by Nan Swift
Non-Italian
hand gestures fascinate scholars, who labor to classify the gestures and
grasp their meanings. Here is a very partial compendium of studies of
non-Italian hand gestures, or, in two cases, of patents relating
thereto.
Russian Hand Gestures
A Dictionary of Russian Gesture, B. Monahan, 1983, Hermitage, Ann Arbor, MI.
Hispano-American Hand Gestures
Diccionario
de Gestos: España e Hispanoamérica (2 vols.), Giovanni Meo-Zilio and
Silvia Mejía, Instituto Caro y Cuervo, Bogotá, 1980--83.
Catalan Hand Gestures
"Assaig
de Dialectologia Gestual. Aproximació Pragmàtica al Repertori Bàsic
D'emblemes del Català de Barcelona," Lluis Payrató, Ph.D. thesis,
Universitat de Barcelona, 1989.
Catalan
gestures, from the doctoral thesis "Assaig de Dialectologia Gestual.
Aproximació Pragmàtica al Repertori Bàsic D'emblemes del Català de
Barcelona."
Brazillian Thumb Gestures
"The Brazilian Thumbs-Up Gesture," Joel Sherzer,
Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, vol. 1, no. 2, 1991, pp. 189--97
Australian Thumb Gesture
"'Thumbs-up Is a Rude Gesture in Australia': The Presentation of Culture in International Business Textbooks," Frank B. Tipton,
Critical Perspectives on International Business, vol. 4, no. 1, 2008, pp. 7--24.
Peculiar Finger Gestures with Particular Significance
"Beschämung,
Lob, und Schadenfreude---Hand- und Fingergebärden Mit Bestimmter
Bedeutung" [Shame, Praise, and Malicious Joy---Hand and Finger Gestures
with Particular Significance], Arnold Niederer,
Schweizerisches Archiv für Volkskunde, vol. 85, nos. 1--2, 1989, pp. 201--17.
Details from the study "Beschämung, Lob, und Schadenfreude--- Hand- und Fingergebärden mit bestimmter Bedeutung."Artificial Hand, for German Gesturing
"Artificial
Hand for Use by Motorcycle Drivers in Greeting, Has Anatomical
Characteristics of Human Hand, and Reports Signals Through Finger
Position or Gestures," German patent DE202005012371, issued to Achim
Necker, December 15, 2005.
A Seat Cushion for a Hand Gesture
"Combined
Tomahawk Shaped Seat Cushion and Hand Mitt for Chop Gesturing," U.S.
patent D368822, issued to Gerald W. Gibre, April 16, 1996. The document
explains
The ornamental design for a combined tomahawk
shaped seat cushion and hand mitt for chop gesturing... FIG. 7 is a
perspective view of "the combined tomahawk shaped seat cushion and hand
mitt for chop gesturing, shown in use as a hand mitt, wherein the broken
line showing of a hand is for illustrative purposes only and forms no
part of the claimed design.
Detail from patent "Combined Tomahawk Shaped Seat Cushion and Hand Mitt for Chop Gesturing."
Non-Italian
hand gestures fascinate scholars, who labor to classify the gestures and
grasp their meanings. Here is a very partial compendium of studies of
non-Italian hand gestures, or, in two cases, of patents relating
thereto.
"The Brazilian Thumbs-Up Gesture," Joel Sherzer, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, vol. 1, no. 2, 1991, pp. 189--97
Born with hemophilia, a genetic disorder that impairs the blood's ability to clot, Slavin received blood transfusions repeatedly throughout his life. This never-ending process unfortunately exposed him to hepatitis B on countless occasions. Though Slavin's blood refused to clot, it demonstrated incredible resiliency to the viral hepatitis invaders. When his doctor tested his blood, he found a wealth of hepatitis B antibodies, Y-shaped proteins uniquely suited to fighting off the infection. The discovery blasted open a goldmine for both Slavin and scientists. They needed antibodies for research; he needed money. Slavin began charging as much as $10 for every milliliter of his blood. Pharmaceutical companies bought it wholesale. Slavin's body was now his business.
