評論
打印
We find that normally, after 10 to 15 people have provided responses, we have catalogued the great majority of the emblems of their culture.
我們發現，一般在10至15人回答了問題之后，我們就可以歸類出他們文化中的絕大多數象征性動作。
Analyze the results. If most of the people cannot supply a "performance" for a verbal message, we discard it.
（第二步）分析結果。如果大多數人不能“表演”出某一條口頭信息，我們就刪掉這一條。
Study the remaining performances further to eliminate inventions and illustrators. Many people are so eager to please that they will invent a gesture on the spot. Americans asked for a gesture for "sawing wood" could certainly oblige, even if they had never considered the request before, but the arm motion they would provide would not be an emblem.
（第三步）進一步研究剩余的動作，以排除那些虛構出來的動作和說明性動作。有許多人急于取悅別人以致當場發明出一個手勢。當我們要求美國人做出“鋸木頭”的手勢時，就算他們之前從未考慮過怎么做，他們也肯定會樂意配合我們，可是他們做出的手臂動作并非象征性動作。
To weed out these "false emblems," we show other people from the same culture videotapes of the performances by the first group. We ask which are inventions, which are pantomimes and which are symbolic gestures that they have seen before or used themselves. We also ask the people to give us their own meanings for each performance.
為了剔除這些“虛假的象征性動作”，我們給同一文化背景的其他人看第一組人演示的錄像帶。我們問他們，哪些是虛構的動作，哪些是示意性動作，哪些是他們以前看過或親自使用過的象征性動作。我們還要求這組人向我們提供他們自己對每個動作的解釋。
The gestures remaining after this second round of interpretations are likely to be the emblems of that particular culture. Using this procedure, we have found three types of emblems:
在第二輪解釋之后保留下來的手勢很可能就是那種特定文化的象征性動作。運用這種程序，我們已經發現了三種類型的象征性動作。
First, popular emblems have the same or similar meanings in several cultures. The side-to-side head motion meaning "No" is a good example.
第一類是大眾的象征性動作，它們在幾種文化中都具有相同或相似的含義。左右搖頭表示“不”就是一個很好的例子。
Next, unique emblems have a specific meaning in one culture but none elsewhere. Surprisingly, there seem to be no uniquely American emblems, although other countries provide many examples. For instance, the French gesture of putting one's fist around the tip of the nose and twisting it to signify "He's drunk" is not used elsewhere.
第二類為特定的象征性動作，它們在一種文化中具有某種特定的含義，但在其他文化中則沒有這種含義。令人驚訝的是，美國并沒有某種特定的象征性動作，盡管其他國家有很多這樣的例子。例如，法國人把一只拳頭放到鼻尖旁同時扭動的動作表示“他已經喝醉了”，這個手勢在其他國家并沒有用到。
