Edward T．Hall

chapter ten SPACE SPEAKS

Every living thing has a physical boundary that separates it from its external environment．Beginning with the bacteria and the simple cell and ending with humans，every organism has a detectable limitwhich marks where it begins and ends．A short distance up the phylogenetic scale，however，another，non-physical boundary appears that exists outside the physical one．This new boundary is harder to delimit than the first but is just as real．We call this the “organisms’territory．”The act of laying claim to and defending a territory is termed territoriality．It is territoriality with which this chapter ismost concerned．In humans，it becomes highly elaborated，as well as being very greatly differentiated from culture to culture．

Anyone who has had experience with dogs，particularly in a rural setting such as on ranches and farms，is familiar with the way in which the dog handles space．In the first place，the dog knows the limits of hismaster’s“yard”and will defend it against encroachment．There are also certain placeswhere he sleeps：a spot next to the fireplace，a spot in the kitchen，or one in the dining room if he is allowed there．In short，a dog has fixed points to which he returns time after time，depending upon the occasion．One can also observe that dogs create zones around them．Depending upon his relationship to the dog and the zone he is in，a trespasser can evoke different behavior when he or she crosses the invisible lines which are meaningful to the dog．

This is particularly noticeable in femaleswith puppies．A mother who has a new litter in a little-used barn will claim the barn as her territory．When the door opens shemaymake a slight movement or stirring in one corner．Nothing else may happen as the intruder moves ten or fifteen feet into the barn．Then the dogmay raise her head or get up，circle about，and lie down as another invisible boundary is crossed．One can tell about where the line is by withdrawing and watching when her head goes down．As additional lines are crossed，there will be other signals，a thumping of the tail，a low moan or a growl．

One can observe comparable behavior in other vertebrates―fish，birds，and mammals．Birds have well-developed territoriality，areas which they defend as their own and which they return to year after year．To those who have seen a robin come back to the same nest each year thiswill come as no surprise．Seals，dolphin，and whales are known to use the same breeding grounds．Individual seals have been known to come back to the same rock year after year．

People have developed their territoriality to an almost unbelievable extent．Yet we treat space somewhataswe treat sex．It is there butwe don’t talk about it．And ifwe do，we certainly are not expected to get technical or serious about it．Theman of the house is always somewhat apologetic about“his chair”．How many people have had the experience of coming into a room，seeing a big comfortable chair and heading for it，only to pull themselves up short，or pause and turn to the man and say，“Oh，was I about to sit in your chair？”This reply，of course，is usually polite．Imagine the effect if the hostwere to give vent to his true feelings and say，“Hell，yes，you’re sitting in my chair，and 1 don’t like anybody sitting in my chair！”For some unknown reason，our culture has tended to play down or cause us to repress and dissociate the feelingswe have about space．We relegate it to the informal and are likely to feel guilty whenever we find ourselves getting angry because someone has taken our place．

Territoriality is established so rapidly thateven the second session in a series of lectures is sufficient to find a significant proportion of most audiences back in the same seats．What’s more，if one has bean sitting in a particular seat and someone else occupies it，one can notice a fleeting irritation．There is the remnant of an old urge to throw out the interloper．The interloper knows this too，because lie he or she will turn around or look up and say，“Have I got your scat？”atwhich point you lie and say，“Oh no，Iwas going tomove anyway”．

Once while talking on this subject to a group of Americans who were going overseas，one very nice，exceedinglymild-mannered woman raised her hand and said“Youmean it’s natural forme to feel irritated when another woman takes overmy kitchen？”Answer：“Not only is it natural，but most American women have very strong feelings about their kitchens．Even a mother can’t come in and wash the dishes in her daughter’s kitchen withoutannoying her．The kitchen is the place where‘who will dominate’is settled．Allwomen know this，and some can even talk about it．Daughterswho can’t keep control of their kitchen will be forever under the thumb of any woman who can move into this area．”

