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THROUGH GESTURES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to express our deep gratitude towards all the people
who have helped us in our project.
Last but not the least, we cannot forget the assistance, rendered to us,
by the other staff members of our institution and also our parents, who
have directly – indirectly, helped us in our project work
Contents
Introduction
Introduction to Gestures
Studies of gesture
Social significance
Scholars in this field usually use a strict sense of the term "verbal",
meaning "of or concerned with words," and do not use "verbal
communication" as a synonym for oral or spoken communication. Thus,
sign languages and writing are generally understood as forms of verbal
communication, as both make use of words — although like speech,
both may contain paralinguistic elements and often occur alongside
nonverbal messages. Nonverbal communication can occur through any
sensory channel — sight, sound, smell, touch or taste. Nonverbal
communication is also distinguished from unconscious communication,
which may be verbal or non-verbal.
Introduction to Gestures
A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication made with a part of
the body, used instead of or in combination with verbal
communication. The language of gesture is rich in ways for individuals
to express a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and
hostility to approval and affection. Most people use gestures and body
language in addition to words when they speak; some ethnic groups
and languages use them more than others do, and the amount of such
gesturing that is considered culturally acceptable varies from one
location to the next.
Another type of gestures are the ones we use when we speak. These
gestures are closely coordinated with speech. The meaningful part of
the gesture is temporally synchronised with the co-expressive words.
For example, a gesture that depicts the act of throwing will be
synchronous with the word 'threw' in the utterance "and then he threw
the ball right into the window." Other gestures like the so-called beat
gestures are used in conjunction with speech, keeping time with the
rhythm of speech and to emphasize certain words or phrases. These
types of gestures are integrally connected to speech and thought
processes.
Studies of gesture
The first full-length study of gesture was published by John Bulwer in
1644. Bulwer analyzed dozens of gestures, and provided a guide on
how to use gestures to increase eloquence and clarity for public
speaking. Today, one of the most prominent researchers in the field of
gesture research is Adam Kendon. He has investigated many aspects
of gestures, including their role in communication, conventionalization
of gesture, integration of gesture and speech, and the evolution of
language. Other prominent researchers in this field include Susan
Goldin-Meadow and David McNeill
Social significance
Religious and spiritual gestures are also common, such as the Christian
sign of the cross. In Hinduism and Buddhism, a mudra (Sanskrit,
literally "seal") is a symbolic gesture made with the hand or fingers.
Each mudra has a specific meaning, playing a central role in Hindu and
Buddhist iconography. An example is the Vitarka mudra, the gesture of
discussion and transmission of Buddhist teaching. It is done by joining
the tips of the thumb and the index together, while keeping the other
fingers straight.
The "bang bang" gesture is performed by raising the fist with the index
finger and thumb extended. The index finger points at the recipient.
The thumb is then brought down on top of the fingers. This imitation of
the action of a revolver pistol is often meant to represent a handgun in
children's games. It may also be used menacingly to mean "I'm gonna
kill you", or simply as a playful greeting. The middle finger is often also
extended to widen the "barrel".
Also, if the thumb and middle finger are used to click, and the thumb
the pointed upwards to form the gun, this can also be interpreted as a
greeting.
Beckoning sign
Index finger sticking out of the clenched fist, palm facing the gesturer.
The finger moves repeatedly towards the gesturer (in a hook) as to
draw something nearer. It has the general meaning of "come here",
although it is normally seen as condescending or anyway impolite. It is
sometimes performed with the four fingers, with the entire hand, or
even with the arm, depending on how
far the recipient of the sign is.
Blah-blah
Clenched fist
Clinton thumb
Crossed fingers
Cuckoo sign
A gesture made by closing ones fist, extending the index finger, and
circling it around ones ear for several seconds. This gesture is used
indicate that someone is speaking nonsense or is crazy (more
colloquially, this is described as being cuckoo). The "cuckoo" sign is
well-known in the United States.
Fig sign
The "fig sign" is a gesture made with the hand and fingers curled and
the thumb thrust between the middle and
index fingers, or, rarely, the middle and ring
fingers, forming the fist so that the thumb
partly pokes out. In some areas of the world,
the gesture is considered a good luck charm,
in others it is considered an obscene
gesture, and in still others it is used in the
"I've got your nose!" child's game. This
gesture is also the letter "T" in the American
Sign Language
alphabet. In
International Sign,
which otherwise uses
the same manual alphabet, "T" has been
modified to avoid possible offense.
