pointing, not with finger

[Margaret Noori]

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!  : )

On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 12:28 PM, David Lessard <
david.lessard2 at mail.mcgill.ca> wrote:

>  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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> This is all I know, but it is something that always caught my attention,
> so would like to know more about it.
>
> David
>
> Envoyé à partir de mon Windows Phone
>  ------------------------------
> De : Margaret Noori
> Envoyé : 2013-03-06 12:11
> À : ALGONQUIANA at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
> Objet : Re: pointing, not with finger
>
> 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.
>
> On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 10:44 AM, David Lessard <
> david.lessard2 at mail.mcgill.ca> wrote:
>
>>  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.
>>
>> I have been told that it is an habit in Ecuador too.
>>
>> David
>>
>> Envoyé à partir de mon Windows Phone
>>  ------------------------------
>> De : Conor Quinn
>> Envoyé : 2013-03-06 10:29
>> À : ALGONQUIANA at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
>> Objet : Re: pointing, not with finger
>>
>> 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! :-)
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
>  --
>
> Margaret Noori
>
>
>
> Director, Comprehensive Studies Program
>
> University of Michigan
>
> 1111 Angell Hall
>
> 435 S. State St.
>
> Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1003
>
> www.lsa.umich.edu/csp/
>
>
>


-- 

Margaret Noori



Director, Comprehensive Studies Program

University of Michigan

1111 Angell Hall

435 S. State St.

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1003

www.lsa.umich.edu/csp/


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