V is a sign of survival!

The finger signs are always very confusing. A raised thumb is used for asking for lift for someone who is driving on the highway. Sometimes, it is used for the successful result as well. We recently, went through a middle finger shown by a young cricketer to the Australian fans generating a Sify cartoon "I don't care whether I know where my middle stump is but I know where my middle finger is".

What puzzles me is the frequent use of the first three fingers for every sign and the 4 & 5 being a silent spectator to all signs. Why are we partial with those two fingers? Are they silent contributors? The ring finger at least gets a golden crown for its existence by a few or if you get the hand of a bride in some cases.

Even when the children wants to express their intention not to talk with someone, they bend the second and third finger making a zero sing in between. It is perhaps an indication of two personalities in loggerheads. When they want to send a peace sign they show those two fingers together which obviously indicates the togetherness of those two personalities. Even when we wait anxiously for a result, we tell that let us keep the fingers crossed.

If you watch American football, the quarterback shows a sign joining fingers in both hands to indicate that all players should assemble quickly to commence the next play in the interest of time. Umpires in cricket have so many different signs for different judgment. showing the second finger up is a sign that a player is out and needs to go. Moving right hand rapidly three times towards the sky is a sign of commencing the Power Play and if it is done once it is a free hit. The wings on both sides means wide where as one hand in front means no ball. Both hands up means a six runs and the right hand moving in front in quick succession means four runs.

It is amazing how much body language we use to indicate different things. Lastly, I was not sure whether Churchill was showing V sign to indicate victory or to keep the British people happy that we would not allow the Germans to occupy their land. While V Sign with palm outwards is a Victory or # 2 sign, when it is shown with palm inwards is an insult.

 

Dear Viswamitra,

Yes, fingers and hands have a different language of their own. Varies from culture to culture.

I was reading somewhere that after the mouth our hands speak a lot. Tie your hands and try to speak, it would not have the same impact and our expression also becomes limited. Sometimes...a little pat on the back to encourage some one, putting your hands around shoulders of a grieving person, small touches, a smile, holding hands with loved one.....all these speak volumes more than thousand words put together.

We see how hearing impaired people speak with each other with perfect ease and enjoy their conversations more than speaking with mouth.

Syamala

 

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

I am sorry I used the #s as reference in my response. Even I used to count starting from pinky and go up to thumb while counting. As you know, in America everything is reverse. When they count, they start from their thumb first and go up to pinky. Moreover, their standardization is beyond limits and in order to make the names thumb, index, middle, ring and pinky understandable to everyone they called it # 1-5 in that order.

I am always amazed by the variations in little things from the rest of the world and America. Everyone started using Metrics for measurement while they continue to use old unit measurement. The whole world adopted to Pal in television manufacturing and they remained in NTSC format. The whole world calls the opening to access the engine in the car as bonnet and the storage space in the back of the car as dickey while the Americans call it as hood and trunk. The cars in most of the countries are right-hand drive while in the US all of them are manufactured left-hand drive by default except the US Mail vehicles. We drive on the right side of the road while most countries drive on the left side of the road. In the interest of time, I am not listing the rest of the differences in this response.

Shyamala, you are absolutely right. It is true if we tie the hands of people, they can't speak fluently. We communicate more through our hands than the words. Culturally, they are different in each continent. Unless, we are familiar with each continent's culture, it might land someone in trouble. For example, when we go to Japan, we need to give and receive business cards holding them in both hands as they consider the business card as representation of the person. In America, in most meetings, people give their business card as though they were discarding playing cards. If we accidentally, do that in Japan, the meeting will come to an end abruptly. Also, the Americans have the habit of writing the phone numbers and other details in the business card. In Japan, writing on the business cards is a big no no.

Viswa

 

My dear Anna

Seeing everyone's fbs I also wanted to post something

About Vs I only know V is Vinayaka, Victory, V for Vijayalakshmi, Venkateswara, Vel Muruga

Veettukku Veedu Vasappadi

Verri Vel Muruganukku Haroharohara

Veenaga Chelavu Cheyyadhe (this is my own)