I only realized that dutch people are handful communicators when moving abroad. Apparently I do it unconsciously all the time.
For example we gesture when something tastes good and I don't even say "tastes good" out loud i just wave my hand next to my cheek. But quickly learnt that people think you're crazy in the head instead of complimenting the chef.
Eating only half a pepernoot and putting it back in the bowl is crazy behavior.
In this case the gesture is to not speak with a mouth full of food, which is understandable.
gman83 2 hours ago [-]
Also, she made the gesture twice without saying "mmmmm" while making it. Imo, that sound is part of the gesture.
hk__2 49 minutes ago [-]
Italians have a gesture for this as well, and it speaks for itself: nobody says "mmmm" while doing it.
deafpolygon 57 minutes ago [-]
Needs the sound! Otherwise, even other Dutch people will look crazy at you. :)
agiacalone 5 hours ago [-]
As a Sicilian and university computer science lecturer, I can say that hand gestures are my primary way of communicating concepts.
So much so that the old joke holds true. How do you stop an Italian from talking? Tell them to sit on their hands.
dnnddidiej 2 hours ago [-]
Doubly so with CS in the mix. IMO.
ardim 2 hours ago [-]
Im Dutch and I still have fond memories of my matrix algebra professor doing that.
He would stand in front of class. Close his eyes. And draw two matrices in the air with his hands and continue to explain matrix multiplication like that. It was a bit funny to watch at the time. But it stuck with me, so I guess it worked.
bryanrasmussen 3 hours ago [-]
often when I discuss very abstract complicated subjects I use hand gestures to "place" the interlocking concepts under discussion at different positions in front of me while talking, and as I talk I will then refer to these "virtual objects" via gestures as a way of referring back to the previous point where they were brought in and "positioned" in the discussion.
riffraff 5 hours ago [-]
It seems reasonable to expect that some behaviors transcend culture and go back to instinct (tho expectations often conflict with reality) which probably is not even human specific.
IIRC Konrad Lorenz pointed out in Solomon's Ring that rooks will exhibit "infantile behavior" when grooming in a mated couple which, well, humans do it when they cuddle too.
As an aside: my favorite italian gesture is "tasty" (put index on cheek and spin back and forth) which is only used by and for children. I'm on a lifelong mission to spread it everywhere.
nottorp 4 hours ago [-]
> that some behaviors transcend culture and go back to instinct
My first thought was "is it only Italians and Dutch, or are the two the only groups they could cover with their given funding?".
Antibabelic 3 hours ago [-]
> Here we ask whether, in a task where gestures are particularly useful—namely, spontaneous demonstration in which no real object is present—speakers of a high-gesture (Italian) and a low-gesture (Dutch) culture show similarities or differences in how they teach to adults versus children.
nottorp 35 minutes ago [-]
Correct but it doesn’t invalidate my question :)
stabbles 5 hours ago [-]
The Dutch version of this is to wave at the cheek.
ramon156 3 hours ago [-]
jazz hand(s) !
vasco 2 hours ago [-]
I don't think these are special as in rare, but they are cool. Many countries have gestures for the same thing. In portugal you pick up the ear lobe with your index finger and thumb, stretch the other fingers and pull it a few times. It means tasty also. You may accompany it with saying "it's from here", as in the food "is from the earlobe" which means its good, but mostly its done silently.
crabbone 39 minutes ago [-]
It was drilled into me since childhood that speaking with your hands is lacking "class". On a conscious level, I know not to judge people by something as superficial, but on subconscious level, if someone is swinging their hands in the air while talking to me: I don't want to talk to them. It's the same with being loud, or using stop words etc.
I haven't been to Italy, but this was a huge deal for me living in Israel. In Israel, it's a substantial cultural divide between descendants of Arab countries refugees and those coming from Europe. It's generally seen as "proper" to not use your hands. In the military, especially in basic training, that would probably send you doing pushups.
I live in the Netherlands for about five years now. To be honest, I didn't notice people talking with their hands... well, outside of the Middle East or North African immigrants. Also, I don't really have Dutch friends to the point that we'd spend enough time together for me to notice how and if they use their hands during a conversation. In more formal context, I don't see the Dutch doing that.
sdevonoes 33 minutes ago [-]
Must be horrible
Jamesbeam 2 hours ago [-]
Must be true. I have seen Dutch and Italian parents teaching their kids valuable social concepts with the exact same swift motion of an open hand.
christophilus 19 minutes ago [-]
Ha! Speaking a language that everyone understands.
deafpolygon 57 minutes ago [-]
I don't know. I know some older Dutch folks are more handsy, but the young'ins? Nah. The new generation of Dutch are less so.
brador 3 hours ago [-]
Keeps the hands slap ready when focus wanders.
JSR_FDED 5 hours ago [-]
If I understand the article correctly, the Italians and the Dutch use the same hand gestures to explain to children the concepts of Pizza and Marijuana respectively.
agiacalone 5 hours ago [-]
I mean, they do go well together.
Rendered at 10:29:05 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
For example we gesture when something tastes good and I don't even say "tastes good" out loud i just wave my hand next to my cheek. But quickly learnt that people think you're crazy in the head instead of complimenting the chef.
https://youtube.com/shorts/5a9Md32gSQg?is=fJ9BYQEt-CpEUE-g
In this case the gesture is to not speak with a mouth full of food, which is understandable.
So much so that the old joke holds true. How do you stop an Italian from talking? Tell them to sit on their hands.
He would stand in front of class. Close his eyes. And draw two matrices in the air with his hands and continue to explain matrix multiplication like that. It was a bit funny to watch at the time. But it stuck with me, so I guess it worked.
IIRC Konrad Lorenz pointed out in Solomon's Ring that rooks will exhibit "infantile behavior" when grooming in a mated couple which, well, humans do it when they cuddle too.
As an aside: my favorite italian gesture is "tasty" (put index on cheek and spin back and forth) which is only used by and for children. I'm on a lifelong mission to spread it everywhere.
My first thought was "is it only Italians and Dutch, or are the two the only groups they could cover with their given funding?".
I haven't been to Italy, but this was a huge deal for me living in Israel. In Israel, it's a substantial cultural divide between descendants of Arab countries refugees and those coming from Europe. It's generally seen as "proper" to not use your hands. In the military, especially in basic training, that would probably send you doing pushups.
I live in the Netherlands for about five years now. To be honest, I didn't notice people talking with their hands... well, outside of the Middle East or North African immigrants. Also, I don't really have Dutch friends to the point that we'd spend enough time together for me to notice how and if they use their hands during a conversation. In more formal context, I don't see the Dutch doing that.