The questioner continued：“You know thatmakesme feel so relieved．1 have three older sisters and amother，and every time they come to town they march right into the kitchen and take over．Iwant to tell them to stay out ofmy kitchen，that they have their own kitchens and this ismy kitchen，but I always thought Iwas having unkind thoughts aboutmy mother and sisters，thoughts Iwasn’t supposed to have．This relievesme so much，because now I know I was right．”

Father’s shop is，of course，another sacred territory and best kept that way．The same applies to his study，if he has one．

As one travels abroad and examines the ways in which space is handled，startling variations are discovered―differenceswhich we react to vigorously．Since none of us is taught to look at space as isolated from other associations，feelings cued by handling of space are often attributed to something else．In growing up people learn literally thousands of spatial cues，all of which have their own meaning in their own context．These cues“release”responses already established in much the same way as Pavlov’s bells started his dogs salivating．Just how accurate a spatialmemory is has never been completely tested．There are indications，however，that it is exceedingly persistent．

Literally thousands of experiences teach us unconsciously that space communicates．Yet this factwould probably never have been brought to the level of consciousness if it had not been realized that space is organized differently in each culture．The associations and feelings that are released in amember of one culture almost invariablymean something else in the next．When we say that some foreigners are“pushy”，all thismeans is that their handling of space releases this association in ourminds．

What gets overlooked is that the response is there in toto and has been there all along．There is no point in well-meaning people feeling guilty because they getangrywhen a foreigner presents them with a spatial cue that releases anger or aggression．The main thing is to know what is happening and try to find outwhich cuewas responsible．The next step is to discover，if possible，whether the person really intended to release this particular feeling or whether he intended to engender a different reaction．

Uncovering the specific cues in a foreign culture is a painstaking and laborious process．Usually it is easier for the newcomer to listen to the observations of old-timers and then test these observations against their own experience．At first hemay hear，“You’re going to have a hard time getting used to the way these people crowd you．Why，when yon are trying to buy a theater ticket，instead of standing in line and waiting their turn they all try to reach in and get theirmoney to the ticket seller at once．It’s just terrible the way you have to push and shove just to keep your place．Why，the last time Igot to the ticketwindow of the theater and poked my head up to the opening，there were five arms and hands reaching overmy shoulder waving money．”Or they may hear the following：“It’s as much as your life is worth to ride the streetcars．They’re worse than our subways．What’smore，these people don’t seem tomind it at all．”Some of this stems from the fact that，as Americans we have a pattern which discourages touching，except in moments of intimacy．When we ride on a streetcar or crowded elevator we will“hold ourselves in”，having been taught from early childhood to avoid bodily contactwith strangers．Abroad，it’s confusing when conflicting feelings are being released at the same time．Our senses are bombarded by a stranger language，different smells，and gestures，aswell as a host of signs and symbols．

However，the fact that those who have been in a foreign country for some time talk about these things provides the newcomer with advance warning．Getting over a spatial accent is just as important，sometimesmore so，than eliminating a spoken one．Advice to the newcomermight be：Watch where people stand，and don’t back up．You will feel funny doing it，but it’s amazing how much difference itmakes in people’s attitudes toward you．

HOW DIFFERENT CULTURES USE SPACE

Several years ago a magazine published a map of the United States as the average New Yorker sees it．The details of New York were quite clear and the suburbs to the north were also accurately shown．Hollywood appeared in some detail while the space in between New York arid Hollywood was almost a total blank．Places like Phoenix，Albuquerque，the Grand Canyon，and Taos，New Mexico，were all crowded into a hopeless jumble．It was easy to see that the average New Yorker knew little and cared less for what went on in the rest of the country．To the geographer themap was a distortion of the worst kind．Yet to the student of culture it was surprisingly accurate．It showed the informal images thatmany people have of the rest of the country．

As a graduate student I lived in New York，and my landlord was a first-generation American of European extraction who had lived in New York all his life．At the end of the academic year as Iwas leaving，the landlord came down to watch me load my car．When Isaid goodbye，he remarked，“Well，one of these Sunday afternoons Iputmy family in the car and we drive out to New Mexico and see you”．

