Thursday

Arabic Gestures and their Meanings

I started making a list of a few different things in Arabic that weren't exactly words or phrases, but that nonetheless carried meanings. In the US we have the thumbs up, the middle finger, the ok sign, and I'm sure a lot more that I can't think of. These have spread and are recognized around the world. Arabs also use non-verbal communication like these which will probably be confusing if you haven't had exposure to them before. In the video I talk about a click that Arabs do which means "no". The first time someone did it to me I thought they were getting an attitude with me because in the US we have a similar click/teeth suck/whatever you want to call it that is fairly rude. It's usually accompanied by someone rolling their eyes. After I had been exposed to this click lots of times, sometimes by really nice people, I began to realize that it wasn't meant to be rude and that it just meant "no". There are sure to be a lot of other gestures specific to Arab countries that I left out, but these are 3 that I have noticed being used a lot that are foreign to westerners.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL I actually do the first 2 =P

Unknown said...

LoL! Thank you for this video. This kind of non-verbal communication is really important to know when you are studying a language. Funny mistakes could be done otherwise! :-) Do you also have an explanation to this gesture in arabic: a fast hand-movement with an open hand up in hight to the shoulder - i have seen it with both one hand or to hands. Often combinated with risen eye bows and a head-movement?

Anonymous said...

Let me thank you for this video: it's really precious for me and I do think also for everybody wanna rally snatch the spirit of a language...

Anonymous said...

ahahah we make the first one also in the South of Italy!
Thank you for your amazing posts!!!!!