Gestures

Question

Hi,For my final work for school I have to make a comparison between French and English gestures. I already have a list of French but now I still need some English gestures. So if you know any, please post them here with an explanation how to make the gesture. Can you also add your age and the region where you're from?Thanks in advance.Student from Belgium

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Such gestures are getting rarer and rarer in the US because they can be interpreted as rude or offensive. It might not be too much of an exaggeration to say the the US is becoming a gesture-free society. However, at sporting events there are a few gestures that are specific to a certain team and are used very enthusiastically, but only at games that the team is playing in.

General gestures:

"Thumbs up": Make a fist and hold it like you're carrying a torch (that is, a burning stick, not a flashlight). Then extend the thumb so that it is vertical and pointing upwards. This gesture means something like: everything's okay, or nice going, or things are going great, or way to go, etc. However, you need to be careful these days because someone might interpret it as offensive.

"Thumbs down": The hand and thumb opposite to the "thumbs up" gesture. This is a gesture to show that you dispprove of something.

"Middle finger": Put your hand out in front of you with the palm facing you and extend the middle finger so that it is vertical and pointing upwards. This is an extremely offensive gesture that shows your contempt for the person you're directing it at.

Sporting event gestures:

"Hook 'em horns": Put your hand out in front of you with the palm facing away from you and extend the thumb and little finger. Then shake the hand from side to side. This is used by fans of the University of Texas at Austin (American style) college football team to cheer their team on - the team is nicknamed the Longhorns (a breed of cattle). The gesture looks like the horns of a cow. This is used only at University of Texas home footballs games.

"Go Gators": Extend both arms straight out in front of you, with one palm facing upwards and the other facing downwards, and then "open and close" your arms vertically to mimic the jaws of an alligator opening and closing. This is used by fans of the University of Florida at Gainsville (American style) college football team to cheer their team on - the team is nicknamed the Gators (alligators). This is used only at University of Florida home football games.

Anonymous · Answer

I've thought about this some more and here are further comments.

In the US you can often see extensive gesturing, for example, by a high school or college teacher as he is lecturing to a class, or between two friends as they talk. However, such gestures are non-specific, that is, they are for effect and emphasis as the person speaks and serve to make the speech more interesting. This typically consists of casual movements like hand waving, pointing with the index finger, etc. In other situations, where specific gestures are made that have specific meanings, the gestures are made more carefully and deliberately so that the meaning of the gesture comes through to the observer.

Some more examples of general gestures:

Put both hands out in front of you at about shoulder level, with the palms facing outwards, and flap the hands downward so that they are horizontal. When a man does this, it means he thinks what he is looking at is useless, worthless, or total junk. When a woman does this with one hand only, that might mean: "Aw, quit kidding around with me like that."

Put both hands out in front of you at about chest level with the palms horizontal and facing downward and raise and lower the palms about one inch, several times. This can mean: "Keep the noise level down." or "Everybody calm down." or "Everybody stay seated."

Put both hands out in front of you like in the previous example, but opposide, with the palms facing up, and raise and lower them. This can mean: "Louder, louder." or "More enthusiasm, more enthusiasm."

Put both hands out in front of you like in the previous example, but with the palms facing downward, and move the palms side to side horizontally about one inch. This can mean: "That's all, no more."

Put both hands out in front of you like in the previous example, but with the palms facing upwards and curl the fingers toward you rapidly several times. This means: "Come on let's fight." Doing this with one hand only might mean: "Give with the money."

Anonymous · Answer

More general gestures:

Put one hand out in front of you at about stomach level with the thumb on top and the little finger on the bottom and the fingers slightly separated and extended straight outwards and move the hand side to side about one inch several times. If a person does this while speaking, this means that he is bothered by the situation, something about it has caused him concern and he is becoming cautious.

Make a salute like in the military but with a shorter motion. This can be a sign of respect for the person you're gesturing at. For example, suppose you're on the freeway and 3 guys in a car deliberately cut you off. You press the horn and they slow down so that you pull along side of them and they start cussing you out (in the US this can easily end with one of the guys pulling out a gun and starting to shoot). Making the salute gesture to them can quickly defuse this potentially dangerous situation because you're showing respect for them.

Khoff · Answer

In order to ask a waiter to bring you the bill, if you get his attention (but he's not close enough to speak to) you hold your left hand flat, palm up, and pretend to write on it with your right hand (holding an imaginary pencil or pen).

If I am stopped next to another car and I want the driver to roll down his window so I can speak to him, I'll move my hand in a circle, as if rolling down the car window with an old-fashioned crank handle. (Maybe this only works if the other driver is over 50 years old -- it's been a long time since car windows worked like that.)

An American will hold up two fingers (like a "V for Victory" sign)) to indicate the number 2. I seem to remember that a Frenchman will hold up one finger and the thumb for "2" To an American, this gesture looks like a pretend gun, at least if the index finger is pointing at anyone.

A gesture that seems common now, although I don't remember it from my childhood, is to mimic talking on the telephone by holding the left hand up at the side of the head, with the thumb near the ear and the small finger near the mouth. (All the other fingers are folded down.)

Crossing the fingers (middle finger crossed over index finger) can mean "good luck." However, if you make cross your fingers behind your back, you are indicating that what you're saying is not true or that you don't intend to keep a promise you're making.

Anonymous · Answer

Well coming from an american-english girl like myself there are MANY gestures used in English. Crossing your arms across your chest (although it may be used in other cultures as well) is a sign of being defensive when you're angry or lying.
Chelsea from New York

Anonymous · Answer

More gestures:

Hold index finger vertically in front of lips. This means to be silent.

Hold both hands at ear level with the palms facing your head. Then make your fingers so that your hands look claw-like. Then vibrate both hands to the front and back about half and inch rapidly several times. This means something or someone is driving you crazy or exasperating you.

Hold both hands in front of you at about chest level with the palms facing downward and the fingers together and pointing forward. Then tuck the thumbs under each palm. Them rapidly shift the hands so that the fingers point to the sides of you. This means: "I've had it and don't want anything more to do with this." or "This is crazy, I'm out of here."

Hold one hand in front of you at about chest level with the palm facing downwards and the fingers separated, and the forearm horizontal, and rotate the palm down and up less than an inch, several times. This is means that you question the masculinity of a certain man.

Gestures

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