Language/Amharic/Culture/Threatening,-Harassing,-or-Disrespectful-Body-Language

Threatening, Harassing, or Disrespectful Body Language in Ethiopia

• Wagging the fingers to and from you with the palm down and with (usually) the arms stretched means ‘come.’
• Pointing the index finger towards an individual and then moving the hand forwardand backward (“don’t you dare”) indicates warning.
• Waving the index finger left and right means no.
• Biting ones own lower lip, especially if it is accompanied by nodding forward and backward, means threatening someone.
• Putting hands in the pocket while talking with elders shows disrespect.
• As in America, raising a middle finger with the palm up while the remaining fingers are folded is an obscene and offensive gesture.

Source

https://www.livelingua.com/peace-corps/Amharic/Amharic%20Peace%20Corps%20Language%20Manual-2015.pdf

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