Our behavior can be divided into verbal and non-verbal. Non-verbal behavior that is not associated with words or speech is sometimes more important than what a person says. This includes facial expressions, gestures, gaze, human posture. All this can say a lot, especially gestures.
Instruction manual
1
To fully understand sign language, you need to understand its specificity. On the one hand, each country has its own sign language. Somewhere people do without gestures in general, somewhere they cannot express their thoughts without them. On the other hand, each person has his own special gestures, peculiar only to him or copied from someone. And finally, there are well-established sign systems, such as the language of the deaf-mute, which they need to communicate with other people. What exactly do you mean by sign language and what gestures interest you is up to you.
2
If you decide to master the sign language of a particular country so that you do not have any incidents, then first study the specifics of non-verbal behavior in this country. For example, in Italy, people most likely will not even understand you if you don’t gesticulate during the conversation. In Muslim countries, the meaning of some gestures is strikingly different from the meaning that we put in these gestures, for example, a protruding thumb (a gesture used by hitchhikers) will be perceived there as indecent.
3
There are gestures known to everyone that serve as a substitute for a particular word or expression. For example, when we need to find out from a person what time it is, but we can’t ask out loud, we show on the back of the wrist of the left hand where the wristwatch’s dial is usually located. If we need, suppose, to silence a person, we put our index finger to our extended lips. This sign language is universal, but may also vary from country to country.
4
Sign language inherent in the letters of the Russian alphabet. You are unlikely to talk with deaf-mutes if you don’t already have such acquaintances: many are embarrassed by their lack and simply will not "talk" to you at all. In addition, many psychologists oppose such sign language, since it isolates deaf-mute people from the rest of society.
