Proxemics is a part of semiotics that studies the “structure of human space”. Meaning, the placing of a person within the space in relation to the other people.
Edward Hall was the one who coined the term. He coins the following terms as well:
- Intimate space (0-45cm)
- Personal space (45-50cm)
- Social space (50-210cm), and
- Public space (above 210cm, usually between 4 and 8 meters)
These spaces are not just words to play with. They determine the acceptable behavior and do actually change how people act, depending on where they are located.
One can say that different semiotic behaviors occur within the different spaces and that there is a certain code (or regulation) to be followed depending on the space one occupies.
Edward Hall makes a point of the fact that Proxemics and its rules change based on the culture in question. Meaning, that people from different cultures perceive and interact with the space in significantly different manners.
According to Hall, Latino people perceive North Americans as cold people, as they are not comfortable with touching and are moving backward at the moment that a Latino person perceives the space adequate to start a conversation.
Meaning, that North Americans have different understandings of what space is acceptable for a conversation. And it looks like Edward Hall claims that the space North Americans prefer is bigger (more space) than the one that South Americans are comfortable with.
Of course, this is just a stereotype. Although it might be a correct one, it doesn’t mean that every North American prefers to talk from a bigger distance and that every South American likes to touch and to be touched.
Thomas Albert Sebeok reminds us that in the American tradition the science of proxemics and Kinesics (kinematics) is called non-verbal communication.
Lately, semioticians tend to unite Kinesics (kinematics), non-verbal languages, and Proxemics, as well as finger tapping and whistling under the umbrella title of “Non-verbal communication”.
