elan was developed by the Max Planck Institute in the Netherlands for the study of psycholinguistics. The purpose of the program is to provide good technical support for annotation and multimedia development. ELAN is a professional tool for complex annotations of video or audio files. When using ELAN, you can add an unlimited number of annotation layers to video and audio. Annotation can be done using sentences, words, translations, or a description of the details of the video...". The author specifies that "this work analyzes the etiquette of handshaking between the person being met (Xi Jinping) and the greeter (head of the welcoming delegation of the Russian Federation) at the airport meeting ceremony, which is presented in the video "Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow to begin his state visit to the Russian Federation on June 5, 2019." The factual block does not cause There is no doubt, because all the data is included in the work (photos, tabular type, statistics, etc.). In my opinion, the key points related to the assessment of Xi Jinping's handshake and the handshake of the welcoming party are still determined, an assessment of the so-called "actions" at different levels is given: time, facial expressions, gaze, accompanying gestures… It is obvious that the author of the work is trying to analyze the situation of the "non-verbal type" in as much detail as possible to confirm the importance of the ceremonial handshake. The analytical grade is stable, for example, this is clearly manifested in the following fragments: "the main purpose of the layers Xi Jinping's handshake and the handshake of the greeter is to reflect the sequence of stretching hands. Judging by the sequence in the annotations (see table. 1), the first person who will extend his hand in the video is the greeter (the head of the welcoming delegation of the Russian Federation). According to the international general rules, the host is obliged to be the first to extend his hand to the guest. Therefore, when meeting foreign guests of honor at the airport, regardless of whether it is a man or a woman, the receiving party should be the first to extend his hand to express his greeting," or "in the layers of Xi Jinping's gaze and the gaze of the greeter, one non-verbal signal that accompanies a handshake is a glance. (see the table. 2). It is very important to look into each other's eyes when shaking hands. If your eyes look around or run around, you will look defiant and careless, which, of course, is extremely impolite. In two layers, the accompanying gestures of Xi Jinping and the greeter are marked by the accompanying actions shown by the two sides when shaking hands (see Table 3). The torso leans slightly forward, and the head drops slightly when shaking hands, which indicates the respect of both sides for each other," etc. In my opinion, it would be interesting to compare at least two images to verify the difference between, at first glance, very similar and formal procedures. But the reviewed material is also interesting, holistic, and original. In the final part, it is indicated that "the analysis allows us to draw the following conclusion: the meaning of handshake etiquette is very rich, as well as the role of other non-verbal modalities such as distance, gestures, gaze and facial expressions, which are also worth paying attention to, since they are designed to demonstrate politeness in a communicative situation." I believe that the work can be a kind of counterpoint for the formation of new thematically related studies. The purpose of this essay has been achieved, the tasks have been solved, no serious editing is required. The article "Multimodal analysis of handshake etiquette at the welcoming ceremony of a state visit based on the ELAN program" can be recommended for publication in the journal "Litera".