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Gestures
    Good morning, everyone. Today we are mainly talking about gestures in communication, especially in Arab countries. As we know, gestures are motions of the limbs or body made to express or help express thoughts or to emphasize speech. The use of gestures as a language by some ethnic groups is more common than in others, and the amount of such gestures that are considered culturally acceptable varies from one location to the next.
    It was, I believe, an Englishman who said that Arabs fight with their mouths and talk with their hands. Of course, Arabs also talk with their mouths, but they have developed such an eloquent (清楚表明的，形象显示的) system of gestures that words often seem unnecessary in a conversation.
    At first it appeared that their gestures could not be classified. But later, certain patterns began to appear. Now I believe that I can make several broad statements.
    1. Gestures in the Arab world are done mostly with hands—although an expert knows how to use all parts of the body to communicate.
    2. Women seem to depend upon gestures far less than men.
    3. Educated Arabs use gestures far less than uneducated Arabs.
    4. Gestures appear to be used to show three main feelings—friendly feelings, hostile feelings and romantic feelings. In the Arab world, people like to express their feelings of friendship or hostility in a manner more dramatic than words allow. For example, if an Arab accepts you as a friend, he will place his two index fingers side by side.
    There is also a special way of shaking hands to show the degree of friendship. Between close friends, the hand is held up and out, as though prepared to make a fast gun-draw (掏枪). When the same friends take leave of (向……告别) each other, each will place a hand over his heart. This indicates that each is really sad about the parting. The same gesture is used when one refuses the offer of food or drink. Again, it sends the message of sincere regret.
    If one can read signs of friendship clearly, the signs of hostility can also be seen easily. Arabs value friendship above anything else. Perhaps that is why they communicate hostility in a language understood everywhere in the Arab world. If an Arab feels neither friendly nor hostile, he makes another gesture. He places his thumbs behind the lapels (翻领) of his jacket and lifts the jacket gently backwards and forwards. This is a sign of lacking interest. It says, "It is no skin off my nose (这不关我的事)." or "This is none of my business. " One of the most common gestures in the Middle East is lifting the chin upwards to indicate "no". It has been given several meanings by women. The toss of the head usually means "Absolutely not!" A lilt (倾斜) of the eyebrows while opening the eyes wide, without any gesture of the head, can mean "I think it is not likely, but you may try to persuade me otherwise." Men use the gesture too, but they cannot give it the range of meanings that women do.
    That is all for today’s lecture. Thanks for your attention.