pointing, not with finger

[Conor Quinn]

Dia dhaoibh, a chairde!

Definitely had this pointed out to me by Penobscots; not sure how it may be
among the Passamaquoddies, but it rings a bell there, too.  No clue as to
why, though pointing with the lips (= the acceptable and common strategy)
is also common in Australia, I'm told.  I might imagine that, other
society/culture/belief-system factors aside, being well trained not to
point with your hands helps in hunting, since the game-spooking motion is
far less salient.  But that's just pure speculation on my part.

Till later, keep safe and sane.

Slán,
bhur gcara

On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 8:54 AM, Amy Dahlstrom <a-dahlstrom at uchicago.edu>wrote:

> Hello Algonquianists,
>
> I'm a discussant at an upcoming conference on gesture, and one thing I
> thought I would mention to the (extremely diverse) audience is the practice
> among at least some of the Algonquian peoples of pointing with the lips or
> with the chin, rather than pointing with the finger.
>
> I would like to ask you all how widespread this practice is.  And for
> native speakers (native pointers? :-) ), do you have any intuitions about
> why pointing with the finger is avoided?  Would it seem rude to point with
> the finger?  Or inappropriate in some other way?
>
> thanks in advance for any thoughts you can share!
>
> Amy
>
> P.S.  if you hit "reply" remember that you are replying to the whole list!
> :-)
>


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