盤點世界上最不文明的十大手勢(上)

Worried about your upcoming trip abroad because you don't speak the native language? That's probably the least of your problems. Words comprise but a mere 7 to 35 percent of human communication. The rest comes via body language: gestures, posture, facial expressions, proximity and touch. What you should be thinking about are local hand gestures, especially if you're someone who can't speak without animatedly flinging your hands and arms about. Many hand gestures that are innocuous or positive in one country can be incredibly insulting or obscene in another. To make things more difficult, a gesture's meaning can also differ within a country, depending upon the locale. It may also have a particular meaning only to one subset of people, such as gays or the elderly, no matter where in the country you are. You could think keeping your hands in your pockets will solve the problem. But that's considered offensive in places, such as France, Japan and Sweden . Maybe you can keep your arms crossed over your chest? Nope. That's a sign of arrogance in Finland, for one. What to do? Before you finish packing your bags, familiarize yourself with the following 10 hand gestures. Some are considered very positive in the U.S., but all are deemed insulting in at least one spot around the globe.

你還在爲即將出國旅行卻不會說當地語言而感到憂心忡忡嗎？這大概是你最不必擔心的問題了。人際交流中，僅有7%至35%的內容由口頭詞彙構成，其餘的則由肢體語言來傳達：手勢、身體姿態、面部表情、肢體近距離接觸等。你應該瞭解當地的手勢語言，尤其是當你非得手舞足蹈才能順利進行交流的時候，這一點就顯得尤爲重要。許多在一國之內看似無害或褒義的手勢，在另一國家卻可能被認爲極具侮辱性，甚至於下流。更爲複雜的是，在一國之間，一個手勢的含義也隨地區而異。而另一種可能是，不論身在一國何處，某些手勢僅對一類人具有特定意義，比如同志或是老年人。你可能認爲，把雙手一直揣在兜裏就可以解決這個問題，但這個姿勢在法國、日本和瑞典等國家都被視爲一種冒犯。或者你可以試着把雙手交叉於胸前？抱歉，這在芬蘭是傲慢的象徵，而其他的例子不勝枚舉。這該如何是好呢？在你整裝待發前，請先對以下的十種手勢有所瞭解。其中的一部分動作，對美國人而言是完全積極正面的，但是放眼全球卻總有某些地區的人們會因此感受到冒犯。

Middle Finger

10.豎中指

The most offensive gesture in America is flipping someone off. Shooting the bird. Giving them "the finger." The gesture means screw you. Bug off. Or, to be more blunt, f*** you. The gesture involves sticking up your middle finger with your palm facing in. You can make the sign calmly, or angrily extend your arm toward the intended recipient, depending on how upset you are.

在美國，最具侮辱性的手勢就是向別人豎中指，也叫做“flip someone off”或是“shoot the bird”（兩者都是俚語中對豎中指的形象代稱）。這個手勢可以被解讀爲“去你丫的”、“滾開”，或是更直截了當的“*你媽”。做這個手勢時，人的手心朝內，並豎起中指。這個手勢因當事人的惱怒程度而具有不同的呈現方式，可以做得比較溫和，但氣急敗壞時人們也會伸長了胳膊把中指怒衝着對方。

In the past, the gesture was a bit shocking to see. Not so much anymore. A news database search reported by NPR noted the phrase "giving the finger" was used three times more from 2000 to 2010 than it was between 1990 and 2000. And as anyone living in America knows, you'll see an impressive (dismaying?) assortment of people using it, from prominent politicians to movie stars. If this keeps up, "the finger" may no longer be seen as shocking and crude. Which likely means another gesture will take its place as most offensive. "The finger," incidentally, is largely understood and used throughout the Western world, even though other countries might have their own preferred gestures to impart the same meaning.

過去，豎中指會令人驚駭，但現狀已大不相同。據NPR報道，一項對新聞數據庫的搜索結果顯示，“向別人豎中指”這一短語在2000年至2010年中的使用次數是上個世紀90年代期間的三倍。從聲名顯赫的政客到影視明星均使用過這一手勢，這使該動作涉及的人羣廣度令人歎爲觀止，這一現象卻也着實令人惶恐。不過所有在美國生活過的人都對此見怪不怪。如果狀況持續，那麼“豎中指”這一行爲也許不會再被視爲粗魯和駭人的象徵。也就是說，另一種更具有侮辱性的手勢將會取而代之。順便一提，即使其他西方國家可能已有傳達相同含義的本土手勢偏好，“豎中指”在這些地區仍廣爲流傳並被普遍運用。