The map and the landlord’s comment illustrate how Americans treat space as highly personalized．We visualize the relationship between places we know by personal experience．Places which we haven’t been to and with which we are not personally identified tend to remain confused．

Traditionally American space begins with“a place”．It is one of the oldest sets，comparable to，but not quite the same as，the Spanish lugar．The reader will have no difficulty thinking up ways in which place is used：“He found a place in her heart，”“She has a place in themountains，”“Iam tired of this place，”and so on．Those who have children know how difficult it is to get across to them the whole concept of place―likeWashington，or Boston，or Philadelphia，and so on．An American child requires between six and seven years before he/she has begun to master the basic concepts of place．Our culture provides for a great variety or places，including different classes of places．

Contrasted with the Middle East，our system is characterized by fine gradations as one moves from one space category to the next．In the world of the Arab there are villages and cities．That is about all．Most non-nomadic Arabs think of themselves as villagers．The actual villages are of varying population，from a few families up to several thousands．

The smallest place category in the United States is not covered by a term like hamlet，village，or town．It is immediately recognizable as a territorial entity，nevertheless，because such places are always named．They are areas with no recognizable center where a number of families live―like Dogpatch of the funny papers．

Our Dogpatches present the basic American pattern in uncomplicated form．They have scattered residenceswith no concentration of buildings in one spot．Like time，place with us is diffused，so that you never quite know where its center is．Beyond this the naming of place categories begins with the“crossroads store”or“corner”and continues with the“small shopping center，”the“county seat，”the“small town，”“large town，”“metropolitan center，”“city，”and“metropolis”．Likemuch of the rest of our culture，including the social ranking system，there are no clear gradations as onemoves from one category to the next．The “points”are of varying sizes，and there are no linguistic cues indicating the size of the place we are talking about．The United States，New Mexico，Albuquerque，Pecos are all said the same way and used the same way in sentences．The child who is learning the language has no way of distinguishing one space category from another by listening to others talk．

Themiracle is that children eventually are able to sort out and pin down the different space terms from themeager cues provided by others．Try telling a five-year-old the difference between where you live in the suburbs and the town where your wife goes to shop．Itwill be a frustrating task，since the child，at that age，only comprehends where he/she lives．A child’s room，his house，place at the table are the places that are learned early．

The reason most Americans have difficulty in school with geography or geometry stems from the fact that space as an informal cultural system is different from space as it is technically elaborated by classroom geography and mathematics．Itmust be said in fairness to ourselves that other cultures have similar problems．Only the very perceptive adult realizes that there is anything really difficult for the child to learn about space．In reality，the child has to take what is literally a spatial blur and isolate the significant points that adults talk about．Sometimes adults are unnecessarily impatient with children because they don’t catch on．People do not realize that the child has heard older people talking about different places and is trying to figure out，from what he/she hears，the difference between this place and that．In this regard it should be pointed out that the first clues which suggest to children that one thing is different from another come from shifts in tone of voicewhich directattention in very subtle but importantways．Speaking a fully developed language aswe do，it is hard to remember that there was a time when we could not speak at all and when the whole communicative process was carried on bymeans of variations in the voice tone．This early language is lost to consciousness and functions out of awareness，so that we tend to forget the very great role it plays in the learning process．

To continue our analysis of the way children learn about space，let us turn to their conception of a road．At first a road is whatever they happen to be driving on．This doesn’t mean that they can’t tellwhen you take a wrong turn．They can，and often will even correct a mistake which is made．It only means that they have not yet broken the road down into its components and that theymake the distinction between this road and that road in just the same way that they learn to distinguish between the phoneme d and the phoneme b in initial position in the spoken language．

