Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-07-06
Gesture-Language In Italy.

In Southern italy there is current ven
cradle story, which is here given with all
reserve, as the diplomats say; in other
words, it is totally unworthy of belief
The storyis this: A stranger present at a
cabinet-council in Naples, after some
silent pantomime had taken place, asked
when business was going to begin, and
was told that it was over.
"But," objected the astonished stranger,
"nobody has said a word"
"True," was the answer; "but surely
you observed what was going on?"
az saw nothing going on" said the
stranger, Except few shrugs and grim
aces, and the king signing his name. You
don't mean to say you call that business ?"
"Of course" was the answer. What's
the use of long lalk, when we can ex-
press our meaning as well, and more
quickly, by signs"
The story, though an exaggeration, is,
nevertheless, not so utterly absurd as it
seems to the English reader. Southern
Italians use great deal of gesture while
speaking; not because they are deaf or
dumb, for they are quick of hearing, ever
lasting takers, and remarkably intelligent,
but because they have picturesque instincts
and are not satisfied with expressing their
ideas by feeble words; while they satisfy
their natural impatierce by using gestures
| in lieu of whole sentences, and can, and
do, occasionally carry on conversations
without any speech at all. For example ::
1 have seen man in balcony near the
! top of house narrate entirely by gestures
| his days adventures to friend on the
ground floor of house on the opposite
| side of street.
| The gesture-language is believed to be,
in the main. the same all the world over /;
still, in places widely apart, in which the
| habits of life are very different, it is natu-
raj to expect corresponding diffe renee in
a language which is plainly initiative, and
nothing else. In Mr.. Tylor's work upon
the Early History of Mankind" which
contains very interesting account of this
language, it is stated that, according to the
general practice of mankind, shaking the
head is the sign for the negative "No."
In Southern Italy, however, shaking the
head never means NO." but always, :"
don't understand you; what do you
mean ?" while mo" is expressed by ele-
waiting the chin and protruding the under
lip little; and a still stronger negative
by the same movements, to which is added
scraping the under side of the chin with
the tips of the right hand fingers, holding
the knuckles outward, and the fingers
slightly bent. In the curious affidavit in
support of the will of deaf-and-dumb
man, unable to read and write, quoted by
Mr. Tylor, which explains the signs used
by the testator to express his testamentary
wishes, it is to be observed that the tesla
tor expressed his death by laying the side
of his head in the palm of his right hand
and then lowering the right hand, palm
upward, to the ground. In Southern Italy
a Catholic country, death is expressed by
making the sign of the cross with the frs
two fingers of the right hand held to
gether, upright, before the face
that being the final action of the
priest when administering tht
sacrament to dying person. The gesture
| by which the English deaf and-dumb maj
expressed his death would, emitting tn,
lowering of the hand, mean, in Southern
5 Italy, sleep. In this country we beckon
person toward by holding hand or tinge
e with the tips upward. In Southern Italy
: however, the tips are held downward, ant
e the English manner of beckoning is use'
: for salutation. The verb ego" is express
s ed in Southern Italy by holding the opel
e hand, the palm perpendicular, to th
J. ground, and pointed in the intended direC
: ton, and shaking the hand up and dow
from the wrist; while in this country W
simply point with the index-finger.
=, Sothern Italy, hunger is expressed by e1
v tending the thumb and first finger, keel
!, ing the others closed, over the mouth, an
d giving rotary motion from the wris
The reader is at liberty to try this upo
any organ-grinder he meets, and mark th
n result To-day" is expressed by closin
all the fingers Of the right hand excel