A-OK

手勢

Is everything all right? In America, you might respond to such a question by flashing the "A-OK" sign, created by touching your forefinger to your thumb and pointing the remaining three fingers straight up. While the origins of the action are unclear, it appears the symbol is an attempt to create a crude "o" and "k" (the "o" is certainly clear, though not so much the "k"). This gesture is also widely used in the diving world to both ask if a diver is fine, and for the diver to respond back that she is. Don't make this gesture in Brazil, however, where it's akin to giving someone the finger. In Greece and Turkey, it's also seen as quite vulgar, and insinuates the person to whom it's given is a homosexual. In some Middle Eastern countries, the "A-OK" is the symbol for the "evil eye". Perhaps the worst misuse of this sign in recent history was committed by then-Vice President Richard M. Nixon in the 1950s. The VP emerged from his plane in Brazil, made an "A-OK" sign with each hand, and enthusiastically wagged them to the assembled crowd. Not surprisingly, the people were astounded and infuriated at this double insult.

在美國，當被問及“一切還順利嗎？”這樣的問題，你可以用“OK”手勢來作出迴應，即食指與大拇指相觸環成圈，其餘三個手指指向上方。儘管這個動作的來源無從考究，但這個手勢像是在粗略地比劃着“O”和“K”兩個字母（“O”顯而易見，但“K”則不易辨認）。同樣，這個手勢在潛水界也廣爲使用，它可以用來詢問潛水員情況是否良好，後者也能以此來回應“一切正常”。不過，可別在巴西比劃這個手勢，因爲這在當地幾乎等同於向某人“豎中指”。而在希臘和土耳其，這個手勢也相當低俗，相當於影射對方是同性戀者。在某些中東國家，“OK”手勢是“邪惡之眼”的象徵。近代史上關於這個手勢最尷尬的誤用記錄大概由當時美國的副總統尼克松在上個世紀五十年代所創造。當時，這位副總統在訪問巴西時，一邊走下他的飛機，一邊用雙手做出了“OK”手勢，還熱切地向人羣揮舞着雙臂。毫不意外，這一雙重的羞辱動作使當地人驚駭不已，怒不可遏。

Chin Flick

8.彈下巴

Among all of the possible hand gestures that can be misinterpreted around the world, the chin flick may be the least confusing. So if you have a habit of flicking your chin while you talk, don't sweat it too much. In much of Italy, people will make the gesture — which involves placing the fingertips of one hand under your chin, pointing at your neck, then flicking them out towards the person with whom you're speaking — to indicate they couldn't care less (about you, what you're saying, your dog, the scrape on your pinkie). Frankly, my dear, they just don't give a damn. It can also mean they're positively not willing to do something. In Northern Italy, France, Belgium and Tunisia, the chin flick can be used to tell someone to get lost (in a little bit more aggressive language than this). And speaking of aggressive, if someone wants to be quite emphatic about their intended message, they will make the gesture quite forcefully.

在世界上所有可能會被誤解的手勢中，彈下巴大概是最意義明確的一個了。如果你在交談時有彈下巴的習慣，大可不必小心翼翼。在意大利的大多數地區，人們都會做這個動作，即把一隻手抵在下巴下，指尖朝着脖子，然後將手指掃過下巴，指向談話的對方。藉此，人們可以表達自己的不在乎（不在乎對方，對方說話的內容，對方養的狗抑或是小拇指上的抓痕）。說實話，夥計，他們就是懶得理你。同時，這也是一種積極地表達“不情願做某事”的方式。在意大利北部，法國，比利時和突尼斯，這個動作用來命令對方走開（語氣較之更爲強硬）。關於強硬這一點，如果有人想要強調所傳遞的信息，可以把動作做得很用力。

Fig

7.“Fig”手勢

It's such a fun game to play with babies and tots. "I've got your nose!" you say playfully, after you've made a gentle swipe. To prove you've really snatched their proboscis, you hold up your hand, curled in a fist, with your thumb sticking up in between your pointer and middle finger. Your thumb, of course, is supposedly the baby's nose. Alas, while this game is common in the U.S., Australia and Canada, it's never played in Turkey. In that country, the hand gesture, commonly known as "the fig," is like calling someone an unprintable name. It's also quite insulting to people in Indonesia, Italy, India, China and Russia. This gesture hails back to ancient times, when the Romans used it to indicate sexual union. In a positive manner, that is — to wish someone good luck and fertility. It also was seen as a protective measure against the evil eye. The Romans called the gesture mano fico, or fig hand, as they felt the thumb-in-fist looked like a woman's private parts. "Fica" is Italian for fig, and also slang for vulva; Romans equated figs with female fertility. Interestingly, the gesture is also the same used for the letter T in American Sign Language. Oops.

