Non-Verbal Symbol Communication: A New Path for International Communication of Culture in the Era of Mobile Social Videos: A Semiotic Interpretation of Ziqi Li’s Videos on YouTube

Abstract

The representation modes, meaning production, and communication effects of cultural symbols vary with changes in communication forms. Due to inherent limitations, verbal symbols have led to dilemmas such as the loss of cultural connotations and the absence of audience’s sense of context co-presence in the international communication of culture. In the era of video communication based on mobile social media, the international communication of culture presents a new landscape, where the efficacy of non-verbal symbols is increasingly prominent. Transcending the constraints of physical time and space with their direct sensory impacts, strong metaphorical and symbolic nature, non-verbal symbols construct a space-oriented contextual field and a time-oriented narrative flow for both communicators and recipients by breaking through language barriers. This process prompts audiences from heterogeneous cultures to shift their attitudes to a specific culture from initial sensory arousal to cognitive restructuring and emotional resonance, ultimately achieving psychological identification and behavioral change.