Using roads for cross-cultural contrast，the reader will recall that Paris，being an old city aswell as a French city，has a street-naming system that puzzlesmost Americans．Street names shift as one progresses．Take Rue St．-Honoré，for example，which becomes Rue du Faubourg St．-Honoré，Avenue des Ternes，and Avenue du Roule．A child growing up in Paris，however，has nomore difficulty learning his system than one of our children learning ours．We teach ours to watch the intersections and the directions and thatwhen something happens―that is，when there is a change of course at one of these points―you can expect the name to change．In Paris the child learns that as he/she passes certain landmarks―like buildings that are well known，or statues―the name of the street changes．

It is interesting and informative to watch very young children as they learn their culture．They quickly pick up the fact thatwe have names for some things and not for others．First，they identify the whole objector the set―a room，for instance；then they begin to fixate on certain other discrete objects like books，ashtrays，letter openers，tables，and pencils．By so doing they accomplish two things．First，they find out how far down the scale they have to go in identifying things．Second，they learn what are the isolates and patterns for handling space and object nomenclature．First children are often better subjects than second children，because，having learned the hard way，the first one will teach the second one without involving the parents．

The child will ask，“What’s this？”pointing to a pencil．You reply，“A pencil．”The child is not satisfied and says，“No，this，”pointing to the shaft of the pencil and making clear that shemeans the shaft．So you say，“Oh，that’s the shaft of the pencil”．Then the child moves her finger one quarter inch and says，“What’s this？”and you say，“The shaft”．This process is repeated and you say，“That’s still the shaft；and this is the shaft，and this is the shaft．It’s all the shaft of the pencil．This is the shaft，this is the point，and this is the eraser，and this is the little tin thing that holds the eraser on．”Then she may point to the eraser，and you discover that she is still trying to find outwhere the dividing lines are．Shemanages toworm out the fact that the eraser has a top and sides but nomore．She also learns and there is no way to tell the difference between one side and the next and that no labels are pinned on parts of the point，even though distinctions aremade between the lead and the rest of the pencil．She may glean from this thatmaterialsmake a difference some of the time and some of the time they do not．Areas where things begin and end are apt to be important，while the points in between are often ignored．

The significance of all thiswould undoubtedly have escaped me if it hadn’t been for an experience on the atoll of Truk．In a rather detailed series of studies in technology I had progressed to the point of having to obtain the nomenclature of the canoe and the wooden food bowl．At this point itwas necessary for theme to go through what children go through―that is，point to various parts after I thought Ihad the pattern and ask if Ihad the name right．As I soon discovered，their system of carving up microspace was radically different from our own．The Trukese treat open spaces，without dividing lines（as we know them），as completely distinct．Each area has a name．On the other hand，they have not developed a nomenclature for the edges of objects as elaborately as Westerners have done．The reader has only to think of rims of cups and the number of different ways in which these can be referred to．There is the rim itself．It can be square or round or elliptical in cross section；straight，flared，or curved inward；plain or decorated，and wavy or straight．This doesn’tmean that the Trukese don’t elaborate rims．They do；it justmeans thatwe haveways of talking aboutwhatwe do and notas many ways of talking about what happens to an open area as they do．The Trukese separate partswhich we think of as being“built in”to the object．

A certain decoration or carving at either end of a canoe-shaped food bowl is thought of as being separate or distinct from the rim in which ithas been carved．Ithas an essence of its own．Along the keel of the canoe the carving，called the chunefatch，has characteristicswith which it endows the canoe．The canoe is one thing，the chunefatch something else．Open spaces without obviousmarkers on the side of the bowl have names．Such distinctions in the dividing up of spacemake the settling of land claim unbelievably complicated in there islands．Trees，for instance，are considered separate from the soil out of which they grow．One man may own the trees，another the soil below．

Benjamin Whorf，describing haw Hopi concepts of space are reflected in the language，mentions tile absence of terms for interior three-dimensional spaces，such as words for room，chamber，hall，passage，interior，cell，crypt，cellar，attic，loft，and vault．This does not alter the fact that the Hopihavemulti-room dwellings and even use the rooms for special purposes such as storage，grinding corn，and the like．