In ancient Rome, this gesture was called the mano fico, and was a
fertility and good luck charm designed to ward off evil. Although this
usage has survived in Brazil, where carved images of hands in this
gesture are used in good luck talismans, in many other cultures, such
as Indonesia, Turkey and Russia, the sign has come to have an
insulting meaning roughly equivalent to "screw you", based on the
thumb being seen as representing a clitoris or sexual intercourse. In
modern Italian, the gesture is called the mano fica, taken to mean "fig
hand", as the Italian word for "fig" is fico (ficus in Latin). The obscene
connotations of the gesture may partly originate from the fact that a
similar Italian word, fica, is a slang term referring to the vulva. This
sexual connotation may date back to ancient Roman times; some
Roman amulets combine a phallus and a mano fico gesture.
The gesture is also used in a trick played by adults and parents, with
the intention of convincing their child that his or her nose has been
ripped off. Someone, usually an adult, grabs at the child's nose and
forms the fig sign, exclaiming, "I've got your nose, I've got your nose!"
The thumb is supposed to be the child's removed nose.
Finger Snap
George W. Bush gives the Hook 'em Horns salute to the Texas
Longhorns marching band at his second inauguration.
In college sports in the United States, The "Hook 'em Horns" (or simply
"Hook 'em") sign is associated with fans of the Texas Longhorns. The
gesture is an imitation of the head of a Texas Longhorn, which serves
as the school mascot. It was created in 1955 by a UT cheerleader and
is one of the most famous hand symbols in US college sports.
Students, faculty, and alumni of the University of Texas are often seen
to display this hand sign during sporting events, commencements, and
other special occasions. They will often include the spoken or written
phrase in conversations or writings, especially as a closing.
The Hook 'em Horns symbol is the same physically as the mano
cornuto gesture. They both have their origins in the imitation of a type
of livestock, the Longhorn on the one hand and a goat on the other,
though their meanings are very different.
Horns
Some say that it is meant to ward off — or to bestow — the evil eye. It
is also a representation of the Devil by some Satanists. The gesture's
origin is believed to be an imitation of the shape of a goats head, which
has many associations with the concept of Satan
in Christianity Satan's Goat
Knocking on wood
In Italy, one knocks on iron with the hand in the corna horns position.
Middle finger
16
Comedian Dane Cook parodied the gesture with his "Super Finger"
gesture, which consists of raising the middle finger, ring finger, and
thumb on the same hand while lowering (or curling) the pointer and
pinky finger. It is meant to be a more "powerful" version of "the finger".
OK
Pointing
One of the most infamous forms of salute is the "Hitler salute", which is
performed by extending the whole right arm, palm
outstretched and facing down, upwards into the air
at approximately a 45 degree angle from the ground.
This gesture is associated with Nazism and its leader,
Adolf Hitler, as well as with Germany during World
War II. It is occasionally performed to mock someone
or something for perceived authoritarianism or
bigotry. This gesture was based on the Roman
salute, and it was in that capacity that it was revived
by Benito Mussolini's Fascist party.
Shaka
Similar gestures
"Thanks!" Salute
In the United States, when the back of the hand faces outwards, this
gesture is often used as a euphemism for "the finger." It is used
especially when a jocular effect is desired.
Now a days, these gestures are associated with movie reviews, having
been popularized by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert in their televised
reviews — the thumb up meaning a positive opinion of a film; the
thumb down meaning a negative one. Same is its use back home in
India. One or two thumbs up, often held over the head, may also be
used by athletes in celebration of a victory.
Tsk-tsk
V sign
In the UK, Australia, and some other countries, reversing the V sign so
that the back of the hand facing the recipient is seen as the equivalent
of giving the finger.
Vulcan salute
This gesture is associated with the phrase "Live long and prosper", and
derives from Star Trek, where it is used as a salute by fictional
humanoid species the Vulcans.
Wanker
Wanker
A loose fist (with all fingers forming a cylindrical shape) is made, and
shaken up and down (or sometimes, back and forth) at the wrist.
In Portugal they use the wanker gesture but with the palm facing the
ground thereby implying that the person is masturbating someone else
rather than themselves. As such this has homosexual or promiscuous
implications when directed at someone instead of the milder
suggestion that they enjoy self-gratification.
Wave
A wave is a gesture in which the hand is raised and moved back and
forth, as a greeting or sign of departure. The orientation of the hand
varies by culture and situation. In many cultures, the palm is oriented
toward the recipient of the wave.
"Gills"
Time-out
This is performed in two parts: first, the right hand is placed in the
elbow crook of the left arm. The left arm is then raised (fist clenched)
at the victim in a smooth and continuous motion. This gesture is
associated with Italians and is considered a more theatrical and
physically exuberant version of The Finger, and may even be combined
with the finger. In Italian it is known as the gesto dell'ombrello,
meaning literally "the umbrella gesture." It is typically used in two
different situations: 1) to answer "no way!" in an extremely emphatical
(and quite vulgar) way; 2) after a triumph against some unfair enemy,
with a sense of revenge. The gesture is frequently made stronger by
crying "toh!" or "tiè!", both meaning "take this!", at the precise
moment the hand touches the crook of the elbow.
