![]() It might seem like a rude gesture to us – but giving someone ‘the finger’ simply means ‘brother’ when you put it into the context of Japanese Sign Language. Sticking up the pinky finger in China is considered rude though, as it’s meant to belittle or emasculate the viewer. See also Can US shut down Internet? What is the rude finger in Chinese? ▼ It’s basically the only way to drink tea … and many other countries, putting your pinky up is usually a sign of pretending to be fancy. Another type of hand gesture that can result in some cross-cultural mishaps are the ones that mean something completely different in another culture. This is because feet are considered dirty. However, in China, pointing your feet at someone or something is a sign of disrespect. Ironically, in behavioral analysis, when we point our feet towards someone it means we like them. Pointing at someone or something with your feet is very rude in China. If you point your finger at someone or something, the person might assume you’re insulting them. In Chinese culture, it is rude and interpreted as disrespect. Pointing with the finger is considered rude and disrespectful. The use of the pinky finger is frowned upon in China. In Chinese culture, this gesture is regarded as an insult, so you should avoid it. It will animate you dramatically and keep the focus off your hand.See also How do I install curl on Windows 8? What happens if you stick your pinky finger up in China? ![]() Whether you are calling on a member of the audience, pointing something out on a slide, or raising your hand for emphasis, use your whole hand and you will get your point across with much less chance for offense. To me, that means you can ensure a certain amount of safety by never using your fingers in a gesture. But something I noticed in Cotton’s chapter is that eight of the nine problematical gestures involve the fingers. Must you learn every possible hand gesture and its meaning in order to avoid offending cross-cultural audiences? That might be a good idea. In some African countries, you may point with your index finger, but only at inanimate objects, never at people But in many countries, particularly in Asia and Latin America, pointing at someone that way is considered rude. In the US, pointing with the index finger is how you call on a member of the audience.In the US, it usually means “well done.” But in Iraq, as we learned during the American invasion, it means “Up yours!” The thumbs-up gesture also carries offense in parts of West Africa, Russia, Australia, Iran, Greece, and Sardinia. Then there’s the friendly thumbs-up gesture.When you make it with an inward-facing palm, in many cultures, it is a way of saying, “Up yours! Regardless of which of the three meanings you intend, the proper way to make the gesture is with your palm facing outward. We’ve all seen photos of Winston Churchill extending his forefinger and index finger upward in a “V.” To Churchill, the gesture meant “‘V’ for victory.” Then in the 1960s, before it was co-opted by Richard Nixon as a sign of his personal success, it came to be regarded as a peace sign.You may be saying something with it that you don’t intend. Our advice is to avoid using the “OK” gesture with cross-cultural audiences. In many other cultures, the “OK” sign isn’t as offensive as it is in Brazil, but it may well mean something entirely different than what it means to American audiences. A gesture that signifies “OK” in the US, however, has a very different meaning in Brazil (and Germany and Russia), where it symbolizes a particular bodily orifice that I don’t discuss in this blog and that is never mentioned in polite conversation. You know the gesture I mean: making a circle with thumb and forefinger with the remaining fingers extended. In the 1950s, Vice President Richard Nixon emerged from an airplane in Brazilgesturing to the crowd with the “OK” sign – both hands.Knowing these are subject to misinterpretation could save you grief in cross-cultural communication. I wanted to describe three of them in addition to the “OK” gesture. Her chapter on gestures highlights nine different hand gestures and their meanings in different cultures. We have been reading Gayle Cotton’s 2013 book, Say Anything to Anyone, Anywhere, and we recommend this book to you if you need to communicate cross-culturally.
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