The Definitive Book of Body Language by Barbara Pease, Allan Pease Page B
Authors: Barbara Pease, Allan Pease
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Take the Cultural Test
How aware are you of cultural differences in body language? Try this exercise—hold up your main hand to display the number five—do it now. Now change it to the number two. If you're Anglo-Saxon, there's a 96 percent chance you'll be holding up your middle and index fingers. If you're European, there's a 94 percent chance you'll be holding up your thumb and index finger. Europeans start counting with the number one on thumb, two on the index finger, three on the middle finger, and so on. Anglo-Saxons count number one on the index finger, two on the middle finger and finish with five on the thumb.
Now look at the following hand signals and see how many different meanings you can assign to each one. For each correct answer, score one point and deduct one point for an incorrect answer. The answers are listed at the bottom of the page.
For each correct answer you get, allocate yourself one point.
A. Europe and North America : OK
Mediterranean region, Russia, Brazil, Turkey : An orifice
signal; sexual insult; gay man
Tunisia, France, Belgium : Zero; worthless
Japan : Money; coins
B. Western countries : One; Excuse me!; As God is my witness; No! (to children)
C. Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Malta : Up yours!
U.S.A. : Two
Germany : Victory
France : Peace
Ancient Rome : Julius Caesar ordering five beers
D. Europe : Three
Catholic countries : A blessing
E. Europe : Two
Britain, Australia, New Zealand : One
U.S.A. : Waiter!
Japan : An insult
F. Western countries : Four
Japan : An insult
G. Western countries : five
Everywhere : Stop!
Greece and Turkey : Go to hell!
H. Mediterranean : Small penis
Bali : Bad
Japan : Woman South America: Thin
France : You can't fool me!
I. Mediterranean : Your wife is being unfaithful
Malta and Italy : Protection against the Evil Eye (when pointed)
South America : Protection against bad luck (when rotated)
U.S.A. : Texas University Logo, Texas Longhorn Football Team
J. Greece : Go to hell!
The West : Two
K. Ancient Rome : Up yours!
U.S.A. : Sit on this! Screw you!
L. Europe : One
Australia : Sit on this! (upward jerk)
Widespread : Hitchhike; good; OK
Greece : Up yours! (thrust forward)
Japan : Man; five
M. Hawaii : Hang loose
Holland : Do you want a drink?
N. U.S.A. : I love you
O. The West : Ten; I surrender
Greece : Up Yours—twice!
Widespread : I'm telling the truth
What did you score?
Over 30 points : You are a well-traveled, well-rounded, broad-thinking person who gets on well with everyone regardless of where they are from. People love you.
15-30 points : You have a basic awareness that others behave differently from you and, with dedicated practice, you can improve the understanding you currently have.
15 points or less : You think everyone thinks like you do. You should never be issued a passport or even be allowed out of the house. You have little concept that the rest of the world is different from you and you think that it's always the same time and season all over the world. You are probably an American.
Why We're All Becoming American
Due to the wide distribution of American television and movies, the younger generations of all cultures are developing a generic form of North American body language. For example, Australians in their sixties will identify the British Two-Fingers-Up gesture as an insult, whereas an Australian teenager is more likely to read it as the number two and will recognize the American Middle-Finger-Raised as a main form of insult. Most countries now recognize the Ring gesture as meaning “OK,” even if it's not traditionally used locally. Young childrenin every country that has television now wear baseball caps backward and shout “Hasta la vista, baby,” even if they don't understand Spanish.
American television is the prime reason cultural
body-language differences are disappearing.
The word “toilet” is also slowly disappearing from the English language because North
Take the Cultural Test
How aware are you of cultural differences in body language? Try this exercise—hold up your main hand to display the number five—do it now. Now change it to the number two. If you're Anglo-Saxon, there's a 96 percent chance you'll be holding up your middle and index fingers. If you're European, there's a 94 percent chance you'll be holding up your thumb and index finger. Europeans start counting with the number one on thumb, two on the index finger, three on the middle finger, and so on. Anglo-Saxons count number one on the index finger, two on the middle finger and finish with five on the thumb.
Now look at the following hand signals and see how many different meanings you can assign to each one. For each correct answer, score one point and deduct one point for an incorrect answer. The answers are listed at the bottom of the page.
For each correct answer you get, allocate yourself one point.
A. Europe and North America : OK
Mediterranean region, Russia, Brazil, Turkey : An orifice
signal; sexual insult; gay man
Tunisia, France, Belgium : Zero; worthless
Japan : Money; coins
B. Western countries : One; Excuse me!; As God is my witness; No! (to children)
C. Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Malta : Up yours!
U.S.A. : Two
Germany : Victory
France : Peace
Ancient Rome : Julius Caesar ordering five beers
D. Europe : Three
Catholic countries : A blessing
E. Europe : Two
Britain, Australia, New Zealand : One
U.S.A. : Waiter!
Japan : An insult
F. Western countries : Four
Japan : An insult
G. Western countries : five
Everywhere : Stop!
Greece and Turkey : Go to hell!
H. Mediterranean : Small penis
Bali : Bad
Japan : Woman South America: Thin
France : You can't fool me!
I. Mediterranean : Your wife is being unfaithful
Malta and Italy : Protection against the Evil Eye (when pointed)
South America : Protection against bad luck (when rotated)
U.S.A. : Texas University Logo, Texas Longhorn Football Team
J. Greece : Go to hell!
The West : Two
K. Ancient Rome : Up yours!
U.S.A. : Sit on this! Screw you!
L. Europe : One
Australia : Sit on this! (upward jerk)
Widespread : Hitchhike; good; OK
Greece : Up yours! (thrust forward)
Japan : Man; five
M. Hawaii : Hang loose
Holland : Do you want a drink?
N. U.S.A. : I love you
O. The West : Ten; I surrender
Greece : Up Yours—twice!
Widespread : I'm telling the truth
What did you score?
Over 30 points : You are a well-traveled, well-rounded, broad-thinking person who gets on well with everyone regardless of where they are from. People love you.
15-30 points : You have a basic awareness that others behave differently from you and, with dedicated practice, you can improve the understanding you currently have.
15 points or less : You think everyone thinks like you do. You should never be issued a passport or even be allowed out of the house. You have little concept that the rest of the world is different from you and you think that it's always the same time and season all over the world. You are probably an American.
Why We're All Becoming American
Due to the wide distribution of American television and movies, the younger generations of all cultures are developing a generic form of North American body language. For example, Australians in their sixties will identify the British Two-Fingers-Up gesture as an insult, whereas an Australian teenager is more likely to read it as the number two and will recognize the American Middle-Finger-Raised as a main form of insult. Most countries now recognize the Ring gesture as meaning “OK,” even if it's not traditionally used locally. Young childrenin every country that has television now wear baseball caps backward and shout “Hasta la vista, baby,” even if they don't understand Spanish.
American television is the prime reason cultural
body-language differences are disappearing.
The word “toilet” is also slowly disappearing from the English language because North
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