are all gestures interpreted in the same way by all cultures?

Answer 1

No.
Years ago in this country "the finger" some use today would've been a strange but meaningless gesture. And if you mentioned fingering someone, they would've thought you were talking about pointing at someone with the index finger.
When we moved to Guatemala when I was young it took me a while to get used to the fact that they weren't waving at me to 'come here' but to say 'good bye.'
A major example would be sign languages. They are different from place to place, even within a country, because they are part of language. (By the way, American Sign Language from the major French sign languages, but Mexican sign languages principally came from British sign languages!)

Answer 2

Definitely not. In Italy, the way they say "Come here!" and "Hi!" is more like something that we in America would think of as "Go away." or "No, don't come over here!". Funny.

Gestures vary quite a bit through cultures. You should look up "70 Japanese Gestures: No Language Communication" by Hamiru-aqui, "Italian Without Words" by Don Cangelosi, and particularly "Gestures: The Do's and Taboos of Body Language Around the World" by Roger E. Axtell.

Except for really concrete metaphorical gestures like miming, anything goes in cultural gestures- very few things are uniform across the world.

Answer 3

No, there are no universal gestures. There are subtle meanings behind holding up the pinky in japan, yet it means nothing in the U.S. and the thumbs up in Germany is the equivalent of the middle finger in the U.S., and in japan once more waving someone over to you with palm over elbow means nothing and the palm must be faced down and the fingers curled down to the wrist repeatedly to beckon a person's approach.

Answer 4

no of course not.

For example - making the OK sign - circle with thumb & forefinger. Although this means “O.K.” in the U.S. and in many countries around the world, there are some notable exceptions:

In Brazil and Germany, this gesture is obscene.
In Japan, this means “money.”
In France, it has the additional meaning of “zero” or “worthless.”

Answer 5

Absolutely not. For e.g., it is very common for men in Bangladesh to hold hands with other men. In most parts of the world, such a gesture would suggest that the two men are gay. But in Bangladesh it just shows friendship.

Answer 6

No.

I don't remember where I read it or heard it, but a sign of approval in one culture (probably in the U.S.) was interpreted as profanity in another (European, I think). The person was trying to compliment the food in a restaurant.

Answer 7

No - just like some phrases are interpreted differently by other cultures!@~

Answer 8

Body language is very culture dependent.

But as all things in this interconnected world things are probably starting to blur.

Answer 9

i dont think so, i heard that a thumbs up means something bad in some countries

Answer 10

nope.....for ex.... i believe in the arab culture.... showing the soles of your shoes is extremely rude.....so beware while crossing you feet in front of them :p