Whorf also notes the fact that it is impossible for the Hopi to add a possessive pronoun to the word for room and that in the Hopi scheme of things a room in the strict sense of the word is not a noun and does not act like a noun．

Since there is a wealth of data on how strongly the Hopi feel about holding onto things which are theirs，one has to rule out the possessive factor in Whorf’s references to their inability to say“my room”．It’s just that their language is different．Onemightbe led to assume by this that the Hopiwould then lack a sense of territoriality．Again，nothing could be farther from the truth．They just use and conceive of space differently．We work from points and along lines．They apparently do not．While seemingly inconsequential，these differences caused innumerable headaches to the white supervisors who used to run the Hopi reservation in the first part of this century．

Iwill never forget driving over to one of the villages at the end of amesa and discovering that someone was building a house in themiddle of the road．It later developed that the culprit （in my eyes）was aman Ihad known for some time．Isaid，“Paul，why are you building your house in themiddle of the road？There are lots of good places on either side of the road．This way people have to knock the bottoms outof their cars driving around on the rocks to get to the village．”His replywas shortand to the point：“Iknow，but it’smy right．”He did have a right to a certain area laid down long before there was a road．The fact that the road had been used formany yearsmeant nothing to him．Use and disuse of space in our terms had nothing to do with his ideas of possession．

SPACE AS A FACTOR IN CULTURE CONTACT

Whenever an American moves overseas，he or she suffers from a condition known as “culture shock”．Culture shock is simply a removal or distortion ofmany of the familiar cues one encounters at home and the substitution for them of other cues which are strange．A good deal of what occurs in the organization and use of space provides important leads as to the specific cues responsible for culture shock．

The Latin house is often built around a patio that is next to the sidewalk but hidden from outsiders behind awall．It is easy to describe the degree towhich small architectural differences such as this affect outsiders．American Point Four technicians living in Latin America used to complain that they felt“left out”of things，that they were“shut off”．Others kept wondering whatwas going on“behind those walls”．In the United States，on the other hand，propinquity is the basis of a good many relationships．To us the neighbor is actually quite close．Being a neighbor endows one with certain rights and privileges，also responsibilities．You can borrow things，including food and drink，but you also have to take your neighbor to the hospital in an emergency．In this regard neighbors have almost asmuch claim on you as a cousin．For these and other reasons Americ try to pick th140eir neighborhood carefully，because they know that they are going to be thrown into intimate contactwith people．We do not understand why it is thatwhen we live next to people abroad the sharing of adjacent space does not always conform to our own pattern．In France and England，for instance，the relations between neighbors are apt to be cooler than in the United States．Mere propinquity does not tie people together．In England neighbor children do not play as they do in our neighborhoods．When they do play，arrangements are sometimesmade a month in advance as though they were coming from the other side of town！

Another example has to do with the arrangement of offices．In this case one notices great contrast between ourselves and the French．Part of our over-all pattern in the United States is to take a given amount of space and divide it up equally．When a new person is added in an office，almost everyone willmove his or her desk so that the newcomer will have a share of the space．Thismay mean moving from positions that have been occupied for a long time and away from favorite views from the window．The point is that the office force will make its own adjustments voluntarily．In fact，it is a signal that they have acknowledged the presence of the new person when they start rearranging the furniture．Until this has happened，the boss can be sure that the new person has not been integrated into the group．

Given a large enough room，Americanswill distribute themselves around the walls，leaving the center open for group activities such as conferences．That is，the center belongs to the group and is often marked off by a table or some object placed there both to use and save the space．Lacking a conference table，members willmove their chairs away from their desks to form a “huddle”in themiddle．The pattern ofmoving from one’s place to huddle is symbolized in our language by such expression as，“1 had to take a new position on that point，”or“The position of the office on this point is．．．”

