The Same Gestures with Different Meanings
Except the same meaning have different gestures, do you know the same gestures still have different meanings?
Each nationality has its own gestures, but these gestures are mutually incomprehensible. Unintentionally, mistakes that can so easily occur when cultures and nationalities collide at some public places, such as at Heatbrow, the world’s premier international airport. An innocent gesture made in an airport lounge may well be an unwitting insult, and leads to serious misunderstandings. Here are some examples.
Something in your eye? Think before you touch the lower lid. If a Saudi sees you, he’ll think you’re calling him stupid, but a South American senorita will think that you’re making a pass at her, and may slap your face! To a Saudi this is insulting. But to an Italian, it is a great compliment.
There is no greater insult you can offer a Greek than to thrust your palms towards his face. This gesture, called the “moutza”, is descended from the old Byzantine custom of smearing filth from the gutter in the faces of criminals as they were led in chains through the city.
So vile is this insult that in Greece, even the Victory “V” sign, used by Winston Churchill during the second World war, is taboo, as it looks like a haft-“moutza”. Thus the Greek traveler, ordering tow teas in a Heathrow restaurant, will carefully reverse his palm and give the waiter two fingers ----deadly insult in Britain.
It’s so easy to give offence. Suppose a passenger asks the Information Desk where he should pay his airport tax. But just as the Information Assistant begins to say so, she is assailed by a tremendous itch and tugs at her earlobe. Astonishing though if may seem this simple gesture five different thing in five different Mediterranean countries. Depending on his nationality, the assistant has offered the passenger the following insult:
TO A SPANIARD: “you rotten sponger.”
TO A MALTESE: “you’re a sneaky little so-and-so”
TO A GREEK: “You’d better watch it mate!
TO AN ITALIAN: “Get lost, you pansy.”
Only a Portuguese, to whom the gesture means something ineffably wonderful, would hang around long enough to hear the answer.
A Sardinian woman asks if it is easy to find a taxi from Heathrow. The answer she gets is cheery British thumbs up very likely from one of the 900 cabbies who serve the airport on an average day. Immediately, in great disgust, she hits the unfortunate man with her handbag for making such a devastatingly obscene suggestion. This is why, incidentally, it’s inadvisable to hitch-hike in Sardinia.
A Japanese asks an American passenger whether Heathrow has a luggage trolley service. It has. And as it happens, this service is not only first class, but FREE! So the American replies with the famous “A-OK” gesture. But to the Japanese, this signifies “money”, and he concludes that there is a charge for this service.
Meanwhile, a Tunisian on-looker thinks that the American is telling the Japanese that he is worthless rogue and he is going to kill him.[ 《watch your body language》]
The following is a table summarizing all the gestures mentioned above and their meanings to people of certain cultures. It lists the non-verbal gestures that are appropriate in one country, and that would be considered deviant in another.
Gesture Nationality Meaning
1. touch the lower eyelid Saudi stupid
South American senorita making a pass at her
Italian a great compliment
2. thrust palms towards someone’s face Greek smearing filth in the face of criminals
3. two finger with the palm facing inside British a deadly insult
4. tug one’s earlobe Spaniard “You rotten sponger.”
Maltese “You’re sneaky little so-and-so
Greek “You’d better watch it, mate!”
Italian “Got lost, you pansy.”
Portuguese ineffably wonderful
5. thumb up British and Chinese approval or satisfaction
United States thumb a lift
Sardinian obscene suggestion
Australian graceless
6. “A-OK” gesture American approval
Japanese “money”
Tunisian “I’ll kill you.”
French “zero”
Columbia obscene
7.catch at one’s nose with finger and thumb Syrian “go to hell”
8.“V”-sign most of the world “victory”
some western countries “an insult”
9.middle finger up the Mediterranean and Asian point to something
Chinese and western countries “an insult”
Table 3-2
Here is another table to show the same gesture with different meanings.
Table 3-3
United States Korea United States United States
The O.K. signal expresses approval. The middle finger is used to point. Use the finger to circle on the temple means crazy. Thumbs up-used for hitch hiking, or approving of something.
Japan United States China Nigeria
The O.K. signal means that you are asking for money. Using your middle finger is very offensive. Used in place of inappropriate language. This gesture means use your brain. This is a rude gesture in Nigeria.
These are just a few non-verbal cross-cultural communication signs of which one should be aware. Cross-Cultural communication can make misunderstanding and conflict. Different cultures have different methods of communication, so it is important to understand the cultures of others
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