Body language

[miotas]

For an assignment I need to find some examples of non-verbal communication that have different meanings in different societies.

I have been having some difficulty but I have found out that thumbs up in some places (iran for one) is basically equivalent to giving someone the finger, and that in America doing what we call "the forks" (same as the peace sign but palm facing inwards) is just another version of "peace" but here is similar to giving someone the finger, ( I seem to be attracted to the finger for some reason) and I already knew from personal experience that aboriginal societies consider eye-contact with a non intimate person to be very rude or aggressive.

I would be very grateful if anyone could tell me any others, plus any sites that I can give as a source.

Cheers.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Well, we don't kiss people on the cheek to greet them.

I think shaking your head in some cultures means yes and others no.

[TinCow]

In Western cultures, barring parents and young children, holding hands indicates a romantic relationship. In Arab and other associated cultures, men hold hands as a sign of trust and friendship, without any romantic connotations.

[Ethelred Unread]

I remember Non-Verbal Comms from Uni doing linguistics.

Here's some:-

Handshake - Although generally adopted around the world. Southeast Asians press together; Japanese bow; Middle Easterners and many Asians favor a gently grip.
DIRECT EYE CONTACT - Asians, Puerto Ricans, West Indians, African American, Native Americans considered it to be rude, or disrespectful, or intimidating, or may indicate sexual overtones.
WAVING - "No" to most Europeans. Europeans raise the arm and "Bob" the hand up and down at the wrist."
BECKONING - Europeans and Asians raise the arm, palm facing down, and make a scratching motion with fingers. In Australia and in Indonesia, curling the index finger is used for beckoning animals.
"V" FOR VICTORY--In England, palm facing inward toward the face is an obscene gesture.
THE O.K GESTURE--In France it means zero. In Japan it means money or coins. In Brazil, Germany, and the former USSR., it is obscene gesture.
THUMBS UP --Also used for hitch-hiking in American. In Nigeria a rude gesture. In Australia, if pumped up and down is an obscene gesture. In Germany and Japan, the signal for "one."
WHISTLING--Throughout Europe, whistling at public events is a signal of disapproval, even derision.
NODDING AND SHAKING HEAD--Opposite meaning in Bulgaria, parts of Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Iran, and Bengal.
CRAZY-- In Argentina, "you have telephone call."

from this website (which is good cos it has academic references) http://www.csupomona.edu/~tassi/gestures.htm

You probably don't need the academic refs if you only want a list but they'd be good to quote in any assignment.

[Vuk]

Well, we don't kiss people on the cheek to greet them.

I think shaking your head in some cultures means yes and others no.

Actually, there is a Bulgar woman in my class.

[miotas]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I remember Non-Verbal Comms from Uni doing linguistics.

Here's some:-

Handshake - Although generally adopted around the world. Southeast Asians press together; Japanese bow; Middle Easterners and many Asians favor a gently grip.
DIRECT EYE CONTACT - Asians, Puerto Ricans, West Indians, African American, Native Americans considered it to be rude, or disrespectful, or intimidating, or may indicate sexual overtones.
WAVING - "No" to most Europeans. Europeans raise the arm and "Bob" the hand up and down at the wrist."
BECKONING - Europeans and Asians raise the arm, palm facing down, and make a scratching motion with fingers. In Australia and in Indonesia, curling the index finger is used for beckoning animals.
"V" FOR VICTORY--In England, palm facing inward toward the face is an obscene gesture.
THE O.K GESTURE--In France it means zero. In Japan it means money or coins. In Brazil, Germany, and the former USSR., it is obscene gesture.
THUMBS UP --Also used for hitch-hiking in American. In Nigeria a rude gesture. In Australia, if pumped up and down is an obscene gesture. In Germany and Japan, the signal for "one."
WHISTLING--Throughout Europe, whistling at public events is a signal of disapproval, even derision.
NODDING AND SHAKING HEAD--Opposite meaning in Bulgaria, parts of Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Iran, and Bengal.
CRAZY-- In Argentina, "you have telephone call."

from this website (which is good cos it has academic references) http://www.csupomona.edu/~tassi/gestures.htm

You probably don't need the academic refs if you only want a list but they'd be good to quote in any assignment.

Cheers, good stuff.

THUMBS UP -- In Australia, if pumped up and down is an obscene gesture.

This confused me at first as I'm an aussie and I didn't know what you were talking about. If someone did that we would most likely just think they were strange.

It is offensive however because it is usually combined with some insulting comment, along the lines of "up yer bum" or "sit on this" for a couple of examples I can safetly write here.

[Rhyfelwyr]

The v for victory thing in Britain goes back a long way. Longbowmen used to make the signal to the French, since when the French captured English longbowmen they would cut their second and third fingers off. Nowadays it is one of the most offensive gestures you could make, although I've noticed in some old films they use it quite lightly, so I think it only came to mean " off" in recent times.