The French，by contrast，do not make way for each other in the unspoken，taken-for-granted way thatwe do．They do not divide up the spacewith a new colleague．Instead theymay grudgingly give him/her a small desk in a dark corner looking toward the wall．This action speaks eloquently to Americans who have found themselves working for the French．We feel that not to“make a place”accents status differences．If the rearrangement which says，“Now we admit you to the group，and you are going to stay，”falls to take place，Americans are likely to feel perilously insecure．In French offices the key figure is the person in themiddle，who has his fingers on everything so that all runs smoothly．There is a centralized control．The French educational system runs from the middle，so that all students all over France take the same class at the same time．

It has already beenmentioned that ordering is an importantelement in American patterns． As a general rule，whenever services are involved we feel that people should queue up in order of arrival．This reflects the basic equalitarianism of our culture．In culture where a class system or its remnants exist，such ordinality may not exist．That is，where society assigns rank for certain purposes，or wherever ranking is involved，the handing of space will reflect this．

To us it is regarded as a democratic virtue for people to be served without reference to the rank they hold in their occupational group．The rich and poor alike are accorded equal opportunity to buy and be waited upon in the order of arrival．In a line at the theater Mrs．Gotrocks is no better than anyone else．However，apart from the English，whose queueing patternswe share，many Europeans are likely to look upon standing in line as a violation of their individuality．Iam reminded of a Pole who reacted this way．He characterized Americans as sheep，and themere thoughtof such passivenesswas likely to sethim off crashing into a line atwhatever point he pleased．Such people can’t stand the idea of being held down by group conformity as if they were an automaton．Americanswatching the Pole thoughthewas“pushy”．He didn’t bother to hide the fact that he thoughtwe weremuch too subdued．He used to say，“What does itmatter if there is a little confusion and some people get served before others？”

FORMAL SPACE PATTERNS

Depending upon the culture in question，the formal patterning of space can take on varying degrees of importance and complexity．In America，for example，no one direction takes precedence over another except in a technical or utilitarian sense．In other cultures one quickly discovers that some directions are sacred or preferred．Navajo doorsmust face cast，themosques of the Moslemsmust he oriented toward Mecca，the sacred rivers of India flow south．Americans pay attention to direction in a technical sense，but formally and informally they have no preference．Since our space is largely laid out by technical people，houses，towns，and main arteries are usually oriented according to one of the points of the compass．The same applies to roads and main highwayswhen the topography allows，as it does in the flat expanses of Indiana and Kansas．This technical patterning allows us to locate places by co-ordinates（a point on the line）．“They live at 1321 K Street，N．W．”tells us that they live in the northwest part of town in the thirteenth block west of the line dividing the town into east-west halves and eleven blocks north of the line dividing the town into north-south halves，on the left side of the street，about one quarter of the way up the block．

In the country wewill say，“Go outof town tenmileswest Highway 66 until you get to the first paved road turning north．Turn right on that road and go sevenmiles．It’s the second farm on your left．You can’tmiss it．”

Our concept of spacemakes use of the edges of things．If there aren’tany edges，wemake them by creating artificial lines（fivemileswestand twomiles north）．Space is treated in terms of a co-ordinate system．In contrast，the Japanese and many other people work within areas．They name“spaces”and distinguish between one space and the next or parts of a space．To us a space is empty―one gets into it by intersecting itwith lines．

A technical pattern which may have grown out of an informal base is that of positional value or ranking．We have canonized the idea of the positional value in almost every aspect of our lives，somuch so that even children four years old are fully aware of its implications and are apt to fightwith each other as to who will be first．

In addition to positional value，the American pattern emphasizes equality and standardization of the segments which are used for measuring space or into which space is divided，be it a ruler or a suburban subdivision．We like our components to be standard and equal．American city blocks tend to have uniform dimensionswhereas towns inmany other parts of the world are laid out with unequal blocks．This suggests that it was no accident thatmass production，made possible by the standarization of parts，had its origins in the United States．There are those who would argue that there are compelling technological reason for both mass production and parts standarization．However，an examination of actual practice indicates that Europeans have produced automobiles in the past—and very good ones too—in which the cylinders were all of different sizes．The difference in dimensions was not great，of course，a matter or a very few thousandths of an inch．This，however，was enough to cause the car tomake noise and use too much oil if it was repaired by an American mechanic unfamiliar with the European patterns that lack the uniformity isolate．

