Reading between the signs
Foreign Bodies by Peter Collett Simon & Schuster $220 EUROPEANS may no longer rule the world. But they still have no rivals in the art of innocent misunderstanding. The old continent is a patchwork of different tribes, each with its own signs and rituals. The great increase in international travel means thatthey see a lot more of each other than they used to.
This has led to some increase in mutual appreciation, and a great deal more in confusion.
Mr Collett is a fascinated mapper of these social minefields. He carefully enumerates those places where it is acceptable (indeed expected) to grab your conversational partner by the wrist, the elbow or the shoulder. He is familiar with the thousand names for the Room with No Name.
He knows when public kisses are acceptable in France (almost all the time) and in England (practically never); he also notes that in the 15th century this arrangement was reversed.
In the following century there was an even more interesting custom under which you were allowed to touch the breasts of a woman when you met her, a social amenity which would now lead to prosecution.
All these fascinating snippets are usually buried in dusty tomes like the European Journal of Social Psychology, whence Mr Collett has carefully rescued them. Serious students of the matter will find a lavish reading list at the back of the book.
The rest of us can frolic in Mr Collett's chapters, which are arranged in alphabetical order from Address (Germans are politely addressed by their job descriptions, Brits have almost dropped terms of address altogether) to Yes and No (there are two different and easily confusable ways of waving your head, together with a third system found only in Bulgaria).
It is indicative of Mr Collett's playful approach that he has managed to find a heading for every letter of the alphabet except X and Z, though some letters have two.
There are some interesting photographs. My favourite illustrates the problems of the two-finger V gesture. Made with the palm facing outwards, this was the Churchillian victory sign. Made with the palm facing inwards, it is an insult.
Unfortunately in Greece the palm out version is the insult. The photograph shows a group of Greek soldiers being introduced to Mr Churchill. Several of the Greeks are in various stages of what must have been an intense internal struggle over how to greetthe great man.
This book offers a great deal of quiet civilised pleasure. My only regret is that Mr Collett has confined himself so strictly to Europe. There is no mention of America, Australia appears only as the last refuge of the word ''dunny'' (British in origin) and the only Asian country mentioned is Thailand (home of some of the world's worst toilets, according to a survey).
Could we have a second book on the Rest of the World, please?
