A smile, gesture, posture, glance, sigh, touch can sometimes tell much more about a person than his speech or letter. The authors of this fundamental monograph consider physicality as an integral part of culture, and nonverbal semiotics as the most important component of not only language, but also social life. How do language and body influence each other? What cultural interpretations do we give to these relationships? What is the role of nonverbal communication in creating cultural differences? Is it really true that underestimating body language can sometimes become no less an obstacle to mutual understanding than ignorance of foreign languages? The monograph was written by a team of leading experts in the field of nonverbal semiotics, headed by Doctor of Philology, Honored Professor of the Russian State University for the Humanities G. Kreidlin.