rence in making the gesture itself can mean something quite different from that intended. A wrong interpretation of a gesture can arouse quite unexpected reactions.

　　A well-known case is a gesture made by Winston Churchill, the doughty prime minister who led Britain through the Second World War. As he appeared before a large crowd, he was greeted with cheers and applause. The occasion was a momentous one and Churchill flashed the “V for victory” sign—with the forefinger and middle finger raised to form a “V”. Whether by mistake or ignorance, instead of facing the palm of his hand to the front, he made the “V” with the back of his hand towards the audience. Some in the crowd applauded; some gasped; some broke out in laughter. The prime minister’s gesture, as given, meant quite something else. Instead of “V for victory”, it meant something dirty; it was an obscene gesture!　　3.2 Application of the body language

　　3.2.1 Greetings

　　Hoa has just arrived from Vietnam. Her cousin Phuong and some of his American friends are waiting at the airport to greet her. Hoa and Phuong are both excited about this meeting because they have been separated for seven years. As soon as Hoa enters the passenger terminal, Phuong introduces her to his friends Tom, Don, and Charles. Tom steps forward and hugs and kisses Hoa. She pushes him away and bursts into tears.

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　　Among Chinese from Vietnam, if a boy hugs and kisses a girl in public, he insults her. Chinese culture in Vietnam is very strict about this, especially in the rural areas where Hoa grew up. She described her village: “After children are ten years old, boys and girls cannot play together. A boy and girl cannot date without their parents’ approval. A man and woman cannot hug or kiss if they’re not married.”

　　In Hoa’s village if anyone violated these rules, the villagers punished the girl by forcing her to kneel on the ground so they could spit at her and throw rocks at her. No wonder that Puong’s American friends frightened Hoa. She did not know what punishment for public hugging and kissing might be meted out to her in this country. She confused Tom, who by American standards was dong the right thing.

　　Eventually Hoa learned to be comfortable when greeted with hugs and kisses, accepting them as merely perfunctory acts.

　　Analogous to this situation is another in which Duane, a Chinese American employee, invited his non-Chinese boss, Mr. Keck, to a large family celebration. When Mr. Keck arrived, he shook hands with Duane and, when introduced to Duane’s grandmother, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. This shocked the older woman, yet Mr. Keck was totally unaware that he had committed a social blunder. What he considered as a respectful act, grandmother considered disrespectful. Instead, Mr. Keck should have nodded to the older woman and offered her a verbal greeting. 　　◆ When establishing relations with Asians, avoid body contact. The safest form is to nod and give a verbal salutation. Follow their lead as the relationship changes.

　　Like customs everywhere, increased cross-cultural interaction brings about changes in habits; many Asian businesspeople have accommodated to the American handshaking tradition. On the other hand, in a situation where it seems as if bowing would still be the only polite move to make—especially to the Japanese—following these guidelines should make it easier.

　　◆ When bowing to people from Japan, hands should slide down toward the knees or remain at the side.

　　◆ Back and neck should be held in a rigid position, while eyes look downward.

　　◆ The person in the inferior position always bows longer and lower.

　　Those from India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh use the namaste for both greeting and farewells and as a sign of respect. They do this by holding their hands chest-high in a prayerlike position, then slightly nod the head; but they do not bow. American students of yoga who are taught by Asian teachers become familiar with this gesture that heralds the beginning of each session. Thais have a similar greeting, but they call it a wai.

　　　While body contact is generally taboo in most Asian countries, elsewhere, body contact is expected; shying away from contact gives off negative signals.

　　◆ When greeting, people from Indian, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Thailand hold their hands together in front of their chins in a prayerlike position and nod their heads.

　　◆ When greeting, most Latinos expect body contact. Hugging and kissing on the check are acceptable for both the same sex and the opposite sex. The abrazo is commonplace—friends embrace and simultaneously pat each other on the back.

　　◆ When greeting, most middle easterners, especially Muslims, avoid body contact with the opposite sex, but men may embrace and kiss one anther. Women may do the same. When shaking hands, men should avoid pulling their hands away too quickly.

