Mexico

Mexico
In Mexico, the people use non-verbal communication a lot more than gestures. In a percentage, the spoken language is only 7% as compared to 35% on a daily basis. The majority of their feelings and intentions are shown through gestures. One may find that interaction between men and women in Mexico differs slightly from other countries. Here, physical contact is more common than, say, in the U.S. To Mexicans, greetings and farewells are a big deal. Take, for instance, eye contact and eye movement. In the U.S., you are supposed to look a person in the eye when speaking, because this is what tells the speaker you are paying attention. But in many other cultures, including Mexico, looking straight in the eye (and I mean in the eye) can be considered aggressive (especially among men) or flirtatious (between women and men). You look at the person near the eye, but not in the eye. Sometimes, Mexicans may even respond to the direct eye contact by looking even further from the eye. At this point, Americans often think they are not being heard, or that the other person is displaying a strange and excessive amount of submissiveness. Traditionally, Mexico was known as one of the societies in which men have been known for their macho and chauvinistic behavior towards women. This however, has been changing with time much less of this sort of attitude is seen nowadays. Mexican gestures like many other gestures have origionated from generations ago and have been passed down changing slightly and becoming what they are today.

Pro: Since gestures are used a lot more than the language, they can be used instead of the language and still be understood. Much of the body language is similar to the U.S. ways of communication. Con: If you are not familiar with the local body language you might be misunderstood, and sometimes misinterpret the local nonverbal signals. Sometimes the slightest change in movements can be offensive.

Article: The Spanish word //tacaño// means "tightwad" or "cheapskate." This is one of my favorite gestures used in the Spanish language. Maybe it's because I grew up in a financially tight home and I can easily relate to it. When I was growing up, because of income, my parents would take my five... []

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