Waving is a nonverbal communication gesture that consists of the movement of the hand and/or entire arm that people commonly use to greet each other, but it can also be used to say goodbye, acknowledge another's presence, call for silence, or deny someone. [1] The wave gesture is an essential element of human language. [2]
The waving of the hand is a nonverbal gesture that has an unclear origin but is said to date back to as far as the 18th century [3] [ irrelevant citation ] in the form of a saluting. Prior to the 18th century, knights removed the guard of their helmets to show their identity, followed with a salute to show that they came in peace; saluting is also used to show others that they are not armed with weapons and do not pose a threat. [4] The action of saluting was formalised only in the 1780s by European armies, since then, it has become a common way of properly addressing one another in the military setting. [3]
An alternate origin is through ASL in the 1800s, where waving handkerchiefs was a way to show approval or excitement or to call attention for deaf people, which is known as the "Chautauqua salute." It is recorded during a Canadian event in 1884 that multiple attendees forgot their handkerchief and so waved their hands in the air as a way to clap during the event. [5] In modern days, the accepted and common way for a deaf individual to applaud is raising hands in the air and simultaneously shaking their open hand and moving their fingers back and forth. [6]
Sign language users also wave for "hello" and "goodbye." For an ASL user, saying "goodbye" is done by repeatedly opening and closing the right hand, and it faces the receiver of the gesture. This method is used to say "goodbye" to a group of people; saying "goodbye" to an individual is done with a different method. Saying "hello" is done by the traditional waving of the right hand. "Hello" is also communicated in ASL with an open palm salute starting at the forehead and moving down to the waist. [7] This method is used to say "hello" to a group of people, likewise with implying "goodbye", there is a different method to say "hello" to an individual. [8]
The waving of the hand has multiple variables and styles of performing the gesture. The common waving of the hand to mean "hello" or "goodbye" is done by moving the hand side to side, but there are more than one form of waving, each form having its own meaning.
Waving has four variables: the open palm (is the palm curved or straight), the angle of the wave (big waves or short waves), the elevation of the hand (above the head or held low), and the movement pattern of the wave (sideways rotation, up and down motion, side to side motion). [9]
There are different ways to wave the hand; some include the standard side-to-side wave, palm wide wave, wiggly wave (finger wiggle wave), "flirtatious" wave, open-and close finger wave, arm wave, and the "Miss America" wave.
People wave by raising their hand and moving it from side to side. Another common wave is to raise one's hand and repeatedly move the fingers downward toward the palm. A variant known as the wiggly wave consists of holding the hand near shoulder level and wiggling the fingers randomly. This can be used to appear cute or flirtatious to the target of the wave. The gesture can be used to attract attention at a distance. Most commonly, though, the gesture means quite simply "hello" or "goodbye. [10] [11]
The royal wave, also known as a regal wave, pageant wave, parade wave, or Miss America wave, is a similar but distinct kind of hand waving gesture in which a person executes something alternatively described as either a 'plastic grin' with 'fingers cupped' and 'forearm swaying side-to-side' or a "vertical hand with a slight twist from the wrist". The gesture is often performed, to various degrees, by different members of the British royal family, signaling anything from regality, class and control to elegance, restraint and character. [12] [13]
In American culture, waving is a known gesture that means "hello" or "goodbye". That gesture can also be used to call the attention of someone, for example waving down a taxi, or waving at a friend from a great distance. That gesture could be interpreted differently and have a different meaning or even be highly offensive in South Korea, Nigeria, Greece, Bulgaria, Latin American countries, India, Japan, and other places. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]
In Nigeria, waving the hand with the palm facing outward in front of someone's face is highly offensive and should be avoided. [15]
In Japan, hand waving while the palm is kept outward and near the face is a gesture used to display confusion or that the individual waving does not know or understand. [20] [21]
In Europe, there are two different common forms of waving: the palm-show and the palm-hide. The palm-show is dominant across most of Europe, but Italy predominantly uses the palm-hide wave. [22]
Waving the hand to say "hello" or "goodbye" is done by moving the fingers down towards the wrist and back to an open palm position while keeping the palm facing out. Another way to say "goodbye" is done by wagging the fingers. That motion (wagging fingers) is also used to say "no." [15] [17]
In Greece, waving the hand with the palm facing out whilst having the fingers stretched is an insult, rather than a greeting.
This is offensive and dates back to the Byzantine times, when moutza would involve prisoners' faces being tainted with charcoal by their own hands and being forced to parade down town streets, moutza. In American culture, holding the hand out like that can be used to call someone's attention or to greet someone. [23]
In Ireland, the deaf use the hand wave to greet one another. Deaf women use an "open palms up half moon shape" type of wave to greet one another. Men, however, use a different way of greeting one another or women. [19]
In Latin American countries, people greet one another by kissing, hugging or shaking hands. Waving their hand is uncommon, but it neither has any negative representation nor causes offense. [19]
In Nicaragua, waving to someone is tolerated but does not display proper etiquette. Instead, it is common to hug, kiss, or shake hands, following with the proper time of day ("good morning", "good afternoon", or "good evening"). [19]
A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Scouts and the Salvation Army use formal salutes. Ordinary civilians also salute informally to greet or acknowledge the presence of another person, such as a tip of the hat or a hand wave to a friend or neighbor.
