The English Stiff-Upper-Lip

This gesture relates to pursing the lips to control the face so that facial expressions are reduced and as little emotion as Possible is shown. This way the English can give the impression of being in complete emotional control. When Princes Philip, Charles, Harry and William walked behind the coffin of Diana in 1997, they each held the Stiff-Upper-Lip expression, which, to many in the non-British world, came across a unemotional about Diana's death.

Henry VIII was famous for pulling the Lips-Pursed expression. He had a small mouth and when he stiffened his upper lip for a portrait it looked even smaller. This habit led to a small mouth being a superiority signal among the English of the sixteenth century. The Lips-Pursed is an expression still used today by English people when they feel they are being intimidated by inferior people and this gesture is often accompanied by extended eye blinks.

Henry VIII popularised this gesture as a high-status signal because of his small mouth and modern Brits and Americans still use it

The Japanese

One area where handshakes, kissing and bear hugs have not become established is Japan, where such bodily contact is considered impolite. Japanese people bow on first meeting, the person with the highest status bowing the least and the one with the least status bowing the most. On first meeting, business cards are exchanged, each person assesses the others status and appropriate bowing follows.

In Japan, make sure your shoes are spotlessly clean and in goodcondition. Everytimea Japanese bows, heinspectsthem.

The Japanese way of listening to someone involves a repertoire of smiley nods and polite noises, which have no direct equivalent in other languages. The idea is to encourage you to keep on talking but this is often misinterpreted by Westerners and Europeans as agreement. The Head Nod is an almost universal sign for 'yes', except for the Bulgarians who use the gesture to signify 'no', and the Japanese who use it for politeness. If you say something a Japanese doesn't agree with, he'll still say 'yes' - or Hai in Japanese - to keep you talking. A Japanese 'yes' usually means, 'yes, I heard you' and not 'yes, I agree'. For example, if you say to a Japanese person 'you don't agree, do you?' he will nod his head and say 'yes' even though he may not agree. In the Japanese context, it means 'Yes, you are correct - I don't agree.'

The Japanese are concerned with saving face and have developed a set of rules to prevent things going wrong so try to avoid saying no or asking questions when the answer might be no. The closest a Japanese will get to saying the word no is, 'It is very difficult,' or 'We will give this positive study' when they really mean, 'Let's forget the whole thing and go home.'

'You Dirty, Disgusting Pig!' - Nose Blowing

Europeans and Westerners blow their noses into a handkerchief or tissue while Asians and Japanese spit or snort. Each is appalled by what they see as the other's 'disgusting' behaviour. This dramatic cultural difference is the direct result of the spead of tuberculosis in past centuries. In Europe, tuberculosis was the AIDS of the era - a disease from which there was little hope of survival so governments instructed people to blow their nose to avoid further spreading the disease. This is why Westerners react so strongly to spitting - a spitting person could spread tuberculosis around, so people were as alarmed by that prospect as they would be if you could spread AIDS by spitting.

Modern nose-blowing is the result of a post epidemic of tuberculosis.

If tuberculosis had been a problem in Eastern countries, the cultural reaction would be the same as with Westerners. As a result the Japanese are appalled when someone produces a handkerchief, blows their nose into it and puts it back in their pocket purse or up their sleeve! Japanese are unimpressed at the English custom of men wearing a handkerchief in their jacket top pocket. This is the equivalent of proudly dangling a roll of toilet paper from the pocket, ready for action. Asians believe, correctly, that it is a healthier option to spit but it is a habit that is repulsive to Westerners and Europeans. This is why business meetings between Westerners and Europeans can fail when they've all got a cold. So don't feel upset by an Asian who spits or snorts and never blow your nose in front of a Japanese person.

The Three Most Common Cross-Cultural Gestures

Let's examine the cultural interpretations and implications of three common hand gestures, the Ring, the Thumb-Up and the V-sign.

Date: 2015-01-12; view: 1058