The Complicated Origins of Hand Gestures

One could make a reasonable assumption that hand gestures in cultures are the result of commerce over a language barrier.  After all there are many examples both historical and contemporary of hand gestures being used for just such a purpose.  In hospitals hand gestures are used to communicate between caregivers and patients over a language barrier.  There are also numerous historical examples of hand gestures being employed in history, particularly during the age of exploration.  During voyages when explorers made first contact with a people, the only means of communication available to them were hand gestures.  Both examples make for a compelling case, but they come to a conclusion that is unsupported by the evidence.  Neither example provides evidence for these interactions being the source of hand gestures, all they do is provide evidence of the usefulness of hand gestures.  In the case of hospitals, research shows that hand gestures are often employed even when a language barrier is not present.  The same could be said for the explorers, even after multiple interactions between peoples when some language could be learned hand gestures were still employed because they were useful.  Hand gestures are remarkably useful, particularly for cross cultural communication, however they do not exist solely for such purpose.  Their origin is likely a mixture of causes.

References

Moving towards culturally competent health systems for migrants? Applying systems thinking in a qualitative study in Malaysia and Thailand.Moving towards culturally competent health systems for migrants? Applying s…: EBSCOhost (rowan.edu)

GESTURE LANGUAGE IN CULTURE CONTACT (rowan.edu)