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Gestures

Gestures

Date: Apr 27 2007

Intro

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Learning a language is only half of learning to communicate with people from other countries. Gestures, or nonverbal communication, are also very important and, if misused, can cause a lot of misunderstandings between cultures.

Listen to John and me discuss the meanings of different gestures.

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

John

John

Dave

Dave

John:  You ever worry that you’re offending somebody when you give some gesture like the “A-OK” gesture when you’re overseas? I’m always kind of confused. I’m like, “Is this something that people can relate to?”

Dave:  Well, I think it’s something to be aware of. I had a friend who I taught with when I was in Japan, and he had spent two years teaching in Saudi Arabia, I believe. And he would always give his students the thumbs-up gesture when they did something good. And they’d always get really angry with him. He found out later that thumbs-up has a bad meaning in Middle Eastern cultures.

John:  Yeah, I’ve heard that, too. And what about the okay sign that we always give. Doesn’t it have other meanings in other countries?

Dave:  Yes. So, yeah, in the U.S. it’s “okay!” but in Japan it’s “money,” right?

John:  Yeah.

Dave:  And then, in France it means, like, “you’re a loser” or “you’re a zero.”

 

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Discussion

Winona Ryder and George W. Bush like to give the “Longhorn” gesture, a symbol for the Longhorns, the University of Texas sports team. However, in Italy the “Longhorn” gesture is very rude. When you use it, you are saying that someone’s wife has been sleeping around. In Sweden, the “Longhorn” gesture is a symbol of satanic worship.

Here is a great site with a list of common gestures and what they mean in different countries:

Gestures

 

Comments

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ls1981

China

very goog

10:13 AM Feb 12 2006 |

episod

episod

United States

Being a “zero” means being nothing. Worthless. It is the opposite of “being someone” and instead “being no one.”

03:00 PM Feb 10 2006 |

FlyingCat

FlyingCat

China

does zero mean you are useless or a failure?

08:23 AM Feb 10 2006 |

teddy008

teddy008

China

Good。In France,the American “okay” gesture means you’re zero.what’s the meaning of “you’re zero”?

02:25 AM Feb 10 2006 |

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