Folklore Form/Genre: French gesture                                Informant: Cristoforo Coppola

Name: Raising your index finger below your eye and pulling slightly to say “you’re lying”

Place of Discovery: Hanover, NH

Informant Data: Cris was born and raised in Italy but attended a boarding school in Switzerland with students from all over Europe. Cris is a Government major senior at Dartmouth College.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural context: French gestures tend to be fairly expressive in nature.
• Social context: French individuals will use this hand gesture to say they are done with a conversation.

Item: The item presented here is a picture of Cris demonstrating the French gesture. I talked to Cris about the gesture as well as snapped a photo of her executing it. All of the information provided in this write-up is an accurate depiction of the knowledge I obtained while speaking with Cris.

Transcript: Cris was at school with his buddies during a break between classes. Cris and one of his French friends were having some banter with each other, and Cris seemed to have gotten on his friend’s nerves. He threw his hands up like in the gesture above, told Cris he was done with him, and walked away.

Informant’s Comments: This gesture is meant to exclaim that the words coming out of someone’s mouth are egregious or appalling. It is meant to show that they are displeased with that the other person is saying and they don’t want the conversation to continue.

Collector’s Comments: It is an interesting gesture because there is no immediate similar one in the U.S. that comes to mind, except for perhaps a facial expression that indicated discontent. It is also interesting because I would have had no idea what the gesture meant if it hadn’t been explained to me. I most likely would have thought it was symbolizing someone with a beard.

Collector’s Name:

Carson Spahr

HB 4105 Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH 03755

Dartmouth College

Tags/Keywords:

• Gestures
• France
• Insulting
• Hand
• Throat

Folklore Form/Genre: French gesture                                Informant: Emily Pommier

Name: Raising your index finger below your eye and pulling slightly to say “you’re lying”

Place of Discovery: Hanover, NH

Informant Data: Emily Pommier is a half-French Dartmouth College freshman. Her father’s side of the family is french, and her grandparents live in Lyon, France.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural context: French gestures tend to be fairly expressive in nature.
• Social context: French individuals will use this hand gesture to call Bullshit on something someone is saying.

Item: The item presented here is a picture of Emily demonstrating the French gesture. I talked to Emily about the gesture as well as snapped a photo of her executing it. All of the information provided in this write-up is an accurate depiction of the knowledge I obtained while speaking with Emily.

Transcript: Emily was with her grandparents in Lyon. Her grandparents had begun to banter with each other about how neither of them do their fair share of work in the house. Emily’s grandmother had quipped that her grandfather never takes out the garbage, and the grandfather retorted that he had taken it out that day. The grandmother turned to him and gave the gesture displayed to indicate she didn’t believe him.

Informant’s Comments: This gesture is often accompanied with the phrase “Mon Oiel” (My eye), as if to say that their eyes are open, they are paying attention, and they can’t be fooled. This gesture is common in France and is known by almost all in the country.

Collector’s Comments: It is an interesting gesture because there is no immediate similar one in the U.S. that comes to mind. It is also interesting because I would have had no idea what the gesture meant if it hadn’t been explained to me.

Collector’s Name:

Carson Spahr

HB 4105 Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH 03755

Dartmouth College

Tags/Keywords:

• Gestures
• France
• Insulting
• Hand
• Finger

Folklore Form/Genre: French gesture                                Informant: Emily Pommier

Name: Raising your hands to your sides, palms upward, perking the lips to mean “I don’t know”, “I don’t agree”, “That seems wrong to me”, etc.

Place of Discovery: Hanover, NH

Informant Data: Emily Pommier is a half-French Dartmouth College freshman. Her father’s side of the family is french, and her grandparents live in Lyon, France.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural context: French gestures tend to be fairly expressive in nature.
• Social context: French individuals will use this hand gesture for multiple things; it is a staple gesture in France.

Item: The item presented here is a picture of Emily demonstrating the French gesture. I talked to Emily about the gesture as well as snapped a photo of her executing it. All of the information provided in this write-up is an accurate depiction of the knowledge I obtained while speaking with Emily.

Transcript: Emily was eating dinner with her grandparents with some neighbors. Naturally, like at any dinner gone wrong, political conversation arose. Emily’s grandparents’ neighbor contended that the influx of immigration to France was harming the state of the nation. Emily’s grandmother, who clearly disagreed but wanted to be somewhat polite, responded with this gesture, indicating that she wasn’t so sure about what the neighbor was saying.

Informant’s Comments: People in the U.S. may be able to understand what this gesture means without being told explicitly. The thing about this gesture is that it has multiple meanings, so interpreting it correctly depends on the context it is given in.

Collector’s Comments: It is an interesting gesture because it is has so many meanings that one needs context to interpret it correctly. Without context, it can mean a variety of different expressions. In the United States, a similar gesture may be putting an open hand up, which can either mean offering a high-five, waving, or wanting to ask a question.

Collector’s Name:

Carson Spahr

HB 4105 Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH 03755

Dartmouth College

Tags/Keywords:

• Gestures
• France
• Insulting
• Hand