Gestures In American Culture

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was a hearing minister that designed American Sign Language, which is the first language used by deaf and hearing people in the United States and Canada. Two thousand hundred million people are using ASL, and at least five thousand hundred people are using it as their most important way of communication. Throughout a period, Deaf people in America were already using sign language, in the early 1800’s; Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet had become friends with a young Deaf girl named Alice. Gallaudet started to teach the girl a few words, and succeeded at doing so. In 1815, Gallaudet went to Europe in search of methods of teaching the Deaf. He approached a number of program directors, the signs used at the school for the deaf, and the signs began to develop into American Sign Language. American Sign Language in America also has

Eye contact is important in America and Europe, but it can be rude in most of Asian countries and in Africa. Closing your

It’s not only how we speak to people but it can also be reflected through our body language. We have to bear in mind that other people’s cultures may find some gestures offensive to them. Being respectful to their beliefs and cultures is important in maintaining positive relations. A raise of an eye brow or shrug of the shoulder can send the

When you meet a new person in France, the polite thing to do would be to shake their hand, say hello, and introduce yourself to everyone in the room if you had just arrived. If you were greeting a close friend of family member you would then kiss them once on each cheek (3 kisses in South France). Friends address each other with their first names in an informal manner like many young people do. Adults tend to be more conservative and formal and tend to be un-expressive in front of people they don’t know well. Some inappropriate conversation topics would be anything having to do with: age, income, occupation, family, asking how much something costs, asking where something was purchased, talking loudly, chewing gum, and calling attention to oneself.

• Cultural differences – when the same thing means different things in two cultures, communication can be difficult. For example, it is seen as polite and respectful to make eye contact when speaking to someone in Western culture but in other cultures, for example in East Asia, it can be seen as rude and defiant.

Cultural differences are present wherever you travel to, you will come across cultural differences, and these can vary quite a bit, such as the language people use e.g. English people say "Chips" compared to Americans who say "Fries”. A businessman may find himself in the middle of cultural differences quite often and thus, will have to devise methods as to how to make sure no one is offended or that he is fully understood. Certain methods he would use to overcome such issues are greeting people on a last name basis. Also refraining on using most signed gestures, as they can vary in meaning quite greatly, for example, the English gesture to say

Idioms are not the only barrier between cultures social customs can also be a barrier in Australia it is very common for people to shake hands when meeting in other cultures touch by strangers is unwelcomed to avoid this research cultural customs and if unsure ask the person how they would like to be

When greeting someone it is expected that one would bow with their hands together. In the U.S., saying hello or goodbye with a hand wave is an acceptable gesture, yet in India a hand wave is a sign of saying “go away”. When communicating with another person it is an understood rule that there should be a one arm’s length between the parties during conversation. Overall, when communicating within the Indian Culture, there are many ways to easily offend them.  Education of their culture could have great benefits to communication and respect.  When doing business or just simply greeting an Indian person, the last thing you want to happen is offend them or their culture.    Knowing there are different ways of communicating between cultures will have a positive outcome from a business aspect and also a social aspect.

In society, social norms are conducted to define an appropriate behavior of how a person should be, specifying what is considered as "right" or "wrong." When a specific person does not follow the norms, they are seen as different, and is regarded as an outsider. According to Orson Scott Card, an outsider is a person who does not belong in a particular social group. He states all human beings are outsiders, because nobody ever feels like they are accepted by others.

When communicating with others, it is important to consider the context in which we are working. For example, more formal language and behaviour would be used in a meeting and the school will have a range of types of planned communication with other adults – when dealing with other professionals, there will be meetings and discussions as well as more informal communication at different times. However, there are also the non-spoken forms of communication such as how quickly we respond to an email or phone message, how attentive we are when speaking to someone, how we dress. Different cultures will have their own norms of behaviour which will extend to gestures, body language and eye contact. In some cultures, for example, it is not polite

When I look out into the world it does not take long for me to realize that we are all different in a plethora of different ways. We all grow up in many different societies and

During the Through Deaf Eyes, I realize that no one should judge one another even if we can hear or deaf because at the end of the day, we are all the same kind which is being a human.. During the film, what blew my mind away is that deaf people say “I can” while the hearing people say “I can’t.” Deaf people are more brave than hearing people and they embrace their pride and do not want to be cure. The American Sign Language is a way to communicate with one another therefore, it is so important for deaf people to communicate. They would have to go through a deaf speech class with teachers helping them from step by step using their hands motion to learn American Sign Language.

Avoid insulting your host by greeting them inappropriately. In many countries, a handshake may prove a fatal move. For example, the greeting custom in Japan is a slight bow of respect followed by a brief handshake; it shows your host that

An example of this is that in the United States we find it alright to ask someone to come to us by pointing our finger and curling it toward us. In Japan they find it offensive to signal someone to come to them in this manner. Something as simple as a hug for which we do quite often in the US can be considered offensive in foreign countries. Weird right? Wow, I could get into a lot of trouble in countries like this because I am a hugger. When seeing friends out and about we tend to hug each other as a gesture of missing each other or love for one another. I never knew this because I have friends from these countries that would find it offensive, maybe they have become “Americanized”. Putting your hands in your pocket as many of us have done many, many, many times, this is found to be rude in several countries. I guess Alanis Morsette would be in trouble also (her song Hand in My Pocket HAHAHA). I can honestly say that I would also be considered rude because I have a bad habit of placing my hand or hands in my pocket. I have even been known to walk around with my hands in my pockets. So I guess I better stay away from places like Austria or the Netherlands. Next time you find yourself doing simple gestures such as these you may want to consider where you

In various societies, individuals are treated differently depending on a number of factors like race, ethnicity, where they live or migrant status, sexual