A world of insults: mind the gaffe

[Snowden]

A world of insults: mind the gaffe


Mark McCrum
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 30/11/2007


Words, gestures, even business cards - all can be sources of insults in some countries. Mark McCrum provides a guide through the cultural minefield

The plight of British schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons is extreme. Who could have imagined that naming a teddy bear after a little boy in your class could land you with a jail sentence for inciting racial hatred, followed by deportation?


In some parts of the world, a kiss is not just a kiss

But this shocking case highlights an important point: that those who travel and live abroad must be continually alert and never fall for the myth that we live in a "global village". Ignorance isn't bliss when it comes to religious observances, traditions, manners and gestures in other parts of the world. It is all too easy to be caught in cultural crossfire.

Places where versions of sharia law apply are clearly the ones to take most seriously. Visitors to Saudi Arabia should remember that it is illegal for a man and a woman to hold hands in public. Not so long ago, an American man who was seen kissing an American woman was jailed, then deported.

In the Far East, the potential penalties may not be so severe but the offence given will be equally great. This year a legal action was brought against Liz Hurley for "breaching Hindu customs" during her wedding in Rajasthan.

The complainant, a businessman called Vishnu Khandelwal, was incensed because the actress not only drank alcohol but wore her shoes into the mandap (sacred marriage place). Her insult was compounded when she kissed the groom, Arun Nayar, during the ceremony.

Khandelwal had damning evidence to hand: pictures in Hello! and People magazines. The case developed into a right old storm, with threats of a three-year prison sentence and Hurley's father-in-law allegedly disowning the couple.

Actor Richard Gere caused a similar furore by kissing - in a very full-on fashion - Celebrity Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty during an Aids awareness rally in New Delhi. Some demonstrators set light to effigies of the Hollywood heart-throb. Other protesters put the blame elsewhere, shouting, "Death to Shilpa Shetty!"

Some high-profile gaffes highlight intercultural messes that any of us could get into. In June, Cameron Diaz pitched up at Peru's Machu Picchu ruins carrying a bag with the Maoist slogan "Serve the People".

In a country that had been terrorised by the Maoist Shining Path guerrillas, this caused major upset. Diaz was forced to issue a statement apologising "to anyone I may have inadvertently offended". She had picked up the bag in China and didn't even know what the slogan meant, let alone its significance.

Even the most powerful corporations have fallen into similar heffalump traps. When Pepsico launched in China with the cheery slogan "Come alive with Pepsi", it little realised it would come out in Chinese as "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead".

The Italian car firm Fiat's launch of "the stylish Pinto" in Argentina was somewhat compromised by the local slang use of "pinto" for the male organ. Similarly, the Dublin?based makers of the after-dinner liqueur Irish Mist were probably foolish not to have realised that "mist" in German means "manure".

Gestures are another area where care must be taken. As George W Bush stood watching his second inaugural parade in January 2005, he held up a fist with the forefinger and little finger extended.

Where he comes from, this is the victory salute of the University of Texas Longhorns, the "hook 'em horns". Not so in Italy, where the same sign can imply that a man is a cuckold. In Norway, it's the sign of the devil, more often used by fans of dodgy heavy metal groups than world leaders.

Dubya is a gaffe-prone president but it's all too easy to do the same. An Argentinian, newly arrived in London, explained to me how he was put right in bar when he waved two fingers to order a couple more drinks.

Luckily, a waitress explained the error before anyone took offence. Americans travelling the world should watch out for their "OK" sign, where forefinger meets the thumb in a tight circle.

In Portugal or Greece it means "no good", while in places as far apart as Turkey, Malta and Brazil the gesture suggests you are comparing someone to a part of their anatomy. And if you're travelling in Iran, take care with the cheery "thumbs up". Known as the bilakh, it means: "Sit on this!"

Even the most innocent gestures can cause trouble. In the Middle East, the sole of the foot is unclean, so pointing it at someone is insulting: when Iraqis vented their fury on the deposed Saddam Hussein in 2003, they beat his statue with their shoes.

In Buddhist countries, it's the other end of the body you should watch out for, as the head is thought to be the seat of the soul. "Bawl out a taxi driver in Bangkok in front of his friends while patting him on the head and you could get yourself killed," a friend who lives there told me.

