We use our hands to communicate in many ways. The thumbs (拇指) up sign means approval (赞成). People cross their fingers to wish for luck. Many people make an 0 with their thumb and the second finger to show that everything is OK.

Police officers wave traffic on or hold their hands up to direct drivers to stop. In classrooms, children often raise their hands to speak in class. At concerts and large events, people clap their hands to express their love for a performance. People who are deaf, not able to hear, communicate through a system of sign language. Each of these sign languages has been developed to facilitate the communication and education of people who are deaf. That’s to say, it’s much easier and more convenient to communicate with deaf people by using them.

Just as people study spoken languages, sign language becomes popular and more and more people want to learn something about it in their free time. Each year, thousands of people learn sign language so they can more easily communicate with friends or family members who are deaf. Many companies are looking for workers who can communicate through sign language. Sign language is growing in use every day.

We talked with June Galloway about her book Get off on the Right Foot: Don’t Let the Wrong Gesture (手势) Ruin Your Day.

English is an international language. But in your book, communication without words is paid more attention to. ▲

June：Well, gestures and other body languages have different meanings in different places. Something that you think is friendly or polite could be considered to be very impolite in another culture. I’ve described many of these customs and cultural differences, so my readers won’t get off on the wrong foot when they meet people from places where the culture is different from their own.

Can greeting someone the wrong way really lead to misunderstanding?

June：In some places, yes. The heavy handshake that a North American expects may seem quite impolite in other places. And a light handshake—which is usual in some countries—may seem unfriendly to a North American.

What other gestures can cause misunderstanding?

June：Take the gesture for “Come here” for example. In North America, people gesture with the palm(掌心) up. Well, in southern Europe, that gesture means “goodbye”. And in many Asian countries, the palm-up gesture is thought rude. Instead, people there gesture with the palm down.

Surely, there must be some gestures used everywhere, right? What about the thumb-up(翘拇指)gesture for “great”?

June：Sorry. That’s very rude in Australia and the Middle East. That is why it’s important to know about body language and cultural differences.

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Body language helps people know what is really going on inside someone’s head. A small movement of the mouth or nose can show much about persons’ feelings. Here are some basic movements and their meanings.

First, shrug shoulders (耸肩). This means “I don’t know” or “I don’t mind it”. If your friends shrug their shoulders when being invited to a party, it shows they are not very interested in it.

Second, keep fingers crossed (交叉的). It shows wishes for good luck. Before people take exams, they often cross their fingers in the hope of good grades. Football fans do the same thing when they wish their favorite player will score a goal.

Third, rub chin (摸下巴) . If someone rubs their chins, it often means they don’t believe what someone is saying! So if your friends make this gesture, it secretly tells you how they feel.

Fourth, scratch head (挠头). If your foreign English teacher scratches his head when you ask a question, then he might not understand what you said. Either that, or he can’t remember your name!