Start a Jonrney in Vietnam
Vietnamese Gestures and Politeness
"Like other Asian societies, Vietnam is classified as a "high-context society." This complex and important concept has been the topic of countless books and articles in the field of intercultural communication. In Understanding Cultural Differences (1996), Hall and Hall define a high-context communication, or message, as one in which most of the information already is in the person, while (vietnamese polite gestures) very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message. In a low-context communication, by contrast, most of the information is in the explicit code-the words themselves" (Ashwill, n.d)
What follows is a summary of nonverbal behaviors and their meanings in Vietnamese culture (Ashwill, n.d)
Meaning in Vietnamese Culture
Nonverbal Expression
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"Nodding: greeting; affirmative reply; agreement
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Shaking one's head: negative reply; disagreement
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Bowing: Greeting; great respect
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Touching a child's head: not appreciated, but not offensive" (Ashwill, n.d)
Meaning in Vietnamese Culture
Non-verbal Behavior
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"Shaking hands: Friendly greeting between men (but not the elderly) :Not customary between women or between a man and a woman; acceptable between a Vietnamese woman and non-Vietnamese man.
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Palm of right hand out, fingers moving up and down several times "Come here: Not used with people senior in age or status.
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Holding hands with or putting an arm over the shoulder or a person of the same sex:Friendly gesture with no sexual connotation
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Holding hands with or putting an arm over the shoulder of a person of the opposite sex: Not usually done in public
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Crossing arms: Sign of respect
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Placing one or both hands in the pockets or the hips while talking: Arrogance; lack of respect
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Patting a person's back, especially someone senior in age or status: Disrespectful
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Pointing to other people while talking: Disrespectful, threatening
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Putting one's feet on a table or sitting on a desk while talking
:Rude" (Ashwill, n.d)
