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In my wife's Irish American family it is considered to be very crude
for wait staff in restaurants point the way to the bathroom, so that
the quality of the restaurant will be determined by that fact alone.
More relevant is that I've heard Dakota people in Minnesota joke about
the whole lip-pointing thing. Unfortunately because my Irish-American
grandfather was a Methodist minister who loved to point during sermons
for emphasis, I have inherited that nasty practice even when speaking
with with Dakota and Ojibwe people, much as I have tried to learn Bill
Clinton's technique of knuckle pointing. <br>
Bruce White<br>
<br>
On 3/6/2013 11:43 AM, Margaret Noori wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAJ0BxuZ58SYcQctmxAEpVanvQ4EyBsrR=biCfVWd1ufQJ3DKZg@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">Miigwech / Merci for the additional details! It does seem
there are international indigenous consistencies. . . Amy will have to
tell us all how she interprets all this! : )<br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 12:28 PM, David
Lessard <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:david.lessard2@mail.mcgill.ca" target="_blank">david.lessard2@mail.mcgill.ca</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote"
style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div>
<div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">They
were indeed quick about it. I just had asked it casually, like
spontaneously in the moment. So I don't mean to have any conclusion
with it. They were two men who told me so, one in his 40s and the other
in his 60s, and they were from totally different places and did not
know each other. I however noticed that they did it systematically and
never seen them pointing with finger.<br>
<br>
For Ecuador, it was a friend in his 30s that told me about it. He said
that pointing a finger was necessarily accusative and given security
issues in the country when he grew up, you could get in much trouble if
you pointed randomly at people in public places. I noticed that they
would point to things with their lips while still looking at their
interlocutor. It was thus quite discreet and when looked at from
outside the conversation, you could not tell if they were pointing or
nodding, or saying they did not know.<br>
<br>
It both cases, they use both the chin and the lips, as if they were
blowing a kiss, but without opening them. I have seen it so many times
that the habit grew on me.<br>
<br>
This is all I know, but it is something that always caught my
attention, so would like to know more about it.<br>
<br>
David<br>
<br>
Envoyé à partir de mon Windows Phone<br>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;">De
:
</span><span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Margaret Noori</span><br>
<span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;">Envoyé
:
</span><span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">2013-03-06
12:11</span><br>
<span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;">À :
</span><span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:ALGONQUIANA@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG" target="_blank">ALGONQUIANA@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG</a></span><br>
<span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;">Objet
:
</span><span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Re: pointing,
not with finger</span><br>
<br>
<div>This is interesting. How well did you know the people you
asked? How old were they? It seems like 1/2 reply to me and I wonder
if they were just being quick about it or if they no longer get taught
the same lesson as the Anishinaabe.<br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 10:44 AM, David
Lessard <span dir="ltr">
<<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:david.lessard2@mail.mcgill.ca" target="_blank">david.lessard2@mail.mcgill.ca</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote"
style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div>
<div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">I
have seen this among the James Bay Cree. I asked why and they told me
it was more efficient when they had their hands full. I did not
investigate further though.<br>
<br>
I have been told that it is an habit in Ecuador too.<br>
<br>
David<br>
<br>
Envoyé à partir de mon Windows Phone<br>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;">De
:
</span><span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Conor Quinn</span><br>
<span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;">Envoyé
:
</span><span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">2013-03-06
10:29</span><br>
<span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;">À :
</span><span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:ALGONQUIANA@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG" target="_blank">ALGONQUIANA@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG</a></span><br>
<span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;">Objet
:
</span><span
style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Re: pointing,
not with finger</span><br>
<br>
<div>Dia dhaoibh, a chairde!<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Till later, keep safe and sane.<br>
<br>
Slán,<br>
bhur gcara<br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 8:54 AM, Amy
Dahlstrom <span dir="ltr">
<<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:a-dahlstrom@uchicago.edu"
target="_blank">a-dahlstrom@uchicago.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote"
style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Hello Algonquianists,<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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?<br>
<br>
thanks in advance for any thoughts you can share!<span><font
color="#888888"><br>
<br>
Amy<br>
</font></span><br>
P.S. if you hit "reply" remember that you are replying to the whole
list! :-)<br>
</blockquote>
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<div><br>
</div>
-- <br>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span
style="font-family: 'Lucida Calligraphy'; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font
size="3">Margaret Noori</font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span
style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font face="Calibri" size="3"> </font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span
style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">Director,
Comprehensive Studies Program</font></font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span
style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">University
of Michigan</font></font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span
style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">1111
Angell Hall</font></font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span
style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">435
S. State St.
</font></font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span
style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font size="3"><font face="Calibri">Ann
Arbor, MI 48109-1003</font></font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span
style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/csp/" target="_blank"><font
color="#0000ff" face="Calibri" size="3">www.lsa.umich.edu/csp/</font></a></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</p>
</div>
</div>
<p>
</p>
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</div>
<br>
<br clear="all">
<div><br>
</div>
-- <br>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span
style="font-family: 'Lucida Calligraphy'; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font
size="3">Margaret Noori</font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font
face="Calibri" size="3"> </font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font
size="3"><font face="Calibri">Director, Comprehensive Studies Program</font></font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font
size="3"><font face="Calibri">University of Michigan</font></font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font
size="3"><font face="Calibri">1111 Angell Hall</font></font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font
size="3"><font face="Calibri">435 S. State St. </font></font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><font
size="3"><font face="Calibri">Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1003</font></font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/csp/"
target="_blank"><font color="#0000ff" face="Calibri" size="3">www.lsa.umich.edu/csp/</font></a></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
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