Let's suppose that you are in a foreign country, but you can't speak their language. For example, you might face a very urgent situation in which you are keen to go to the toilet. Naturally, you will search for a toilet and grab the first person you see to ask where a toilet is, by using gestures (or body language). The man who understands the gesture tells you the direction. The world's silent language is "the gesture." In this situation, gestures can help us communicate with different cultures. However, hundreds of millions of people are living in the world and we cannot disregard the fact that the culture of each nation is different. It means that some gestures can be understood in any country, but that other countries can't understand them because of their different culture. Why don't you learn about their cultures by reading this article?
The world is divided into the East and the West by culture. First, the Eastern culture is divided into 3 or more cultures, Buddhism, Islam, and Confucian. Every gesture has different meanings across cultures.
Difference between Confucian and Thai culture
Imagine the following situation: an adult sees a baby playing and pats the baby's head. In Confucian culture, this gesture expresses love and affection toward the baby. But, in the Thai culture, it impiles an insult, because the head is holy to them.
Second, Western culture is divided into the Anglo-Saxon culture, the German culture etc. Therefore, and others. there are a number of different cultures within Western culture, just like in the East, and their gestures are very different.
Difference between American and British culture
The gesture "V" is commonly known as the victory sign, but this gesture also h
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What a surprise! In spite of the same English language, the U.S. and England have different cultures and gestures. Last, we will learn about between differences Eastern and the Western culture. It is also very interesting!
Differences between Korean, Japanese, and American culture
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Let's suppose that you're Korean or Japanese. Now, you are in a restaurant and you are choosing from the menu. After you make a selection from the menu, you call the waiter. America is different, however, when they call a waiter, they show the upside of their palms and move their forefinger toward themselves. In spite of this very small gesture, it includes important meanings. Maybe you will think, "Ohh~ He is very rude!" But, when you go to a restaurant in America, sometimes you can see this gesture. In this situation, you should remember that gestures are a reflection of cultures and people's lives. So, you shouldn't judge whether a culture is right or wrong.
Introducing these gestures is very important, because these gestures are pretty common in the world. Through globalization, we can understand different cultures, so you need to be more concerned about gestures and cultures. If you meet a foreigner, why don't you try to use a gesture? Maybe you can become more familiar with them, and learn more about foreign places and the world.
By Ko Su Yeon
Cub-reporter
syko06@cheju.ac.kr