Japan，too，has a passion for uniformity，though it is somewhat different from ours．Allmats （tatami）on the floors of Japanese houses and all windows，doors，and panels are usually of identical dimensions in a given district．In newspaper advertisements of houses for sale or rent the dimensions are usually given in terms of the number ofmats of a specific area．Despite this example of uniformity，the Japanese differ from us in a way which have considerable economic results．In one case，for example，they manufactured a very large order of electronics parts according to rigid specifications which they were quite able to meet．When the product arrived in the United States，it was discovered that there were differences between various batches of these parts．The customer subsequently discovered that while the whole internal process of manufacture had been controlled，the Japanese had failed to standardize their gauges！It is no accident that in the United States there is a Bureau of Standards．Much of the success of this country’s technical skill and productivity，which we are trying to pass on to other nations，rests on these and similar unstated patterns．

HOW SPACE COMMUNICATES

Spatial changes give a tone to a communication，accent it，and at times even override the spoken word．The flow and shift of distance between people as they interact with each other is part and parcel of the communication process．The normal conversation distance between strangers illustrates how important are the dynamics of space interaction．If a person gets too close，the reaction is instantaneous and automatic―the other person backs up．And if they get too close again，back we go again．Ihave observed an American backing up the entire length of a long corridor while a foreigner whom he considers pushy tries to catch up with him．This scene has been enacted endlessly―one person trying to increase the distance in order to be at ease，while the other tries to decrease it for the same reason，neither one being aware of what was going on．We have here an example of the tremendous depth towhich culture can condition behavior．

One thing that does confuse us and gets in theway of understanding cultural differences is that there are times in our own culture when people arc either distant or pushy in their use of space．We，therefore，simply associate the foreigner with the familiar；namely those people who have acted in such a way that our attention was drawn to their actions．The error is in jumping to the conclusion that the foreigner feels the sameway the American does even though his/her overt acts are identical．

This was all suddenly brought into focus one time when I had the good fortune to be visited by a very distinguished and learned man who had been for many years a top-ranking diplomat representing a foreign country．After meeting him a number of times，I had become impressed with his extraordinary sensitivity to the small details of behavior that are so significant in the interaction process．Dr．X．was interested in some of thework several of uswere doing at the time and asked permission to attend one ofmy lectures．He came to the front of the class at the end of the lecture to talk over a number of points made in the preceding hour．While talking he became quite involved in the implications of the lecture as well as what he was saying．We started out facing each other and as he talked Ibecame dimly aware thathewas standing a little too close and that I was beginning to back up．Fortunately I was able to suppressmy first impulse and remain stationary because there was nothing to communicate aggression in his behavior except the conversational distance．His voice was eager，hismanner intent，the set of his body communicated only interest and eagerness to talk．It also came tome in a flash that someone who had been so successful in the old school of diplomacy could not possibly let himself communicate something offensive to the other person except outside of his highly trained awareness．

By experimenting I was able to observe that as Imoved away slightly，there was an associated shift in the pattern of interaction．He had more trouble expressing himself．If Ishifted to where I felt comfortable（about twenty-one inches），he looked somewhat puzzled and hurt，almost as though he were saying：“Why is he acting that way？Here Iam doing everything I can to talk to him in a friendly manner and he suddenly withdraws．Have I done anything wrong？Said something that Ishouldn’t？”Having ascertained that distance had a directeffect on his conversation，I stood my ground，letting him set the distance．

Not only is a vocalmessage qualified by the handling of distance，but the substance of a conversation can often demand special handling of space．There are certain things which are difficult to talk about unless one iswithin the proper conversational zone．

