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Portrait of Ray Birdwhistell

Ray Birdwhistell

(1918–1994) Anthropologist

1 quotes in 13 categories

Ray Birdwhistell was an anthropologist, best known for Kinesics and Context.

Quick Facts About Ray Birdwhistell

Born
September 28, 1918
Died
October 19, 1994
Profession
Anthropologist
Notable works
Kinesics and Context

About Ray Birdwhistell

Ray L. Birdwhistell was an American anthropologist who founded kinesics as a field of inquiry and research. Birdwhistell coined the term kinesics, meaning "facial expression, gestures, posture and gait, and visible arm and body movements". He estimated that "no more than 30 to 35 percent of the social meaning of a conversation or an interaction is carried by the words." Stated more broadly, he argued that "words are not the only containers of social knowledge." He proposed other technical terms, including kineme, and many others less frequently used today.

Biography source: Wikipedia

Quotes by Ray Birdwhistell