National differences

Lecture




  National differences
How would an Englishman, German or American interpret such a gesture?

Imagine such a scene. You are going to buy a house and come to inspect it. Opening the door to the bathroom, you find there is a naked woman. How do you think a woman will react in such a situation? An Englishwoman or American with one hand will cover the chest and the other with the genitals. The Swede will not remember the chest, covering only the genital area. A Muslim will cover her face, a woman from Sumatra will cover her knees, and a Samoan resident will have a navel.

Everyone eats pizza at one time

While working on this chapter, we were in Venice at a conference on national differences. If this were our first visit to Italy, we would be shocked by what we saw. Representatives of each nationality are accustomed to drive and drive along a certain side of the road. If you are English, Australian, South African or New Zealand resident, then you go and drive on the left side of the road. Naturally, the Italians will constantly bump into you, because, making way, they take a step to the right, whereas in the same situation you take a step to the left. Sunglasses are the main cause of collisions on pavements in foreign countries. Behind dark glasses you do not see where a person is looking, and consequently, you do not understand in which direction he is going to take a step. However, this is a great way to meet an interesting foreigner!
You may be surprised that when you reach out to say goodbye to the Italian, he will warmly kiss you on both cheeks.

When I flew to Italy, the Italian who met me kissed me on both cheeks. Unfortunately, at that moment I was tying shoelaces.
WOODY ALLEN
During the conversation, Italians will constantly invade your personal space, grab your hands, shout and be angry at almost everything around. However, all this is a completely normal part of the daily companionship of Italy. In different countries, the same gestures can have completely different meanings.
created: 2014-09-28
updated: 2021-03-13
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Body language

Terms: Body language