One of my teaching colleagues was trying to tell me that it was lunch time. So he used the universal sign for eating. Well, sort of...
In the US, people used two rounded hands to symbolize eating, as if consuming a hamburger.
In Senegal, people signal eating by stuffing their fingers in their mouth (we eat with our hands there).
So naturally, many Chinese people sign eating by mimicking the use of chopsticks over a bowl of rice.
Is this sign language "universal?" Clearly there are still gaps in pantomime and signs. Just goes to show that even when communication is inherently clear, things can still get "lost in translation."
--
Byron Yee
TEFL English Teacher - Shenzhen, China
In the US, people used two rounded hands to symbolize eating, as if consuming a hamburger.
In Senegal, people signal eating by stuffing their fingers in their mouth (we eat with our hands there).
So naturally, many Chinese people sign eating by mimicking the use of chopsticks over a bowl of rice.
Is this sign language "universal?" Clearly there are still gaps in pantomime and signs. Just goes to show that even when communication is inherently clear, things can still get "lost in translation."
--
Byron Yee
TEFL English Teacher - Shenzhen, China
No comments:
Post a Comment