Готовый перевод Словарь жестов / Dictionary of gestures: 1

Dictionary of Gestures

Anna Fenko

Kommersant VLAST // the 24th of April 2001

One day an American President Richard Nixon got in trouble. In a speech in Brazil, he habitually threw up a hand with his thumb and forefinger connected with each other, making a circle. For him, as for any American, the gesture meant "okay." And for Brazilians - as soon as it turned out - sexual abuse.

Only a few gestures have universal appeal. They are mainly involuntary gestures that reflect our emotions and not only are common to all people, but also unite us with primates. For example, gorillas, like humans, cover their face when upset, beat their chest to show their confidence, and clasp their hands, when greatly excited. In almost every culture, a man who shrugs shows insecurity, indifference or neglect, and the one who pinches nose with his hand, according to the unpleasant smell. A bow (head or body) is universal to all cultures expression of reverence. However, along with the universal gestures accurately reads the representatives of the majority of cultures, there are many gestures that different cultures have various (and sometimes - just the opposite) sense. And similar meanings, conversely, are transmitted by different gestures.

Difficulties in understanding of body language are well illustrated in one of children's joke. There are a cowboy and Indian. Indian pokes in the face of a cowboy pointing a finger, and another - pointing two. Then Indian folds his hands in the shape of a house, and the cowboy in response draws a wavy line in the air using his hand. After returning home, both retell the dialogue. Cowboy: "I just met a very warlike Indian. He says, "I will put out an eye of you." And I answered him: "And I'll - both." He's like, "I'll bury you." And I told him, "I'll drown you." An Indian recounts the dialogue as follows: "I just met a crazy cowboy. I asked him: "Who are you?" He replied: "Goat." I ask: "Caucasian?" And he said, 'No, waterfowl. "

Misunderstanding of gestures peculiar to people of other cultures often leads to confusion, resentment and even conflict. Here is how in the same cases different people gesticulate.

Pointing

The first reasonable gesture, which uses each baby who yet cannot neither speak nor walk, - is pointing. Pulling his hand in the direction of the subject that interests him, a baby tells an adult: "I want this." An adult in its turn, understands the meaning of this gesture and gives the baby a toy or a bottle of food. A pointing gesture can occure in almost every culture, but in many countries, as in Russia, pointing one's finger can be considered as being rude. In most Western cultures pointing a finger - means showing disrespect and demonstrating one's superiority. Hindus point a finger only at subordinate, and to instruct a person who is on a higher social lever, they use chin movement. Neutral pointing gesture of Hindus is made by the palm and reminds Lenin's pose on numerous monuments: "The correct road to go, comrades!"

In Indonesia pointing can be realized not with forefinger, but with a thumb, and Filipinos point to object by their eyes and the extended lips. This unusual for us pointing gesture is quite widely popular among American Indians and some African nations.

Calling up

"Attracting" gesture typical for us when the hand is raised against breast level, fingers are directed up and make shaking movements to itself, can be read by some people, for example Arabs, in opposite sense – as the requirement to leave. To call up someone, Arabs (and adopted at them this gesture Spaniards and Latin Americans) overturn a hand a palm down and move fingers as though dig the earth. In the same way call up people in Japan. China and Hong Kong. However, there, it is possible to see a person who calls up someone with a forefinger. But be sure that the person never responds to such appeal as this gesture is directed only to animals.

To call up the waiter, in the different countries there are also specific gestures. For example, British and Americans, calling up the waiter, represent in the air the whole pantomime using both hands as though they sign the account. And in France it is enough to cast away the head back and to tell: "Monsieur! " In Colombia and other Latin American countries sometimes to call up the waiter, you should clap your hands over the head, but this gesture is considered as being discontent.

Greeting

Handshake became a traditional greeting in many regions of the world. In the USA and in many countries of Western Europe this gesture equally use both men, and women. However in the countries, where the emancipation didn't set still too far (for example, in Latin America), it isn't accepted when a man first gives a hand to a woman. In China and Japan handshake is accepted only among equal partners in the social status, and people of a higher status welcome others more often with a polite bow. And in some regions of Mexico there is a widespread tradition to shaking each others' hands, to grab a partner's thumb.

