Italian lessons… Hands edition

Italian lessons… Hands edition
How to interpret Italian hand gestures

The famous zoologist and anthropologist Desmond Morris held that for human beings the hands are what the baton is for an orchestra director, guiding the rhythm and meaning of the words. Remaining in this metaphor, Morris further held that Italians are the best “orchestra directors” in the world. Gesturing and moving with picturesque animosity as they speak is one of the peculiarities that best identifies Italians worldwide, to the point where it is normal in old American films to see caricatures of Italians, their stereotypical image being decidedly loud, high-pitched, and making wide, visibly frenetic gestures.
Some gestures have such a complex meaning that, for an Italian involved in strongly emotional situations, they can replace not only a word but whole phrases or concepts.
In the case of Italians, it surely can be said that “a gesture is worth more than a thousand words”.

ORIGINS OF ITALIAN GESTURING

Italian who does not make gestures either has their hands tied together or is not Italian. Making gestures, in fact, has been a part of being Italian since the 16th century when, with the beginnings of modern theatre, Italian companies travelled across Europe putting on spectacles in which the dialogue were a fundamental part of the show. To overcome the difficulty of translating texts into the many different local languages, the actors often fell back on gestures to facilitate the comprehension of what they were representing, thereby refining a technique that then made its way to the whole population.
Since then hand language has not abandoned the Italians and in fact it blends perfectly with the musicality and gaudiness of a language that is very articulate and full of complex expressions.
For an English-speaking person, it is terrifying to learn that in languages like Italian or Spanish a verb can have 48 different forms when you consider present, past, future, condition, subjunctive, and imperfect tenses. This is a very interesting subject for those whose native tongue is English, one of the easiest languages, and that, fortunately for them, is spreading across the globe as a universal second language. But Italian is not the only embarrassing language. In German, gender follows rules that don’t seem to follow common sense, as underlined by Mark Twain, who noted that a young German girl is not female while a turnip is. Turkish has very long words that can be translated only with full sentences, like “Evlerindemiscesine rahattilar”, which translates to “someone in your house made a mess as if they were in their own home”.
There are even more complex cases, like Tuyuca, spoken in east Amazonia, which has 50 different genders.
So gesturing can be very helpful in many situations, and Italy is surely master of this art.

ITALY BY HAND

Many popular gestures in Italy come from Neapolitan tradition, homeland of hand language. In Naples, in fact, communicating by hand assumes its most striking and bizarre forms, almost to the point of becoming an art form! The frequency of use of hand gestures in Italy varies by region, so there are also different gesture dialects found throughout the country. For example, southern Italians gesture much more than northern Italians, and symbolic gestures are created and used frequently, especially in Naples and Sicily.
What complicates things is that often the same gesture can be understood differently depending on location. For Neapolitans, for example, raising eyebrows signals to others that danger is afoot, while in other regions of Italy this gesture indicates a sly, mischievous person. In Rome and Naples, touching the nose with a finger indicates a sincere, friendly warning of danger, while in Sardinia it is done by those wanting to reveal a secret.
Even irony is communicated with gestures. An example is the gesture of clapping hands. When used literally, this gesture is used to show approval and praise. However, it can also be used ironically, to show sarcasm, criticism, and strong disapproval.
The peculiar ability to speak with hands, a distinguishing characteristic of Italian culture, makes it possible to express instinctive and spontaneous emotions, unconditioned gestures that are full of meaning, that distinguish and identify Italians worldwide, not only as fun folklore, but rather an identifiable cultural imprinting capable of communicating beyond dialects and social barriers.

INAPPROPRIATE TONES AND GESTURES

Gestures and vocal tones have many fun connotations for Italians, but they can also be the source of misunderstandings that create embarrassing situations. Attention should be paid to tone of voice, for example. Italians are happy people who get excited easily, and this is usually a characteristic well-liked even abroad, but if this energy is expressed by yelling too much, even inadvertently, this can create an immediate resentment in those present, particularly in Northern Europe or in Anglo-Saxon lands. Some cultures consider excessive gesturing to be provocative and aggressive, a sign of bad manners.
Italians are also unique when it comes to personal distance. They are an affectionate people who love physical contact, standing close and looking straight into others’ eyes when they speak. Often, however, Italians touch arms and shoulders of those with whom they converse, something that can be quite bothersome to some people, or even interpreted as a sign of lack of respect.
Misunderstandings caused by gestures are in fact a problem around the world. If a young foreigner traveling through Nigeria were to hitchhike using an upturned thumb, the passing Nigerians might get offended because for them that gesture is rude.
The lesson is clear: whether you want to be Italian or not, be careful how you speak… with your hands!

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