　　◆ When greeting most Americans, expect soma body contract. Women kiss once on each cheek and hug; men shake hands. Men may also hug and kiss women on the cheek if they are close friends.

　　◆ When greeting orthodox Jews, avoid body contact with the opposite sex.

　　3.2.2 Signs of affection

　　Sheree Bykofsky, an American writer, is thrilled when a cruise ship line purchases copies of her hew romantic travel guide, the best place to kiss in and around New York City. The cruise line plans to give the books as dinner favors during their special valentine’s cruise. 　　They invite Sheree on board to greet the passengers and autograph their copies. The Americans and Europeans delight in meeting the author and having her sign their books. However, when Sheree visits the tables of the Japanese passengers, most of them refuse to acknowledge her.

　　Japanese people do not approve of public body contact and, thus, have developed a complex system of bowing to express relationships. Touching a member of the opposite sex is particularly repugnant to their sensitivities; consequently, kissing in public is considered a disgraceful act.

　　The Japanese snubbed Sheree because the title of her book suggested behavior that did not conform to their standards of respect. They would not acknowledge her because, in their eyes, she promoted vulgarity.

　　Asians from countries other than Japan are equally disapproving when they see American men and women or two men to walk in public holding hands. However, when they practice this sign of friendship in the states, they are frequently mistaken for homosexuals. This shocks them.

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　　Same-sex hand holding or walking arm-in-arm also occurs among Latinos, French, Spanish, Italians, Greeks, and middle easterners.

　　◆ Most Japanese people strongly disapprove of public expression of affection by males and females through kissing or any other form of body contact.

　　◆ Same-sex hand holding between Asians, middle-easterners, Latinos, or those from Mediterranean countries is a sign of friendship. Walking with arms on each other’s shoulders or with hands or arms linked also equates with camaraderie.

　　3.2.3 Physical contact

　　When Dorothy receives a wedding invitation to attend her Japanese neighbor’s wedding, she is thrilled. She has always admired the Yamashita family. She is very fond of lance, the about-to-be-married son, and feels extremely close to Grace, his mother. Dorothy feels honored to be included in the family festivities.

　　After the beautiful church ceremony, Dorothy stands in line to greet the bridal party. However, when Dorothy, a very affectionate person, steps forward to embrace the mother of the groom, Grace steps backward.

　　Dorothy feels rejected.

　　Even at such a joyous occasion as a wedding, Japanese customs about physical contact in public are not relaxed, even when taking place between the same sex. Truly, more formality is demonstrated in such situations. Consider the extreme reserve displayed at the 1993 royal wedding of crown prince Naruhito to Massako Owada. The physical acts of the royal couple consisted only of sipping sacred sake and making bows—no touching, no hugging, no kissing between the couple, certainly none by the wedding guests.

　　　　In Dorothy’s situation, even though she felt very close to Grace, she would have been more socially correct had she bowed her head slightly and then offered only verbal felicitations. In situations like these, it is best to observe the manner in which other wedding guests congratulate family members and then follow their example.

　　3.3 A comparative study of Chinese and American body language

　　A comparative study of Chinese and American body language shows a number of similarities; for example: men don’t hug or embrace when meeting; a handshake is the most common gesture that goes with a greeting; waving a hand to say “goodbye” is the same; a frown shows displeasure, and the wrinkling of one’s nose is a sign of dislike, disgust or disapproval; nodding means “yes”, and shaking one’s head means “no”; pouting has the same meaning—displeasure, bad humor, resentment; a pat on the back of a man or boy indicates approval, praise, encouragement; gritting one’s teeth may express anger, fury, or determination.

　　The charts on the following pages provide examples of some of the difference:

　　Different Body Language, Same Meaning

　　　　Meaning Body Language in China Body Language in U.S.

　　“Come here” (beckoning someone to come) hand extended toward person,open palm, palm down, withall fingers crooked in a beckoning motion hand extended toward person,closed hand, palm up, with forefinger only moving backand forth (in china this samegesture would be consideredoffensive by many)

　　“Shame on you!” (semi-joking gesture) forefinger of one hand extended, tip

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