The gesture above has long been known in Slavic countries in the
above senses plus "fuck you", without any standard name. In Poland its
name has been standardized to "Kozakiewicz's gesture", after Polish
pole vault jumper Władysław Kozakiewicz, who had shown this gesture
to the Russian public during the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow,
see "Władysław Kozakiewicz" for details.
Choking sign
The standard gesture to indicate that one is choking is to hold the
throat as if strangling oneself. This is recognized as a request for
immediate first aid for choking. It is promoted as a way to prevent
onlookers from confusing the victim's distress with some other
problem, such as a heart attack, when the person cannot speak. The
gesture is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to someone or
something "choking" in the slang sense of failing at something while
under pressure, for instance at an athletic event.
Crossing oneself
The "sign of the Cross" is the use of the right hand to touch the
forehead, chest, left shoulder, and right shoulder, consecutively. It
represents the Christian cross. (Roman Catholics crossing themselves
touch the forehead, chest, left shoulder, then right shoulder; Byzantine
(Eastern) Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians touch the right
shoulder before the left, with the thumb and first two fingers joined —
symbolizing the Trinity — and the tips of the last two fingers touching
the palm, symbolizing the dual nature of Christ in one being. )
Cutthroat
Drinking sign
In UK, the gesture for drinking (used for example as an invitation to "go
down the pub") is made by putting the back of the thumb just below
the lower lip, while the other fingers are close together as if holding an
imaginary pint of beer, tipping it repeatedly. In other countries, the
shaka sign is used in a similar way, as described above. In Russia,
reference to drinking ('wanna go for a drink?') can be done with a few
nice gestures. The nicest one is pointing to, or lightly tapping on a spot
to the side of the throat, under the chin. The history of it is that there
was once a guy with a stamp at that spot who could drink for free on
the czar's orders. First they gave him a notice to show at bars, but he
was such a drunk that he always lost it. Now he only needed to point at
the stamp to get a drink.
This gesture involves placing one's right hand, palm outstretched and
facing in, over one's heart. Male hat or cap wearers typically remove
their hats and hold them in this hand. In some cultures, it is used as a
gesture of respect towards flags or during singing of a national anthem.
In the United States, it is also performed as a part of the rituals of the
Pledge of Allegiance. It can also be used to indicate sincerity, shock, or
hurt.
Loser
My eye
Eye
In France and parts of Europe it is common to point your index finger at
your eye and even pull the skin under the eye lightly down to
emphasize the presenting of the eye. The gesture displays disbelief.
Nonsense
Nose thumbing
For this gesture, also known as "cocking a snoot", "giving the five-
finger salute", "cocking a snook", or Queen Anne's Fan the thumb is
placed on the tip of the nose, with the remaining fingers of the hand
extended and waggled freely. This gesture can be ended with a
dramatic flicking of the thumb away from the end of the nose and
towards the recipient. It is used in (gentle) mockery of someone. It
dates back to at least the 18th century and is probably much older.
Tapping one's index finger against the head indicates that a person or
an idea being discussed is insane or "touched in the head". A similar,
more elaborate gesture uses a circling motion of the finger at the
temple or side of the head. This signifies that the person is "mixed up"
or "has a screw loose". In Germany, tapping or pointing to the temple is
used as an insult, often with the accompanying phrase "du hast einen
Vogel." While this literally means "You have a bird," it is idiomatic for
saying that you are insane. Also, in Indonesia, drawing a line across the
forehead with the side of the right index finger denotes a similar
meaning.
A variant of this one is the suicide. Make a gun with your hand and
pretend to shoot point blank at your own temple. It It can be
accompanied with sticking out the tongue or a shooting sound for full
effect, and often implies that the speaker is a "complete idiot".
The act of wiping one's own forehead, regardless of whether sweat has
actually formed there, is a sign indicating many things such as "That
was close" or "What a relief".
Conclusion
Without gestures, our world would be static and colorless. The social
anthropologist Edward T. Hall claims 60 percent of all our
communication is nonverbal. As the global village continues to shrink
and cultures collide, it is essential for all of us to become more
sensitive, more aware, and more observant to the myriad motions,
gestures, and body language that surround us each day. And as many
of us cross over cultural borders, it would be fitting for us to respect,
learn, and understand more about the effective, yet powerful "silent
language" of gestures.