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The German "good luck" emblem, making two fists with the thumbs inside and pounding an imaginary table, is unique to that culture.
德國人表示“好運”的象征性動作是雙手握拳，把大拇指包在拳頭里，敲擊想象中的桌子，這也是德國文化特有的。
Finally, multi-meaning emblems have one meaning in one culture and a totally different meaning in another. The thumb inserted between the index and third fingers is an invitation to have sex in Germany, Holland and Denmark, but in Portugal and Brazil it is a wish for good luck or protection.
第三類是多重含義的象征性動作，它們在一種文化中有一種含義，而在另一種文化中卻有完全不同的另一種含義。大拇指放在食指和中指之間在德國、荷蘭和丹麥是邀請發(fā)生性關系的含義，而在葡萄牙和巴西，這個動作是表示祈求好運或希望得到保護。
The number of emblems in use varies considerably among cultures, from fewer than 60 in the United States to more than 250 in Israel. The difference is understandable, since Israel is composed of recent immigrants from many countries, most of which have their own large emblem vocabularies.
正在使用的象征性動作的數(shù)量在各種文化中差別頗大，在美國不到60種，而在以色列有250多種。這種差異是可以理解的，畢竟以色列是由來自許多國家的新近移民組成的，而其中大多數(shù)國家都擁有自己的大量象征性動作。
In addition, since emblems are helpful in military operations where silence is essential, and all Israelis serve in the armed forces, military service provides both the opportunity and the need to learn new emblems.
此外，由于象征性動作在必須保持肅靜的軍事行動中很有用，而且所有以色列人都要在武裝部隊中服兵役，因此可以說服兵役為學習新的象征性動作提供了機會，也使之成為必要。
The kind of emblems used, as well as the number, varies considerably from culture to culture. Some are especially heavy on insults, for instance, while others have a large number of emblems for hunger or sex.
象征性動作使用的種類及數(shù)量在不同的文化中差別也很大。例如，有些文化尤其偏重侮辱性的象征性動作，而另一些文化中卻有大量表達饑餓或性的象征性動作。
Finally, as Desmond Morris documented in his book, Gestures, there are significant regional variations in modern cultures. The findings we describe in this article apply to people in the major urban areas of each country: London, not England as a whole; Paris, not France. Because of the pervasiveness of travel and television, however, an emblem is often known in the countryside even if it is not used there.
總之，正如德斯蒙德·莫里斯在他的著作《手勢語》一書中所引證的那樣，手勢語在現(xiàn)代文化中存在著重大的地區(qū)性差異。我們在本文中描述的研究成果適用于生活在各個國家的大城市中的人：倫敦，而不是整個英格蘭；巴黎，而不是整個法國。然而，由于旅游和電視的普及，某種象征性動作在鄉(xiāng)下也經常為人所知，盡管該動作并不在那里使用。