At excited inhabitants of Southern Europe (Italians, French, Belgians) use a triple kiss as a greeting. Thus many of them are for some reason sure that the same greeting is accepted in Russia. Foreigners sometimes are very surprised when they hear that in Russia a triple kiss have a religious sense and once a year – for Easter is executed.

In India a traditional welcome gesture – is when hands are put together with fingers up (as it is in a prayer). On Philippines people welcome each other with a slight raise of their eyebrows. And people in Tibet, having met people for the first time, show them their tongue. This sign means: "I have nothing wrong in my mind".

Approval, admiration

If for expression of admiration you got used to use your thumb raised up, in many countries you risk to be misunderstood. In the Middle East (for example, in Iran) this gesture is considered as an obscene one.

In Spain, Mexico and Colombia to express admiration, people clamp an ear lobe using two fingers. This gesture is usually used to a hostess for her tasty food. For expression of extreme degree of delight Brazilians can even throw a hand for the head and reach an opposite ear.

When a Frenchman wants to tell about something that is refinement and refinement top, it, having connected tips of three fingers, brings them to lips and, having highly raised chin, and blows kisses. And Chinese, expressing satisfaction, simply carry their palm to lips.

Turks have a unique gesture of approval: they raise a hand up and slowly put fingers in a fist as though they squeeze something.

Gestures of approval can be well-known American gesture "O'K" (a ring formed by a thumb and a forefinger) which means "everything is all right, everything is good". In other cultures it can have other meaning. In France it means "zero", "nothing came of it", in Japan it symbolizes money and is used in a purchase and sale situation (for example as a request of a cashier to give you change by coins). In Spain, Greece and South America this gesture carries a sexual and offensive meaning, an example of it can be a story about Richard Nixon written above.

Gratitude

On Ceylon the gratitude is often expressed by a simple smile but if you smile too often, it can be understood as sexual flirting. The Chinese gesture meaning "thanks" — is raised hands (to a head level) which have been laid down in handshake (we have similar gesture which means "friendship" or "agreed! ").

In different areas of China there are different gestures that mean gratitude for good service at a restaurant. In Northern China "thanks" is designated with a thumb and a forefinger that form a cirle (unlike gesture "o'k" ahand thus isn't raised up, and leans on a table). In the Southern China as a token of gratitude tap with fingers on a table that reminds the European involuntary gesture of nervousness and excitement.

The sense of this gesture goes back to times of the emperor Qian Lunya from a dynasty Cin. Once the emperor traveled incognito across the Southern China with the court. Not to be recognized, the emperor was dressed in a simple dress and served his servants over a cup of tea. And they to express to the emperor respect and gratitude secretly, invented the gesture, representing fingers doing infinite bows.

Flirt

Gestures that mean admiration of female beauty, in all cultures are considered as being immodest. But if in Europe women quite favourably suffer any whistling, winking, clicking of fingers and blowing kisses sent to them, in Asian countries for similar delights it is possible to get phisicaly injured. It is also useful for young ladies to be able to distinguish simple flirt from dirty sexual hints. In France rough sexual gesture is clicking fingers at the same time both hands and claping of a palm with one hand on the clenched fist of another. In Greece sexual harassments the percussion a finger on a chin expresses, winking, whistle and air kisses. In Argentina the man does to the woman the obscene offer, tapping on hip inside, and in Egypt – tapping with the friend about the friend with tips of forefingers.

Insult

In many cultures offensive gestures have phallic symbols. Offensive in many cultures is considered to raise fist up (e.g, Pakistan), the thumb (Iran), the index finger or arm bent at the elbow with the compressed fist (China). But there is also purely national abuse. In England, the offensive is considered a sign of V (Victory), if it is not made with the palm to the outside, but to the the face. Apparently, the English borrowed this gesture from the Arabs, who lifted the tip of the nose with two fingers, imitating the movement of the phallus. The most flagrant sexual abuse among Americans is fist with a raised middle finger.

