The Culture of Body Language

Body language (a.k.a. non-verbal communication) is one of the most powerful social forms of expression in the world. However, the use of body language is not standardized globally, but locally – such as to a particular country, continent or region. The use of body language is one of the most variable forms of expression in the world, just as spoken and written languages are. 

Take insults, for example. You know, forms of communication that say, “in your face, jerk!” Aussies (citizens of Australia) often extend the thumb as if to say yes (our meaning, not theirs – as in thumbs up from Roger Ebert), except as if to mean to say “you idiot!” Meanwhile, in North America, we give offensive people the middle finger because it looks like a certain male body part when formed with our hands. Other cultures ma insult people with the finger-thumb zero sign (which we see as “A-OK” here), a v-shape formed with the first two fingers after the thumb (we call that the “victory sign”) or the index finger and the small little finger all the way back from the thumb. 

Another common gesture people can mix up in different countries is the “he is acting like he is crazy” motion. In North America, we point to our heads and swirl our fingers clockwise to indicate such inferior unintelligent behavior. If you do that in Japan, however, you make it look to locals as if you mean otherwise (as if he is thinking intelligently). However, reversing the motion DOES indicate to a man native to, say, Tokyo or Nagasaki, that he should correct his behavior to correct standards. The point is clear: different cultures call for different body language standards.