词汇大师(Wordmaster)--'Field Guide to Gestures'

Broadcast on COAST TO COAST: September 25, 2003

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- the language of non-verbal communication. Two writers, Melissa Wagner and Nancy Armstrong, have put together a book of one-hundred-eight gestures and their various, and sometimes multiple, meanings around the world.

RS: "Field Guide to Gestures" is the name of the book, and Melissa Wagner starts with one that Americans would immediately recognize as the sign for "OK."

WAGNER: "Index finger and the thumb come together to make a ring, and then the three other fingers on the hand kind of splay out. And you might put that up and say 'OK' with a big smile, and you're really giving approval."

AA: "We're doing it here in the studio."

WAGNER: "I'm doing it too! In certain areas of the world, the OK symbol that we just discussed might actually mean something else. In Belgium or in France it might mean that you're worthless. Or it might mean zero. Or in Japan it might mean that you want your change in coins if you show the OK symbol, or what Americans know as the OK symbol, at the cash register.

"So around the world these things that Americans take for granted, and I suppose that we all take for granted, as being something that everyone understands, actually are just as difficult to learn as language."

AA: "That's right, you don't want to be perceived as a 'loser.'"

WAGNER: "[laughter] That's right!

AA: "That's a fun little gesture -- why don't you describe the gesture to indicate that someone is a loser."

WAGNER: "OK, either hand, both thumb and index finger out, and the other three fingers curled under. You're making kind of an L with your thumb and index finger. Raise that up to your head and put it on your forehead."

RS: "Now what does it mean to be a loser?"

WAGNER: "It means that you maybe have said something that is maybe dumb. It's more of a chiding¹ gesture, where you're showing kind of joking disapproval²."

RS: "Tell us some more of the gestures in the book. What were the most obvious gestures that you recorded in your book?"

AA: "And how did you collect your observations?"

WAGNER: "Sure. Nancy and I, neither one of us are anthropologists, so we actually relied on the research of a lot of other folks and kind of compiled it and made it very accessible for anyone to be able to understand. And some of the other gestures that we covered that we were very interested in finding out the origins and meanings of, were things like what's known as 'the finger' here in the United States -- which is an insulting gesture that's often used by motorists.

"And by 'the finger,鈥?I mean the middle finger on either hand is extended and the other fingers in the hand are kind of curled down. Here in the United States that's also referred to as 'flipping³ someone the bird.'"

RS: "Well where did it come from?"

WAGNER: "It actually has been around for thousands of years. It's referred to in classic, ancient Roman texts. In Latin it's known as 'digitus impudicus' -- indecent digit⁴ [laughter] which makes it sound quite noble."

AA: "Yes, I'll have to remember that! [laughter]"

WAGNER: "Right! There are certainly things that we don't really think of as being gestures that are also in the book. Like the handshake, for instance, which is a very typical greeting. And, you know, the most acceptable greeting here in the United States is a nice, firm handshake. We found out that that actually was brought over into this country from England. It kind of came about around the sixteenth century as a way to show the binding⁵ of a contract."

RS: "After doing all this work, do you have a favorite gesture?"

WAGNER: "I really enjoyed learning about the horns gesture -- this one's kind of hard to explain."

RS: "Where you take two fingers and, like, make horns on your head?"

WAGNER: "No -- your index and pinky fingers are held straight -- "

RS: "Oh, OK."

WAGNER: " -- and then your thumb comes down and holds the two middle fingers down."

AA: "And that's the 'hook 'em horns,' isn't it? That's the Texas ... "

RS: "That's right! It's the 'hook 'em horns,' so the Texas Longhorns -- "

AA: "Which is a ... "

RS: "Football team."

WAGNER: "A football team, college -- "

AA: "A college football team."

WAGNER: " -- here in the United States. Also it was adopted by hard rockers."

AA: "That's right!"

WAGNER: "Rock-and-rollers would make this gesture at concerts or just kind of to show an affinity⁶ with each other. But the funny thing I found out is that in other parts of the world, it can actually mean your wife is cheating on you."

RS: And, yes, there are more explicit⁷ gestures included in "Field Guide to Gestures," co-authored by Melissa Wagner. It's from Quirk⁸ Books complete with pictures and detailed⁹ instructions.

AA If this were television, it'd be tempting¹⁰ to close with the "call me" sign -- thumb up, pinkie out, other fingers down, as if you're holding a telephone up to your ear. But Melissa says it's been used to the point of becoming a little obnoxious¹¹.

RS: So we'll just point you to our Web site, voanews.com/wordmaster, and tell you our e-mail address, [email protected]. With Avi Arditti, I'm Rosanne Skirble.

1 chiding   

v.责骂，责备( chide的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was chiding her son for not being more dutiful to her. 她在责骂她儿子对她不够孝尽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She called back her scattered maidens, chiding their alarm. 她把受惊的少女们召唤回来，对她们的惊惶之状加以指责。 来自辞典例句

2 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

3 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

4 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。

5 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

6 affinity   

n.亲和力，密切关系

参考例句：

• I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。
• It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。

7 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

8 quirk   

n.奇事，巧合；古怪的举动

参考例句：

• He had a strange quirk of addressing his wife as Mrs Smith.他很怪，把自己的妻子称作史密斯夫人。
• The most annoying quirk of his is wearing a cap all the time.他最令人感到厌恶的怪癖就是无论何时都戴著帽子。

9 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

10 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

11 obnoxious   

adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的

参考例句：

• These fires produce really obnoxious fumes and smoke.这些火炉冒出来的烟气确实很难闻。
• He is the most obnoxious man I know.他是我认识的最可憎的人。