Part of what Masami and I teach is verbal and non-verbal back-channeling. According to one study, body language alone accounts for 60 to 65% of all communication. Fortunately, most body language is universal. However, I have learnt the meanings of a few Japanese gestures since coming to Japan.
Body language, such as nodding or shaking the head, is generally accepted to have the same meaning. A head tilt or looking down at the ground are similar, too. When it comes to hand gestures, things are a little different in my experience.
Come here, go away
I had recently arrived in Japan, Masami, her mother and I went shopping in a large department store. We were looking for different things so we split up to do our personal shopping. After 15 minutes or so, I had completed my shopping and wandered back to where we started.
Shortly, I saw Masami’s mother, we made eye contact, smiled, and then she “shoo-ed” me away! I thought, what did I do wrong? She wants me to go away? Maybe she knew where Masami was and was ushering me in her direction. I pointed to myself and offered which way she wanted me to go, towards her or away from her? Now I know the Japanese hand gesture for “come here.” which is confusingly similar to the English hand gesture, “go away!”. I was so relieved Masami’s mother wasn’t sending me away. She wanted me to come over to show me something she thought I would like!
I am the point
As a child, I was told, “it’s rude to point.”, mainly at people or anything belonging to them. When I was confused in that department store, I pointed at myself to confirm where Masami’s mother wanted me to go. I didn’t know that this is a gesture used in Japan when talking about oneself. Masami does it frequently yet, to me, this seems like a strong gesture. “It’s me!”, “It’s mine!”, “I’m doing it!”, “I am!”. It can also come across as, “I’m guilty.”. Perhaps my childhood lessons in etiquette have influenced my opinion on this gesture. At least I now understand how Masami uses it.
What’s that bad smell? Not me!
I use this hand gesture often in a Japanese way, waving your hand in front of your face with your thumb facing you, meaning “no”. I tend to use it to say, “No, thank you.” I don’t always need a straw, spoon or pair of chopsticks from the convenience store.
On the other hand, this gesture is used in England to suggest you can smell something unpleasant. By waving your hand, you are trying to fan it away from your nose.
I guess it is possible to use this body language in both ways.
(Waving hand in front of face), “What’s that bad smell? It’s not me!”
【あなたの心が伝わるあなただけの英語】
英語でのコミュニケーションをあなたらしい英語で。一人一人のレベル、能力、興味に合った教材や方法での英語レッスンプログラムをオンラインで学べます。
”あなたの英語”でコミュニケートしたい方は、まずは無料カウンセリングをご予約ください。