Not long ago I received a present of some seeds and chemicals along with the information that if I planted the seeds the chemicals would make them grow．Knowing little about hydroponics except that the plants should be suspended above the fluid in which chemicals are dissolved，I set out to find a suitable flowerpot．At every flower shop Iwasmetwith incredulity and forced to go through a routine involving a detailed explanation of justwhat itwas Iwanted and how hydroponicsworked．

My ignorance of both hydroponics and florist shopsmademe feel somewhat ill at ease，so that I did not communicate in themanner that Iuse when Iam speaking on a familiar subject in a familiar setting．The role that distance plays in a communication situation was brought home tome when Ientered a shop in which the floor was filled with benches spaced at about twenty-inch intervals．On the other side of the bencheswas the female proprietor of the shop．As Ientered，she craned her neck as though to reach over the benches，raised her voice slightly to bring it up to the proper level，and said，“Whatwas it you wanted？”I tried once．“What I’m looking for is a hydroponic flowerpot．”“What kind of flowerpot？”still with the neck craned． At this point I found myself climbing over benches in an effort to close up the space．It was simply impossible forme to talk about such a subject in a setting of this sort at a distance of fifteen feet．Itwasn’t until Igot to within three feet that Iwas able to speak with some degree of comfort．

Another example is one that will be familiar to millions of civilians who served in the Army duringWorld War II．The Army，in its need to get technical aboutmatters thatare usually handled informally，made a mistake in the regulations on distance required for reporting to a superior officer．Everyone knows that the relationship between officers and enlisted personnel has certain elements which require distance and impersonality．This applied to officers of different rankswhen they were in command relationship to each other．Instructions for reporting to a superior officer were that the junior officer was to proceed up to a point three paces in front of the officer’s desk，stop，salute，and state his/her rank，name，and business：“Lieutenant X，reporting as ordered，sir．”Now，what cultural norms does this procedure violate，and what does It communicate？It violates the conventions for the use of space．The distance is too great，by at least two feet，and does not fit the situation．The normal speaking distance for business matters，where impersonality is involved at the beginning of the conversation，is five and a half to eight feet．The distance required by the army regulations borders on the edge ofwhatwewould call“far”．Itevokes an automatic response to shout．This detracts from the respect which is supposed to be shown to the superior officer．There are，of course，many subjects which it is almost impossible to talk about at this distance，and individual army officers recognize this by putting soldiers and junior officer at ease，asking them to sit down or permitting them to come closer．However，the first impression was that the Army was doing things the hard way．

For Americans the following shifts in the voice are associated with specific ranges of distances：

1．Very close（3 in．to 6 in．）　Softwhisper；top secret

2．Close（8 in．to 12 in．）　Audible whisper；very confidential

3．Near（12 in．to 20 in．）　Indoors，soft voice；outdoors，full voice；confidential

4．Neutral（20 in．to 36 in．）　Soft voice，low volume；personal subjectmatter

5．Neutral（41/2 ft．to 5 ft．）　Full voice；information of non-personalmatter

6．Public Distance（51/2 ft．to 8ft．）　Full voice with slight overloudness；public information for others

to hear

7．Across the room（8ft．to 20 ft．）　Loud voice；talking to a group

8．Stretching the limits of distance

（20 ft．to 24 ft．Indoors；up to 100ft．outdoors）hailing distance，departures

In Latin America the interaction distance is much less than it is in the United States．Indeed，people cannot talk comfortably with one another unless they are very close to the distance that evokes either sexual or hostile feelings in the North American．The result is that when theymove close，wewithdraw and back away．As a consequence，they think we are distant or cold，withdrawn and unfriendly．We，on the other hand，are constantly accusing them of breathing down our necks，crowding us，and spraying our faces．

Americans who have spent some time in Latin America without learning these space considerationsmake other adaptations，like barricading themselves behind their desks，using chairs and typewriter tables to keep the Latin American at What is to us a comfortable distance．The result is that the Latin American may even climb over the obstacles until he or she has achieved a distance atwhich he or she can comfortably talk．

（the silent language．Edward T．Hall．1959）