In this episode, Rachel and Patrice explore various ways in which body language differs from one culture to another, and talk about ways in which we can easily miscommunicate. Also tune in for hand gestures that can get you into trouble and where not to use them! Some hand gestures that may seem positive to you could be offensive in other countries! Other topics covered include eye contact, lip pointing, leg crossing, “come here” finger beckon, and personal space bubbles, also known as proxemics. Thank you to Jasmine in Colorado for her awkwardly funny Lost in Translation story that goes to show what can happen with “false friends” (false cognates, not frenemies)!
In Language News, why is English the most spoken language instead of Spanish? It all kicked off on a fateful night in the late 16th Century when the Spanish fleet was seriously weakened. Tune in to listen to our a guest historian’s perspective.
Here’s a great infographic from Business Insider about body language from around the world: http://www.businessinsider.com/body-language-around-the-world-2015-3
Want to see some of the offensive gestures we mentioned? Check out the video where we drew our inspiration! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxuIl88oL40
Why do Americans smile so much? Check out this article from the Atlantic for an interesting read! https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/05/why-americans-smile-so-much/524967/
Some sources on personal space and eye contact:
- https://countrynavigator.com/blog/expert-view/body-language-across-cultures/
- http://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/book_of_body_language/chap9.html
- http://www.communicationstudies.com/communication-theories/proxemics
And finally, here’s the list we mentioned about funny things to do in an elevator (probably not realistic, but still hilarious) https://www.math.uni-bielefeld.de/~sillke/Twister/fun/elevator-fun90.html
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