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Hidden Meanings
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Watch what you say!
A simple hand gesture could land you in a world of trouble.
Here the thumbs up sign means "good going! "
But in Bangladesh it's a taunt, and in
other Islamic
countries, it's the equivalent of an upraised middle finger.
Finger
Beckoning.
Here we
sometimes hail a waiter with
index finger slightly raised and
thumb
loosely extended. In Japan
it's rude to beckon a waiter if you motion with the index finger. And
in Germany the
waiter might well respond by bringing you two more drinks.
"V" for Victory.
It can mean "victory" or
"peace,"
but in Britain if
the
palm faces inward, it's a taunt, especially if executed with an upward
jerk of the fingers. As the story goes, over 650 years ago, the French
disabled the English archers they captured in battle by cutting off
their
middle and index fingers. After the battles of Agincourt and Crecy,
where
the French were heavily defeated, the triumphant English gloated over
their
French prisoners by holding up their hands, first two fingers upright,
palm inward, to show both fingers fully intact.
Hands
in Pockets.
Think you can save
yourself a load of trouble by shoving your hands in
your pockets? Think again. Keeping one's hands in one's pockets while
conversing
is impolite in Indonesia, France
and Japan.
Tapping
Forehead With
Fore-finger.
It may mean
"smart," but in Holland,
tapping the centre of the forehead means "he's
crazy."
In Argentina
our
sign for "he's crazy" (circling a
forefinger
next to the ear) could be confused with their signal for "You
have a telephone call."
The
A-Okay.
Joining the thumb and index finger in a circle is an insult
in
many Latin
American countries. When Richard Nixon was vice president, he is
reported to have
greeted
a crowd south of the U.S. border with a double A-Okay sign. Imagine the
reaction!
A Frenchman
reads
the A-Okay gesture as meaning "zero" or "worthless."
Stop
Sign.
Extending
one hand, palm forward, means "stop!"
right?
In Greece
it's
the moutza, or hand push, which is a common sign of confrontation.
And in West Africa
the gesture is even more insulting than the upraised middle finger.
Hook 'Em
Horns.
The pinkie and index
finger raised up and the two middle fingers folded
down is beloved of fans of the University of Texas Longhorns, but in
parts
of Africa this is
a curse.
And for millions of Italians it
is the cornuto, signalling "Your spouse is being unfaithful." Yet in
Hawaii
raising the pinkie and thumb means "hang loose."
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 DIFFERENT MEANINGS |
- In Japan, you nod your head in agreement;
your host smiles and thinks you're paying attention.
- In Egypt, you shake your head in
disagreement; your host frowns and wonders why you don't understand.
- In Mexico, don't call her senora, which
can imply aging; call her senorita.
- In Zimbabwe, don't ask, "Is it far?"; out
of courtesy people will answer, "Not far." (Be specific and ask, "How
long does it take by foot?") <>
- Beware what you offer your host. Pass
up chrysanthemums in Argentina and Balkan (they denote funerals),
clocks in China (the written characters resemble those for death) and
red pens in South Korea (red ink conveys unfriendliness).
- In Saudi Arabia and other Islamic
countries, eat and drink with your right hand; the left is considered
unclean.
- Your mother was right. Don't point. But
if in Singapore you must, use your thumb, not your forefinger, lest it
be taken as an insult or obscenity.
- In Malaysia, curling the index finger
is considered very rude. Scratching the air would be preferable for
calling over a waiter.
- In Russia, don't shake hands across a
threshold; it might invite bad luck.
- In Buddhist lands like Burma, don't pat
a child on the head; it's the spiritually highest part of the body.
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