hmm… good try but not really… bobbing is an up-and-down motion whereas the movement of a chicken’s head are very definitely and comically forward-and-backward.
Yes, bobbing is generally up and down, but it is also defined as "A quick, jerky movement of the head or body". The movement of some birds is not quite bobbing, but ornithologists tend to use the term anyway. For example, in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology‘s pigeon pages you can find:
Locomotion: On the ground, pigeons don’t hop the way many birds do. They walk or run with their heads bobbing back and forth.
I wanted to ask our resident ornithologist, but he is on holidays at the moment.
Have you aqauinted yourself with the phenomenon of head movements on MTV with the "birds" and "chicken heads" in the hip-hop world? That sideways head coursing is difficult to immitate unless you’re born to it, evidently. I’ve tried. "Fushming" is a great descriptive for it. I wonder what the hip-hoppers call it…I ‘ll have to ask my 22 yr. old daughter!
When I was growing up, a Fresh Aire child would come out to stay with us from Harlem. She moved her head in that sideways and circular motion to accompany vehement words when she got angry—or play angry, we played house a lot.
Come to think of it, the motion African women (at least those in Ghana) make with their head when balancing a heavy load on it is exactly the same. Perhaps there is a connection here.
[quote author=ilka link=board=what;num=1030591933;start=0#6 date=12/29/02 at 03:04:44]Come to think of it, the motion African women (at least those in Ghana) make with their head when balancing a heavy load on it is exactly the same. Perhaps there is a connection here.
A genetic link may be taking it too far. I was thinking more along the lines of a habit that is passed down from generation to generation. As far as I remember, the African slave trade ended around 1860. If a generation is counted to be 25 years, that’s just 6 generations ago, maybe not too long for a striking gesture like this to have survived.
It is interesting to see cultural differences on head movement. For example, Westerners generally nod to indicate agreement, but Indians move their head like doing a negation.
I would say the Ghana women’s fushming has certainly something to do with balancing the load on her heads,
I read this also applies to Bulgarians and maybe to Greeks, I’m not sure.
I was told that in some cultures, such as the Japanese, it is impolite to say no at all. They prefer not saying anything. Americans, on the other hand, generally understand the lack of a response as positive, or at least as noncommittal. That could lead to some severe misunderstandings.
Can anyone confirm this? I’ve never been able to ask a Japanese directly.
I have certainly noticed the characteristic you mention. I’ve figured out that "Oh, yes, we can do that" and "Yes, I think that can be done" are the same as they would be to a westerner, but "let me ponder that for a while" almost always means that you shouldn’t expect an answer…ever. The closest I ever heard to "no" was "I really don’t think you are serious about that."
All this from a trio of consultants we used who were born in Tokyo (2) and Osaka (1).
[quote author=ilka link=board=what;num=1030591933;start=0#10 date=12/31/02 at 12:50:18]I was told that in some cultures, such as the Japanese, it is impolite to say no at all.
the lack of a direct denial is part of saving face and conducive to softer if certainly more circuitous relationships… wouldn’t you agree?
the Koreans on the other hand, can be startlingly frank and direct.
That could lead to some severe misunderstandings.
in France merci indicates the negative (although I’ve found this to be less common now)... so if a waiter asks if you want more coffee, "thank you" will shoo him away… whereas in America I believe one will likely get a second cup - the difference being that in France you pay for that second helping. no free refills in Gaul !
[quote author=ekkis link=board=what;num=1030591933;start=0#12 date=12/31/02 at 17:06:34]so if a waiter asks if you want more coffee, "thank you" will shoo him away… whereas in America I believe one will likely get a second cup - the difference being that in France you pay for that second helping. no free refills in Gaul !
You get what you pay for. ;)
They use "thank you" that way in Bavaria, too. So if you’re at the butcher’s, you say Danke if you’ve finished your order. It go me confused at first.
In Ghana, the way to capture someone’s attention is to make a "ksss" sound. It’s not considered impolite. When I came back, I had to remember NOT to do that in a restaurant to call the waiter. In fact, on the plane coming back once, I noticed Ghanaians using "ksss" on the flight attendants. Most attendants didn’t even recognize it as a signal and therefore didn’t react until it became insistent.
[quote author=ekkis link=board=what;num=1030591933;start=0#12 date=12/31/02 at 17:06:34]the lack of a direct denial is part of saving face and conducive to softer if certainly more circuitous relationships… wouldn’t you agree?
the Koreans on the other hand, can be startlingly frank and direct.
in France merci indicates the negative (although I’ve found this to be less common now)... so if a waiter asks if you want more coffee, "thank you" will shoo him away… whereas in America I believe one will likely get a second cup - the difference being that in France you pay for that second helping. no free refills in Gaul !
The first part reminds me of our discussion re: offense.
And as far as the ‘thanks’ expression goes, in English the same is technically true. I say technically, because those with ‘correct’ upbringing will respond, "Thank you, no" or "Yes, please." Thus, ‘thank you’ means ‘no’, whereas ‘please’ means yes.
We also more informally use the ‘thanks’ remark when getting served with coffee, for example. When the patron responds ‘thanks’ that should be taken as indicative of the cut-off mark.
Somehow, this whole thing strikes me as material that should have been used in some British sitcom.