The Greeks, vice versa, wanting to offend somebody, make the thumb downwards. Usually this gesture is common among drivers, which express something like, "Where you're going, asshole! Do not you see I'm driving!". We have this gesture esp. among young people that means "sucks" that is "bad."

In Greece, there is another gesture, having an offensive meaning. You pull the hand, palm forward, fingers spread - something like what we do, when we want to ask someone to shut up. The gesture goes back to the days of antiquity, when faces of fallen enemies were made mired. Looks like there is an insulting gesture in Nigeria. And in Chile, this gesture has a specific meaning, and means "Asshole!". In Saudi Arabia they use a more complex variant of the gesture when a hand with outstretched fingers is parallel to the ground, and with the index finger pointing down.

If Russiaт fig refers mainly to the children's abusive gestures (and protruding tongue), then among many nations (for example, the Turks, Latinos, inhabitants of the Mediterranean), this gesture is a deadly insult, because it has a phallic significance. In Brazil it, on the contrary, means good luck. And in Paraguay offensive is considered a gesture which in the U.S. means good luck: the crossed index and middle fingers. Probably, such inversion of the positive and negative sense is not accidental: in Russia these ritual of wishing good luck also consists of phrases, the literal meaning of which is far from friendly ("Break your leg" - "Go to hell! ").

The representatives of Western countries can offend Arabs for their habit to sit cross-legged, especially in American style - "figure four" (calf of one leg is on the hip of the other). This is due to the fact that the Middle East is considered it insult to show the soles of their shoes to another. By the way, the American way of crossing feet cost the lives of several spies during the Second World War, who due to this gesture, which is not peculiar to Europeans, were identified by German counterintelligence.

In India, the worst insult is to step on someone's foot (even accidentally). In Thailand, people may be offended if you put your hand on the back of the chair where he sits, and in Japan - if you give him your business card with one hand, and not with both (you also need take an offered item by both hands and with a slight bow).

In addition to simply insulting gestures, in many cultures there are ways to express more specific charges.

Drunk. In order to warn that a person is drunk, Frenchman join the thumb and the forefinger forming the ring ¬ tso and "put" this ring on thier nose. The Dutch in the same situation tap their forefinger at the nose.

Chatterbox. To show that they are fed up with someone's mindless chatter, the French make a gesture simulating a play on an imaginary flute. In Latin America and the Middle East to convey the meaning "chatterbox", "yap" they use movements with the hand, representing their mouth opening.

Meanie. To show that a man is greedy, in Colombia they tap at the inside elbow of one hand with fingers of the other.

Liar. In Israel there are specific gesture for interpreting of lies. When Israeli taps with his forefinger of one hand at the open palm of the other, he says: "Rather grass will grow on the palm of my hand than I believe what you say." In France, the forefinger near the lower eyelid means "lie" or "They consider me a liar."

Homosexual. In the Middle East one report about non-standard sexual orientation of the person in the follows way: he licks little finger and brushes with this finger his eyebrow. Italians transmit a similar meaning by tingling of the ear lobe. In Spain, there is an offensive gesture with a similar connotation, meaning "slut" or "sucker": the head is cocked to one side, the cheek is resting on the palm (imitation of the pose of a sleepy child).

Intelligence and stupidity

Gestures depicting intelligence and stupidity often have opposite meanings in different cultures. For example, when a Frenchman, German or Italian is considering any idea useful, he taps distinctly himself at the head. German slap on the forehead with open palm is an eqvivalent for exclamations: You have gone crazy to go! "And when the British or Spanish is tapping at his forehead, he, on the contrary, is pleased with himself. Despite the fact that this gesture shares a bit of self-irony, the man still praises himself for acumen: "What the mind!"

Germans, Americans, French and Italians tend to draw a spiral near the head with their index finger that means a crazy idea.

