LL-L "Body language" 2008.07.20 (06) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L  - 20 July 2008 - Volume 06
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From: Mike Morgan <mwmosaka at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Body language" 2008.07.20 (04) [E]

Sandy, et al,

As I KNOW this whole thread is a bit removed from the Lowlands, i will
keep MY contribution to the whole thing short:

Sandy wrote:
> Thumb up = "good", pinkie up = "bad" isn't a universal, however: in
> Taiwanese sign language (and, I seem to remember, Chinese sign
> languages), the thumb is a classifier for "man" and the pinkie a
> classifier for "woman"

Taiwanese SL and Japanese Sl and Korean SL, but NO Chinese SL (other
than Taiwanese) that I know of. In fact, in Hong Kong SL, for example,
thumbs up is "good" and pinkie up is "bad" ... maybe a "borrowing"
(imposition?) from the days of the Brits. Or maybe not, since I seem
to recall the same is true of Chinese SL in Beijing.

Ind here in Bombay (and India in general) thumbs up is defnitely
"good", though pinkie up is ... well, if you wag it a bit to left and
right, "the loo".

And, since I have spent 18 years in Japan just prior to coming to the
Lowlands of Maharashtra, I can't help commenting on R/R's comments
about the Japanese (and will let his comments about the Chinese stand,
a I am SURE he knows better than I): hesaid:
>> In Japanese and Chinese cultures, for instance, gestures and facial
>> expressions accompany speech far, far less, which in the early days of
>> renewed contacts no doubt helped to lead to the stereotype of "the
>> inscrutable Asian." Again, those cultures consider such physical
>> symbols coarse, and again females use them less than males because
>> females must obey stricter rules of propriety.

Here I agree with Sandy's question ""Must" or "prefer to"?" For, on
the whole, HEARING Japanese DO gesture and use facial expression much
less that "we" Westerners do (to the extent that when I visited
Catalunya a few years back I had the distinct feeling that EVERYONE
there MUST be Deaf as they were all gesturing like MAD!). Even DEAF
Japanese gesture and use facial expression a bit less than DEAF
Westerners do! However, that is largely true ONLY when they are aware
that WE (outsiders, Westerner or other) are watching. If you SPY on,
say, two women -- be they in their 20s or in their 50s -- who are good
friends talking to each other in e.g. Mr Donuts, they gesture more
than I do ... well, more than I did BSL (berore sign language ...
sorry Sandy, couldn't help the pun!).

Mike || マイク || माईक || Мика || માઈક || მაიქ || ਮਾਈਕ || מייק || மாஇக் || ما
پک
================
Dr Michael W Morgan
Managing Director
Ishara Foundation
Mumbai (Bombay), India
++++++++++++++++
माईकल मोर्गन (पी.एच.डी.)
मेनेजिंग डॉयरेक्टर
ईशारा फॉउंडेशन (मुंबई )
++++++++++++++++
茂流岸マイク(言語学博士)
イシャラ基金の専務理事・事務局長
ムンバイ(ボンベイ)、インド
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