The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

THE BOOK OF TELLS
forming their hand into a fist, extending the thumb, and
pointing it towards their mouth. This gesture is sometimes
performed by raising the hand above the mouth so that the
neck of the 'bottle' faces downwards. This, of course,
mimics the old practice of drinking from a leather bottle,
where the bottle was held above the head and the wine
was squirted into the mouth. It is therefore very likely that
the wine-drinking gesture is a 'relic tell' - in other words,
a gesture that owes its origins to an ancient practice that
has since become extinct.
A comparison of nationalities shows that some gesticulate
more than others, and that they fall into three broad
groups. In the first group are the Nordic peoples - the
Swedes, Finns, Norwegians and Danes - who make very
little use of gesticulation and who, compared with other
countries, are gesturally illiterate. This category also
includes the Japanese, Koreans and Chinese, all of whom
make very little use of gesticulation. The second group
includes the British, Germans, Dutch, Belgians and
Russians, who use gesture in moderation. People who fall
into this category tend only to use their hands when they
become excited, when they need to communicate over
long distances, and when they feel the need to threaten or
insult each other. The third group of nations includes the
Italians, French, Greeks, Spaniards and Portuguese. It also
includes South American nations like the Argentinians and
Brazilians, who have been heavily influenced by the
Italians, the Spanish and the Portuguese. These three
groupings work fine for countries that are culturally
uniform or have a dominant cultural group. The scheme
works less well with multi-ethnic countries like the United
States because some ethnic groups within the country are
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