Gesture of a finger towards the temple for Germans and Austrians means "crazy!". And in number of African cultures this gesture means that a person is deep in thought. In France, the same gesture means that a person is just a fool, but in the Netherlands - on the contrary, that he or she is smart.

Especially confusing is the reference for the intellectual level of a talker in modern Israel. In the officially and generally accepted by the country body language to put your finger to the temple means to praise someone for a smart idea. However, many ethnic groups in Israel perceive the gesture differently. For Moroccan Jews, as well as for the French, it means "nonsence", for American Jews - "you're crazy", and for those coming from Romania - "I think" or "think".

Affirmation and negation

Those who are used to understand the movement of the head down as "yes", and from side to side as "no", will find a lot of difficulties in the Middle East. In Saudi Arabia, yes is the rotation of the head from side to side (as we have "no"), and "no" is tilting the head back and snapping tongue. In Lebanon and Iraq in order not to say "no", it is enough to sharply raise and tilt the head back, and to say "yes", vice versa, to slightly tilt it forward and down. In Turkey, the negation is expressed in the following way: you have to tilt the head back slightly and close the eyes. Turkish approval - the tilt of the head down and a bit to the side.

Evil tongues say that it is a flirtatious habit of Princess Diana to slightly tilt the head to one side and down has influenced on her charitable career. Whenever she visited one of some Middle Eastern countries with humanitarian mission, and listened to its numerous requests for a help, they took her gesture for agreeing to help and scattered in gratitude. Princess had nothing but fulfill all the requests of the afflicted.

In India and Malaysia as a sign of the consent people shake their head from one shoulder to the other (in Russia this gesture means conviction). In Germany "no" is often referred to a hand waving from side to side (a favorite gesture of the Soviet leaders on the podium of the mausoleum).

Bulgarians are known as a sign of agreement to shake their heads from side to side, and as an agreement - they nod. The legend holds that these gestures are originated from a deed of a folk hero. Turkish conquerors declined him to renounce his faith of the fathers to the adoption of Islam. Under the threat of death he had to agree verbally, however, with a parallel gesture he at the same time expressed his rejection. Since then the nod in Bulgaria means "no".

Attracting attention

To draw attention to what you are talking about the Brazilians snapp their fingers while dropping their hand aside. In Portugal, if you want to be heard, you need to pull your hand forward with the palm down and shake your fingers, as if you are petting someone's head. The gesture, which is often used by Western speakers for drawing attention of the audience (the palm extended forward with fingers splayed across), in Greece means a gross insult.

Alarm

When the Spaniard or Hispanic touches with his index finger his lower eyelid and gently pulls it down, it means: "Be careful, look sharp!" If a Frenchman or a Dutchman rubs with his forefinger his nose, he warns: "There is something wrong", "Be careful", "Don't trust these people". This gesture is very close to the Italian rapping with the forefinger on the nose that means: "Beware of the danger."

Doubt, confusion

When a Portuguese taps at his chin with the forefinger, the gesture means: "I do not know!" And if to tap at the chin with the thumb, the gesture will have a completely different meaning: someone has died. In Paraguay, to say "I do not know," you just take your chin with two fingers, and in Japan – shake a hand from side to side. Puerto-Ricans, shaking the tip of the nose, ask: "What's going on here?"

Apology

If a Hindu is touching your shoulder, and then your forehead, it means that he brings you his apology. And if he grabs his earlobes, he deeply regret what he has done and swears allegiance. This is a traditional gesture of the service.

Good luck

Austrians in order to wish good luck to the man, put two fists together and make a downward movement, as if hitting the table. In the United States "for good luck" they cross middle and index fingers. The same gesture in Russia among children means that a person is going to tell lies. In China, good luck means when fingers are clasped in a castle and pinned to the chest. Another variant of the Chinese gesture is when little fingers are clasped together. This means reaching agreement informally and hope that this agreement will be a long one. Our kids use the same gesture as symbolizing reconciliation, and in Latin America and the Middle East, linked little fingers, on the contrary, should be interpreted as follows: "The end. We had a fight".

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