Page 73 - Essencials of Sociology

46 CHAPTER 2 Culture

FIGURE 2.1 Gestures to Indicate Height, Southern Mexico

Source: By the author.

and making a large “O.” The waiter looks horrified, and you are struck speechless when
the manager angrily asks you to leave. What have you done? Nothing on purpose, of course,
but in that culture this gesture refers to a lower part of the human body that is not men-
tioned in polite company. (Ekman et al. 1984)

Universal Gestures? Is it really true that there are no universal gestures? There
Although most gestures is some disagreement on this point. Some anthropologists claim that no ges-
are learned, and ture is universal. They point out that even nodding the head
therefore vary from
culture to culture, some up and down to indicate “yes” is not universal. In an area
gestures that represent of Turkey, nodding the head up and down means “no”
fundamental emotions (Ekman et al. 1984). However, ethologists, research-
such as sadness, anger, ers who study the biological bases of behavior, claim
and fear appear to be that expressions of anger, pouting, fear, and sadness
inborn. This crying child
whom I photographed are built into our biological makeup and are universal
in India differs little (Eibl-Eibesfeldt 1970:404; Horwitz and Wakefield
from a crying child 2007). They point out that even infants who are born
in China—or the blind and deaf, who have had no chance to learn
United States or these gestures, express themselves in the same way.
anywhere else on the
globe. In a few years, Although this matter is not yet settled, we can
however, this child note that gestures tend to vary remarkably around
will demonstrate a the world.
variety of gestures highly
specific to his Hindu culture.
Language
The primary way in which people communicate with one another is through
language—symbols that can be combined in an infinite number of ways for the
purpose of communicating abstract thought. Each word is actually a symbol, a
sound to which we have attached some particular meaning. Although all human
groups have language, there is nothing universal about the meanings given to
particular sounds. Like gestures, in different cultures the same sound may mean
language a system of symbols something entirely different—or may have no meaning at all. In German, for
that can be combined in an infinite example, gift means “poison,” so if you give a box of chocolates to a non-
number of ways and can represent English-speaking German and say, “Gift, eat,”. . . .
not only objects but also abstract Because language allows culture to exist, its significance for human life is difficult
thought
to overstate. Consider the following effects of language.