A handshake is a globally widespread, brief greeting or parting tradition in which two people grasp one of each other's hands and in most cases accompanied by a brief up-and-down movement of the grasped hands. Customs surrounding handshakes are specific to cultures. Different cultures may be more or less likely to shake hands, or there may be different customs about how or when to shake hands.
As-salamu alaykum, also written salamun alaykum and typically rendered in English as salam alaykum, is a greeting in Arabic that means 'Peace be upon you'. The salām has become a religious salutation for Muslims worldwide when greeting each other, and is also common among Arabic speakers of other religions.
The V sign is a hand gesture in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted to make a V shape while the other fingers are clenched. It has various meanings, depending on the circumstances and how it is presented.
Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other. Greetings are sometimes used just prior to a conversation or to greet in passing, such as on a sidewalk or trail. While greeting customs are highly culture- and situation-specific and may change within a culture depending on social status and relationship, they exist in all known human cultures. Greetings can be expressed both audibly and physically, and often involve a combination of the two. This topic excludes military and ceremonial salutes but includes rituals other than gestures. A greeting, or salutation, can also be expressed in written communications, such as letters and emails.
Cheek kissing is a ritual or social kissing gesture to indicate friendship, family relationship, perform a greeting, to confer congratulations, to comfort someone, or to show respect.
The American Manual Alphabet (AMA) is a manual alphabet that augments the vocabulary of American Sign Language.
Tactile signing is a common means of communication used by people with deafblindness. It is based on a sign language or another system of manual communication.
The OK gesture or OK sign or ring gesture is performed by joining the thumb and index finger in a circle, and holding the other fingers straight or relaxed away from the palm. Commonly used by scuba divers, it signifies "I am OK" or "Are you OK?" when underwater. In most English-speaking countries it denotes approval, agreement, and that all is well or "okay". In other contexts or cultures, similar gestures may have different meanings including those that are negative, offensive, financial, numerical, devotional, political, or purely linguistic.
A mountza or moutza also called faskeloma is the most traditional gesture of insult among Greeks. It consists of extending and spreading all fingers of the hand and presenting the palm towards the face of the person to be insulted with a forward motion.
American Sign Language (ASL), the sign language used by the deaf community throughout most of North America, has a rich vocabulary of terms, which include profanity. Within deaf culture, there is a distinction drawn between signs used to curse versus signs that are used to describe sexual acts. In usage, signs to describe detailed sexual behavior are highly taboo due to their graphic nature. As for the signs themselves, some signs do overlap, but they may also vary according to usage. For example, the sign for "shit" when used to curse is different from the sign for "shit" when used to describe the bodily function or the fecal matter.
Etiquette in Latin America varies by country and by region within a given country.
The grammar of American Sign Language (ASL) has rules just like any other sign language or spoken language. ASL grammar studies date back to William Stokoe in the 1960s. This sign language consists of parameters that determine many other grammar rules. Typical word structure in ASL conforms to the SVO/OSV and topic-comment form, supplemented by a noun-adjective order and time-sequenced ordering of clauses. ASL has large CP and DP syntax systems, and also doesn't contain many conjunctions like some other languages do.
Añjali Mudrā, is a hand gesture mainly associated with Indian religions and arts, encountered throughout Asia and beyond. It is a part of Indian classical dance postures such as Bharatanatyam, yoga practice, and forms part of the greeting Namaste. Among the performance arts, Anjali Mudra is a form of non-verbal, visual communication to the audience. It is one of 24 samyukta mudras of the Indian classical arts. There are several forms of the Anjali Mudra such as the brahmanjali.
Sembah is an Indonesian greeting and gesture of respect and reverence. While performing the sembah, one clasps their palms together solemnly in a prayer-like fashion called suhun or susuhun in Javanese; or menyusun jari sepuluh in Indonesian and Malay, placing them in front of their chest and moving the pressed palms up to their chin, or all the way up until their thumbs touch the tip of their nose, while bowing slightly. Any of these two forms are made depending on the status of the person greeted.
An obscene gesture is a movement or position of the body, especially of the hands or arms, that is considered exceedingly offensive or vulgar in some particular cultures. Such gestures are often sexually suggestive.
The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the Sieg Heil salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened hand. Usually, the person offering the salute would say "Heil Hitler!", "Heil, mein Führer!", or "Sieg Heil!". It was officially adopted by the Nazi Party in 1926, although it had been used within the party as early as 1921, to signal obedience to the party's leader, Adolf Hitler, and to glorify the German nation. The salute was mandatory for civilians but mostly optional for military personnel, who retained a traditional military salute until the failed assassination attempt on Hitler on 20 July 1944.
Motorcycling greetings can include several gestures made between motorcyclists on the road. Titles for this greeting include "Biker wave", "Motorcyclist wave", "Motorcycle wave" or just "The Wave." The greeting made can include a number of gestures including a nod, a pointed finger, palm-out V sign, palm-in fingers-down V sign, or an actual raised-hand wave.
A beckoning sign is a type of gesture intended to beckon or call-over someone or something. It is usually translated into "come here". This form of nonverbal communication varies from culture to culture, each having a relatively unique method of indicating invitation or enticement.