On Language-谈语言

On Language
   Language varies from country to country. It differs not only in written and spoken language but also in gestures.
   Once my American teacher, Dr. Joe Johnson, went ont shopping. He was surprlsed to find out that he couldn＇t even count on his fingers proficiently in China. He tried to buy six oranges. The orange seller couldn＇t understand his two handed counting when he showed him five left hand fingers and one right hand finger. He was also confused when a driver said he would pick him up at six o＇clock, and held his right band in a gesture familiar to himself. The gesture was not familiar as a six. It resembled a pipe.
   There were no trouble with the numbers one, four, and five. In China, we show the middle and index fingers to mean two, but, for the Americans, it means victory. The Chinese guesture for three, to Americans. means "okay." The Chinese seven is like many people from southern Europe aad the Middle East gesture to mean "money". A Chinese eight is like a symbol for a pistol. A Chinese nine in an American TV studio means that you have thirty seconds left to finish what you are doing. And a Chinese ten, to an American, can be an expression of anger, but not if there is a pleasant Chinese face behind it!
谈语言
   各国的语言各不相同，不仅书面语、口语不同，而且手势语也不同。
   有一次，我的美国老师Joe Johnson 博士去买东西，他惊奇地发现在中国他连数手指都不熟练。他要买6个橘子，当他伸出5个左手和1个右手指时，卖橘子的弄不明白。当一个司机说在6点钟接他时，伸出右手做了一个熟悉的手势却把老师弄糊涂了。这熟悉的手势不是六，而像个烟斗。
   至于“一、四、五”那没问题。在中国，用中指和食指表示“二”，对美国人却是“胜利”的意思。中国的手势语“三”是美国的“OK”。中国的“七”就像许多南欧和中东的国家用来表示钱的手势。中国的“八”是个手枪的信号。中国的“九”在美国电视演播室的意思是你还剩30秒钟干完手中的活。中国的“十”对美国人来说表示生气。但如果在其后有一张愉快的中国人的面孔，则并非如此。