Italian body language

C'è da fare o no?...

English translation: Yes or no?

Mi dà un passaggio?

English translation: Can you give me a ride?

Scongiuro.

English translation: Gesturer wants to ward off bad luck.

Un momento!

English translation: One moment please! or May I speak?

Mah!

English translation: Perplexed. Gesturer is undecided.

Ho fame.

English translation: I'm hungry.

Ehi tu, vieni qui! (Ascolta!)

English translation: Hey! Come here, you! (Listen!)

Vieni fra le mie braccia!

Come?

English translation: What?

English translation: Come to me!

Walk down the street of any Italian town today and you might think you've wandered onto the set of a Fellini movie. People everywhere seem to be mumbling to themselves while gesticulating wildly. If you get closer to us, though, you'll notice that we're punctuating a conversation on our telefonini with hand gestures. Mobile telephones are ubiquitous in Italy today, and all those animated discussions are proof positive that we express ourselves with our hands even while speaking on the phone.

Us Italian, we use body language and hand gestures to punctuate an expression and give it a shading that the word or phrase itself lacks. Non-native speakers of Italian often find talking on the telephone to be the most challenging linguistic task. One reason is that you cannot read lips, which many people do subconsciously. But the absence of body language and hand gestures confounds the communication gap. We watch people motion with their hands, and we parse out what they mean.

Practice these gestures on your Italian friends before you come visit, to be sure you've got the right movement, otherwise a potentially embarrassing situation could develop.

Or contact me for tips if you wish :)

ciao