[||Lz3||]

My french teacher told us the other day that in France they tap their forehead with the point of the finger to say someone is crazy or is talking nonsense. They make a circular motion with the point of their index to say that they're thinking on something. Here in Mexico is usually the opposite, since doing circular motions means someone is crazy.

er was I clear enough?

[miotas]

My french teacher told us the other day that in France they tap their forehead with the point of the finger to say someone is crazy or is talking nonsense. They make a circular motion with the point of their index to say that they're thinking on something. Here in Mexico is usually the opposite, since doing circular motions means someone is crazy.

er was I clear enough?

not really, but I hear everyone there is turning into pigs nowadays

[Hooahguy]

in israel if you throw up your hands in anger you usually get decked quite soon afterwards. theres more, i just have to remember them.

[pevergreen]

If you do the victory sign, then have your palm facing inwards and then put it against your mouth...

I agree with miotas, never seen the pumping thing.

[Beirut]

Well, we don't kiss people on the cheek to greet them.

Well we Quebecers do. Both cheeks. Men, women, who cares. Just like the Russians.

I told Gawain if he ever came to Quebec, I was going to bear hug him and plant one on each cheek.

Glad to see ya!

I haven't heard from him in a while...

[Louis VI the Fat]

Most specific examples I can think of are obscene gestures. For a general phenomenon, the further south you travel in Europe, the more elaborate non-verbal communication becomes. The Italians are the grandmasters. And down in Sicily, you wonder why they even intersperse their gestures with verbal commentary in the first place. On the other extreme, Norwegians look as if they are physically paralysed from the neck down. Hardly any physical motion.

My french teacher told us the other day that in France they tap their forehead with the point of the finger to say someone is crazy or is talking nonsense.

Oh dear...is that only a regional gesture?

I always thought it was pretty much international.

Also, it is customary in France for women to raise their shirts when greeting strange men on the street. Please, all you foreign touristes who are reading this, when in Rome do as the Romans do, eh?

[rasoforos]

NODDING AND SHAKING HEAD--Opposite meaning in Bulgaria, parts of Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Iran, and Bengal.

Ok if I might elaborate on this a bit.

First of all it is not 'parts of greece' but the whole of Greece. I gotta write your linguistics teacher a letter

Indeed Greecs do not shake their head to express negation. It is not nodding either though. Just imagine the opposite of a nod. An upwards motion instead of a downwards one.

Now, to the untrained eye this looks a lot like a nod. When I moved to England from Greece and met my wife to be I had to idea that this gesture was not universal. Consequently this led to a small number of missunderstandings until we got things straight and she could 'read' this move correctly. Initially she thought I was nodding aproval while I was in fact expressing negation. As a result we unknowingly skipped a great number of early-relationship quarrels and fell in love!

[Rhyfelwyr]

Yeah nodding the head can just be generally used to say you're listening to the other person or thinking about what they are saying, rather than actually giving approval.

[Ethelred Unread]

Like for all good Uni essays I did a cut and paste job from that website and so can't be 100% that they're all correct.

I can add (and these are fakt jo as they say in Cz Rep).

It's bad manners in Japan to:-

1. Blow your nose in public (some people say sneezing, but blowing your nose is the real bad one)
2. Eat in public (esp anything noisy like crisps)

In Thailand/Indonesia

1. Showing the soles of your feet.

In Saudi

1. Shake hands with the botty hand (the left). Especially bad for scouts as I seem to remember that this is the hand they greet each other with?

[Caius]

What is crazy? Because here nobody does that... maybe Im wrong.

[LittleGrizzly]

The pointing to your head for crazyness one us brits kind of do... or at least i think its the one your own about...

Basically point at your temple with your index finger and then make a circular motion next to your head... means the person is crazy...

[Caius]

Its the same, then. But we do not use crazy for saying that the phone is ringing or something.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Victory sign with palm facing inward means "two" in Germany.

Tipping your index against your forehead means "crazy" and is considered a grave insult.

Making circular moves in the same situation means the same, but is much less common.

Thumbs up means either "one" or "good job", though the latter mostly ironically.

Raising your index in the direction of the other, arm and wrist slightly bended, is the strongest gesture of dominance you can do when talking to someone.

[The New Che Guevara]

Well we Quebecers do. Both cheeks. Men, women, who cares. Just like the Russians.

I told Gawain if he ever came to Quebec, I was going to bear hug him and plant one on each cheek.

Glad to see ya!

I haven't heard from him in a while...

The older generation do the same in Spain. If anyone has seen Volver, they'll understand, but the two kisses are those ones that have a massive sound to them, almost like an explosion, but more feminine.