Answer to Question #322929 in English for Thapelo

Question

Provide us with two examples or experiences you have encountered whereby a form of address greetings and gesture was misunderstood

Answer 1

In greetings, in my tour to Arab countries, close male friends or colleagues hug and kiss both cheeks. They shake hands with the right hand only, for longer but less firmly than in the West. Contact between the opposite genders in public is considered obscene. This was misunderstood by some of my friends as promotion of gaysim.

In gestures, Waving your full arm side to side in many countries is recognized as saying ‘hello’ or ‘goodbye’. However, in East Asian countries it is considered overly demonstrative. Additionally in some European countries, as well as Japan and Latin America, it can be confused for a ‘no’ or general negative response. In India, it means ‘come here’.