“抓鼻子”是一個和孩子們一起玩的有趣的遊戲。當你輕輕地刮蹭到了對方的鼻子，你就能激動地喊：“我逮住你的鼻子啦！”爲了證明你的確抓到了對方的鼻子，你可以把一隻手握拳，而大拇指夾在食指與中指之間伸出。當然，你的大拇指指代的就是孩子的鼻子。然而，儘管這個遊戲風靡於美國、澳大利亞和加拿大，在土耳其卻是被禁止的。在那兒，這個手勢被稱爲“The Fig”，等同於用下流的綽號來稱呼對方。同樣，在印尼、意大利、印度、中國和俄羅斯，這個手勢都具有相當的冒犯性。這個手勢的來歷要追溯到古羅馬時期，當時人們用其來指代性關係。一個美好的解讀是，這個手勢蘊含着對幸運和多子多福的祝願。同時，這也被視作是對抗邪惡之眼的保護動作。羅馬人把這個手勢稱作“mano fico”，即“Fig”手勢，他們認爲伸出的拇指使這個手勢看起來像女性的私密部位。“Fica”在意大利語裏等同於“Fig”，同時也是一個俚語，指代女性的陰部。就這樣，他們把這個手勢視作生育能力的象徵。有趣的是，在美國的手勢語言中，這個動作用來表示字母“T”。嘿嘿，有點兒意思。

Horn Fingers

6.“惡魔之角”

Harley Clark had no idea what he was doing when, as head cheerleader at the University of Texas at Austin, he introduced a hand gesture to his fellow students at a rally. Clark said the new gesture was now the official sign for the Texas Longhorns football team, to be used whenever they played. The sign, made by raising the index and pinkie fingers while holding the rest down, was thought up by a classmate, and was supposed to resemble the school's horned mascot. After the rally, Clark was chewed out by an administrator, who said he had no authority to make such a proclamation. Besides, the gesture had a terrible meaning in Italy. But the "Hook 'em Horns" sign was immediately embraced by Longhorns fans, and a decade later by American rockers, who used it to encourage fans to party on. Not a big deal in America, of course, but in countries such as Italy and Spain, as well as in Brazil, Colombia and some Baltic nations, the sign (known as a corna or cornuto) is an offensive gesture letting a man that, "Hey, your wife's a whore." The "bull horn" insult dates back at least 2,500 years — bulls used to be castrated to make them calmer. The gesture is also used as a satanic salute. This became problematic for President George W. Bush when, in 2005, he flashed the Hook 'em Horns sign at his second inauguration. Some Nordic newspapers proclaimed he was hailing Satan. In 1985, use of the gesture also caused five Americans to be arrested. The group, visiting Italy, was celebrating a major Longhorns victory by dancing with "devil horns" near the Vatican.

在德克薩斯大學奧斯汀分校，當哈利·克拉克在一次集會上向隊中的同學們示範一個新手勢時，這名拉拉隊長還對這一舉動在未來所造成的影響力一無所知。克拉克說，現在這個手勢是德州長角牛足球隊的官方標識，在任何比賽上都會使用。要做出這個手勢，可以豎起食指和小拇指，其他三個手指收於掌心。一名同學設計了這個手勢，立意是爲了模仿校內官方吉祥物的雙角。集會過後，一名校方的管理人員怒斥了克拉克，認爲他沒有權限做出這樣的聲明。除此之外，這個手勢在意大利還有惡劣的影響。但這個爲球隊加油打氣的手勢迅速在球迷之間受到追捧，並且在十年之後爲美國搖滾歌手們所用，來鼓動歌迷們繼續狂歡。這個對美國人而言習以爲常的動作，在諸如意大利、西班牙，還有巴西、哥倫比亞以及一些巴爾幹半島國家看來是極具冒犯性的，相當於對一個男人說：“喂，你老婆是個婊子”。關於“牛角”手勢的羞辱含義可以追溯到兩千五百年前，當時，爲了使公牛更溫順，人們往往將其閹割。這個手勢還被用來向惡魔撒旦致敬。在2005年，當時的美國總統小布什在其第二次任期就任時，做出了這個“牛角”手勢，於是麻煩接踵而至。一些北歐的報刊聲稱，小布什在向撒旦致敬。在1985年，五個美國人因爲做出這個手勢而被逮捕。這個小團體在訪問意大利時，在梵蒂岡附近跳舞慶賀長角隊的一次大勝，同時做出了這個“惡魔之角”手勢。

翻譯:張韻可 審校:Shrsvbeiftnkvdc 來源:前十網