An illustrated guide to more than 850 gestures and their meanings around the world, from a nod of the head to a click of the heels.Gestures convey meaning with a flourish. A vigorous nod of the head, a bold jut of the chin, an enthusiastic thumbs-up: all speak louder than words. Yet the same gesture may have different meanings in different parts of the world. What Americans understand as the "A-OK gesture," for example, is an obscene insult in the Arab world. This volume is the reference book we didn't know we needed--an illustrated dictionary of 850 gestures and their meanings around the world. It catalogs voluntary gestures made to communicate openly--as distinct from sign language, dance moves, involuntary "tells," or secret handshakes--and explains what the gesture conveys in a variety of locations. It is organized by body part, from top to bottom, from head (nodding, shaking, turning) to foot (scraping, kicking, playing footsie).We learn that "to oscillate the head while gently throwing it back" communicates approval in some countries even though it resembles the headshake of disapproval used in other countries; that "to tap a slightly inflated cheek" constitutes an erotic invitation when accompanied by a wink; that the middle finger pointed in the air signifies approval in South America. We may already know that it is a grave insult in the Middle East and Asia to display the sole of one's shoe, but perhaps not that motorcyclists sometimes greet each other by raising a foot. Illustrated with clever line drawings and documented with quotations from literature (the author, Franois Caradec, was a distinguished and prolific historian of literature, culture, and humorous oddities, as well as a novelist and poet), this dictionary offers readers unique lessons in polylingual meaning.

Caradec, François, author; Cousin, Philippe, illustrator; Clarke, Chris (Translator), translator

Francʹois Caradec

Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press

AAAI Press

United States, United States of America

Illustrated, US, 2018

324 pages : 24 cm
"This is an illustrated dictionary of over 850 gestures from around the world. Gestures often convey meanings that transcend borders, but sometimes they bear vastly different meanings from one continent to another. A dictionary, then, of bodily signs made voluntarily in order to communicate in a open manner: not sign language, no involuntary psychoanalytic "tells," no dance moves, and no secret means of exchange (for example, the recent appropriation of the same "a-ok" gesture mentioned above by white supremecists) or professional codes (military, for example). Which is not to make this book sound limited, but rather to explain that the overall guiding principle is the way we go about joining words to gestures throughout the world in our everyday lives (gestures don't constitute a language in and of themselves), with a side interest in the fact that there are no universals in the realm of the gesture. All entries are illustrated in a how-to manner via drawings (utilizing men, women, and children from all cultures, reflecting the book's global coverage), while illustrations from other sources showing gestures being performed in various cultural contexts throughout history are also scattered throughout the book and the introduction. Entries are organized by body parts and body regions, from head to foot (with everything in between: chin, nose, thumb, buttocks, and 33 other body parts), with an index for intention and interpretation of the different gestures (i.e., Complicity, Despair, Homosexuality, Indifference, Satisfaction, and so on) that makes for a different means of taxonomy"--
Translation of: Dictionnaire des gestes : attitudes et mouvements expressifs en usage dans le monde entier
Includes bibliographical references and index
The Cheeks -- The Chin -- The Neck -- The Shoulders -- The Armpits -- The Arms -- The Forearm -- The Elbow -- The Wrist -- The Fingernails -- The Hand -- The Fist -- Both Hands -- Hand to Hand -- The Thumb -- The Index Finger -- The Middle Finger -- The Ring Finger -- The Little Finger (The Pinky) -- The Torso -- The Chest -- The Hips -- The Waist and the Stomach -- The Buttocks -- The Groin, the Genitals, the Thighs -- The Knees, the Legs -- The Foot

"This is an illustrated dictionary of over 850 gestures from around the world. Gestures often convey meanings that transcend borders, but sometimes they bear vastly different meanings from one continent to another. A dictionary, then, of bodily signs made voluntarily in order to communicate in a open manner: not sign language, no involuntary psychoanalytic "tells," no dance moves, and no secret means of exchange (for example, the recent appropriation of the same "a-ok" gesture mentioned above by white supremecists) or professional codes (military, for example). Which is not to make this book sound limited, but rather to explain that the overall guiding principle is the way we go about joining words to gestures throughout the world in our everyday lives (gestures don't constitute a language in and of themselves), with a side interest in the fact that there are no universals in the realm of the gesture. All entries are illustrated in a how-to manner via drawings (utilizing men, women, and children from all cultures, reflecting the book's global coverage), while illustrations from other sources showing gestures being performed in various cultural contexts throughout history are also scattered throughout the book and the introduction. Entries are organized by body parts and body regions, from head to foot (with everything in between: chin, nose, thumb, buttocks, and 33 other body parts), with an index for intention and interpretation of the different gestures (i.e., Complicity, Despair, Homosexuality, Indifference, Satisfaction, and so on) that makes for a different means of taxonomy"-- Provided by publisher

Gestures often convey meanings that transcend borders, but sometimes they bear vastly different meanings from one continent to another. This illustrated dictionary of gestures from around the world explains the way we go about joining words to gestures throughout the world in our everyday lives, with a side interest in the fact that there are no universals in the realm of the gesture. Entries are illustrated in drawings utilizing men, women, and children from all cultures, with illustrations from other sources showing gestures being performed in various cultural contexts throughout history. Entries are organized by body parts and body regions, with an index for intention and interpretation of the different gestures that makes for a different means of taxonomy. -- adapted from publisher info

2024-07-01