The first step on my thousand-li journey into the languages, called Langventure, happened to be taken in the Italian "land" of language. And as you can imagine, almost immediately I found myself right in the very midst of all the stereotyped perceptions about Italians: how loud and passionate they are, how much they gesticulate and how deeply they're fond of pasta and espresso —M-m-m-m... I love this about cultures —the differences that make them special!
It would seem that any language can only be represented orally or in a written form, but Italians take it up a notch adding hand movements into the mix. Gestures in Italy are a part of the language, passed down through the generations for centuries, even more so than the language itself — consider this when learning la lingua italiana.
If we agree with the broadly accepted rule of thumb for communication between people that states that only 7% of meaning is conveyed through spoken word, 38% through tone of voice, and 55% through body language, then, surely, for the Italian language that last number raises up to 95% (kidding, no kidding :P) as they involve in their virtually every discourse hands, arms, shoulders, wrists, all the different parts of their faces, mimics, and even the whole of the body if needs be.
Rules and words are all good to know, but Italian also has this very developed, in a unique way, part to it — gestures. My attempts to find out why Italians use so many hand gestures, led me to a historically rooted answer.
Of course, that whole linguistic thing of our communication had to form in order for people to understand each other. It turned out, Italian has a gazillion of dialects, some of which are so not alike that one Italian wouldn't understand another. Literally, like a completely different language! So much so, by the way, that it's been a long fight for the Italian people to form a version of their language they can call a standard one and that'd be used at least by the majority of the population. Imagine, that fight only came to an end in the '50s.
In addition, Italy was a huge commercial point for many merchants from various countries. And how are you going to sell anything to these foreigners, who don't know even one Italian dialect, without being able to convince them to buy or negotiate on price? Of course, you use the universal gesture language.
And this one, certainly, integrates into the culture, evolves over centuries, and becomes a part of people's daily life, their identity and their communication. Here is a great video from Marco who can show us, well, literally firsthand the most common gestures Italian people use (04:49) — quite entertaining and gives you a taste of this "hands on" culture. Check it out!
Bodily movements of the arms and hands, facial expressions and other non-verbal cues that accompany speech are not characteristic to Italians only. Surely, they appear in all the cultures to a different extent. The common observation would be that Asian language speakers produce gestures less frequently and in a smaller gesture space, whereas when it comes to Western language speakers they produce gestures more frequently and in a larger gesture space.
Then what makes Italian gesticulating stand out? I bet if you start talking to a stranger, you will definitely notice if you are speaking to an Italian by the astounding ease with which an Italian will display a whole range of different moods and opinions just using their hands. For example, opening your arms in front of you and shrugging your shoulder means "what?", and putting your hands together as if praying means that you can't believe what you're being told.
There're about 250 (!) gestures Italians use on a daily basis, and those are exploited by the locals all the time and for centuries! And who is better to show some of those to you than Dolce&Gabbana male models in this short video (02:34):
My guess is that all this gesticulating must be copied from one generation to another, just like the nodding in India, or that formal attitude natural to the Germans, or certain amount of kisses on the cheek as a way of greeting someone for the French or, say, the Spanish. I mean, if you end up surrounded by a particular manner of expressing yourself for long enough, and you'll also adopt that same manner — that's just how humans work.
But I started this Langventure with Italian, especially with the gestural part of it, on purpose: to show how a language can be more than words, sounds or symbols, how it penetrates our culture and, in a way, defines us, shapes'. The Italian language just happens to show it qui-i-i-i-i-te visually :).
While we're on the topic, it might be a great idea to learn about some of Italian beliefs and unspoken rules. Find out what you'll get in Italy if you ask for a latte, and how to kiss people properly when you meet them (7:53):
Another theory for Italian widely ranged gestures is the need to attract attention in extremely crowded cities of Italy, so the body language became there so radically important for the need to catch one's eye, to be noticed and listened to. Other experts think Italians developed a special language made of gestures and signs between the 14th and 19th centuries, when large sections of the peninsula were occupied by foreign powers, namely France, Spain and Austria.
Whatever the reason behind Italian vigorous gesticulating is, chances are it didn't happen overnight and has deep roots. It's also one of the causes why non-Italians find that behavioral feature intriguing, peculiar and the Italian language so alluring... Allora :) Wait, that's a topic for another Episode.
If you are curious to find out about other explanations as to why Italians gesticulate so much, check out this great The New York Times video (2:07), which will also give you an introduction to the actual language spoken commonly:
It is noticed that Italians on the North side of the country are less flamboyant with their gestures than their Southern counterparts. But to the foreign eye, all Italians are a lot empathetic, and all Italians speak with their hands in the end, without distinction. Some areas may just be a bit more into it than others.
I was also surprised to learn about such a thing as "gesture frontier" — a distinction in the gestures used commonly in Southern Italy from those used in Northern Italy. Can you imagine gestures having dialect? :) As a most evident "representative " of said "phenomena", chin click is understood differently in Northern Italy, where this gesture generally means "get lost", and in Southern Italy, where it simply means "no".
Wikipedia adds on the subject of chin click:
"This is due to the ancient Greek colonization of Southern Italy, as Greeks also use the chin flick gesture to mean "no". A study conducted in central Italy proved this gesture frontier to be true; despite the mobility of the Italian population and the existence of nationwide media, the majority of the northern Roman population used the chin flick with the Northern meaning, and the southern Neapolitan population used the Southern meaning."
Be prepared for that "chameleonic" quality of Italian gestures and keep yourself away from troubles. I also want to reiterate here: gestures (and differences in their meanings) are not unique to the Italian language, and it is a useful area to explore and carefully consider when expressing yourself to people from other than native to you cultures or learning a new language. What makes Italian gestures stand out is their intensity, abundance, and omnipresence that is soaked into all of the conversations, all of the language.
Well, time to get a closer look at the Italian language in terms of sounds and script, and even its grammar. Let's continue and discover what the spoken Italian is all about. I see you in the next Episode!
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A dopo! (Ah doh-poh!) See you!
"Andiamo! Langventure is cool!"
Discover more about Italian and other languages at langventure.mystrikingly.com!