Most of us know that the Japanese bow to each other, but did you know how seriously they take the ritual of handing over business cards? The card should be studied for several seconds before being put carefully in a wallet or card-holder. Just smiling and stuffing it in your back pocket is a mark of disrespect; dropping it or tossing it to one side is an outright insult.

Even generosity can be misinterpreted. A bunch of chrysanthemums might seem like a fine thing to take along to a dinner party - but not in much of mainland Europe, where they're for funerals only. Gifts provide fertile terrain for disaster.

A leather wallet in India, a clock in China, silver in Mexico - all are mistakes apparently. In Japan, it's the opening of a gift in front of the giver that is the most serious mistake, as a show of disappointment would be an unbearable loss of face.

If it's hard to take seriously the long-established rules and traditions of other societies, remember what causes outrage at home. How do we feel when we see someone trying to jump a queue?

Imagine them giving us the V-sign as they did it and we can start to understand our deeply ingrained cultural attitudes and beliefs. Having said which, there must be plenty of people, even in Khartoum, who find Mrs Gibbons's plight beyond comprehension.

What not to do: Top 10 international faux pas

1 Blowing your nose into a handkerchief in Japan

The Japanese call snot hanakuso - literally "nose ****" - and find the idea of walking around with a cloth full of it disgusting.

2 Getting your host's name the wrong way round in China

In the Far East name order is reversed, with the surname first, then a middle, generational name, then a given name. So calling Mr Li Wong Chee of Beijing "Mr Chee" would be like calling Mr John William Smith of London "Mr John".

3 Confusing a Canadian with an American

Or a Paraguayan with a Uruguayan, an Englishman with an Irishman or an Australian with a Kiwi. Neighbours are always the twitchiest about each other.

4 Keeping your shoes on in a temple or home in the Far East.

Take them off at the door, everywhere from Burma to Japan. It's wise to be wearing clean socks - and do remember where you put your shoes. It's an awful bore to get back to the hotel and realise you're wearing Mr Yamazaki's brogues.

5 Looking at your feet when drinking a toast in Scandinavia

Right across Northern Europe, you should always meet your host's eye when saying "Skål!" or "Prost!" And the drink must then go down in one. If you fail to do this, the Germans say, seven years of bad sex will follow.

6 Teasing an Australian about how useless their national team is

Sport is the one sacred activity Down Under.

7 Giving a bottle of malt whisky in a pigskin bottle holder to an Arab host.

If your Muslim host drinks, he certainly doesn't do so publicly, so drawing attention to his love of Glenfiddich is not the best idea. Like the dog, the pig is unclean in Arab countries, so pigskin only adds to the offence.

8 Being on time for an Argentinian dinner party

Dinner in Latin America is always late, but you should arrive later. Turning up on time isn't regarded as polite - just greedy.

9 Eating with your left hand in Africa and India

In areas where they routinely eat with their hands, you must use the right one. The left is the "unclean" hand, reserved for a related function a few hours later.

10 Leaving your chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice in China or Japan

Of all chopstick no-nos this is the worst, as it mimics a Japanese funeral rite, when chopsticks and rice are left by the bedside of the newly deceased.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2007/11/30/noindex/ftpas130.xml

[sabadgeman]

Oh dear I remember being sent to see the head of Nissan UK with a cold, bad bad news, the whole claim was a nightmare from day one!

[conlor]

Don't the Japanese blow their noses?

Kinda makes you want to stay home, especially during these times.

[Snowden]

Yes, it does. I made several gaffes in the Mid East when I visited them. They always excused me; after all I am an American! One thing isn't altogether correct. Oh, it is as far as it goes, but #9 should add not to use the left hand to eat in any Muslim country.

[sabadgeman]

Yes literally by the old finger on nostril and out basis!

Another one is showing the bottoms of your feet in South East Asia

[Snowden]

Originally Posted by sabadgeman

Yes literally by the old finger on nostril and out basis!

Another one is showing the bottoms of your feet in South East Asia

Oh, I remember hearing that, Steve. I wonder why.