From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Fri Aug 23 2002 - 17:46:00 MDT
Amara writes
> Lee Corbin:
>
> > > http://www.amara.com/neverunderestimate.jpg
> >
> >Cute picture. Amazing if it's true
>
> I'm sorry, but WHAT ...? Why 'amazing' ?
I don't really enjoy displaying my ignorance and my
provincialism, but honesty impels me to admit again
that this picture is truly amazing (to me).
Those three pictures are ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL, and
it is incredible (to me) that within a small
geographic region (to this Norte Americano) that
one gesture could be taken to mean three separate
things.
So much for gestures being international.
But thanks for the warning, I'll try to avoid gesturing
of any kind while traveling in other lands. I can just
see, after I shrug my shoulders, getting belted across
the chops by an angry Italian man who yells, "You keepa
you thoughts about my wife to youself!", and reflecting
that at least it wasn't as bad as when I was in Turkey
and in a bank closed my eyes and put my hand to my head
in frustration, and was arrested for attempted robbery.
> This is quite normal from my observations. Why is it
> difficult for you to believe that the same gestures
> have different meanings to different cultures?
Well, for one thing, facial expressions are rather
universal, anthropologists tell us. (I'm guessing
that they don't mean *all* facial expressions.) And
surely throughout Europe shaking your head means 'yes'
and nodding means 'no', no? (I once heard that in
some exotic land they mean exactly opposite.)
Lee
> BTW, these gestures are true (I've verified). Another friend of
> mine who is Hindu Indian told me of yet another meaning to the
> same gesture, and Hubert tells of yet another meaning. (You
> misunderstood what Hubert said)
>
> Normal, not amazing at all. This is the world that we live in,
> rich of differences and meanings of cultures.
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