Keeping our finger cross (photo 1) is used in Australia, USA, England and Sweden to mean that the person is hoping for the good luck. On the contrary, in Greece and Turkey it means the breaking of a friendship, in parts of Italy it means “O.K.”, and in Indonesia it has no meaning at all.
To call a person using this gesture is not rude in United States, photo 2, holding out our hand, palm up, moving only our index finger, but in Cambodia, and Vietnam this gesture is used to call an animal. In Indonesia, to call a person with the same gesture is humiliating.
Gesture no 3 caused a serious misunderstanding in America. In 1953, when the Soviet Leader, Nikita Khrushchev, was visiting the United States he used this gestures to show friendship. Unfortunately, Americans understood it to mean the opposite: that the Soviet Union would defeat the United States.
Photo 4 means great , perfect, acceptable, O.K. It means zero in Belgium, France and Tunisia. In Turkey, Brazil, Greece and Malta, it has an obscene meaning whilst in Tunisia, it is used as a threat.
Finally, number 5 usually means defeat or no good or bad news to American.
Can you think of other non verbal gestures that potentially may cause misunderstanding and misinterpretations in intercultural communication??
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