Italian gestures

Angela

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In my opinion this is the best video on Italian gestures. It's by Marco in a box. Love him. :)

There are differences by region in how many of these you use and how often you use them. The masters are, again, in my opinion, the Neapolitans. Massimo Troisi looked like he was conducting some orchestra when he spoke. Marvelous. (I've included a link to him as well.) Northerners use them less frequently. There are also differences among individuals, however. My mother, a very restrained woman with a very cool persona, very rarely used them, usually only when she was scolding us. I'm like my father in that I'm very expressive and warm, and I used them so much when I came to this country that one of the nuns threatened to tie my hands. Nasty woman. It didn't work completely. My family and friends know that if the conversation gets heated they have to move all the glasses. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8hAOxsTpVY



See also: Troisi, Benigni and Leonardo Da Vinci. He's trying to explain a thermometer. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PByEeQngUeI
 
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Now I'm on the youtube list for this.:)

Foreigners try to guess the meaning of Italian hand gestures.

I didn't realize some of them were that hard to figure out.

 
Whenever my family gets together, they really get animated with their hands and loud. They're always telling anyone whose watching TV, to turn down the volume, but the reason its raised is because it's competing with how loud they're speaking. This is something that always happens without fail.

When I'm driving, and someone else is driving recklessly, I usually do this instead of flipping them off.

QZUVv2T.gif
 
Whenever my family gets together, they really get animated with their hands and loud. They're always telling anyone whose watching TV, to turn down the volume, but the reason its raised is because it's competing with how loud they're speaking. This is something that always happens without fail.

When I'm driving, and someone else is driving recklessly, I usually do this instead of flipping them off.

QZUVv2T.gif

My husband's family has lost all the gestures, but the loudness is certainly there. My first "family" dinner with them, I must have asked for the salt five times before anyone noticed me. Finally, his Aunt said something like, "Quiet everybody. What the hell do you want? Speak up!" She didn't say it meanly, just exasperated. :) Those dinners were and are a lot more fun than ours ever were. It amazed and amazes me how they can have such literal fights over the dinner table and then it blows over as if nothing happened. We're quicker to feel insulted, more thin-skinned, I guess, and hold grudges longer. It's better to be the way they are, I think.

One thing I really miss now that my parents and aunts and uncles are gone is watching and listening as they played card games like briscola or scopa. They were loud then, alright. The yelling and cursing would make you think God knows what was happening, but it was all in good fun. My relatives in Italy still do it, though.

Not as bad as this, though. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zRDcv0yjbs
 
This is really funny and shows the hand gestures in a natural way as well. The "irascible" one almost does a table toss. :) The only other time Italians get this irritated is at futbal matches or driving!

 
This is really funny and shows the hand gestures in a natural way as well. The "irascible" one almost does a table toss. :) The only other time Italians get this irritated is at futbal matches or driving!


My dad's father was really good at scopa and briscola. The only one that could beat him was my younger cousin. Too bad I never learned how to play though. But there's always time to learn.
 
I'll translate this one for non Italian readers. (I have no clue why they didn't provide English subtitles as well!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQquNGJMXe8

It's a little late. I'm going.

But where are you going?

I'm hungry...I'm going to have some spaghetti.

Spaghetti? Delicious..

You have no idea how good. Wonderful...

My mouth is watering...

O.K. Shall we go together?

Yes.

Let's go then...

Just a minute...I have to make a telephone call...

I'm afraid...make it fast

Stop...yes, yes, just one minute.

Finish it (squeeze it)!

Cut it short!

Just one minute...

What a barbarity...what a beard!:)

Stop it or I'll smack you.

What gall...che palle...(sorry, it means what balls)

Just ONE minute...****you.

You say that to me? You're crazy!

OK...finished!

Finally...now we're ok?

So, so...

Now what's the problem?

Money? I don't have any.

You don't have any money? You're the sly one aren't you?

Me? I'm an angel.

Yeah, right. Come on, let's go.

Yes? We can go eat the spaghetti?

No, I'm going to eat. You can watch.

Not a word spoken...

@Jovialis,

I tried to learn but they're complicated games. You not only have to have a great memory, and be able to count cards, but there's a lot of strategy involved. Plus, as you can see from the videos if you don't play quickly people get very impatient, and if you make mistakes your partner can be very unhappy with you. Like the fat guy says, too much pressure! :)
 

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