It has long been assumed that, while people may speak different languages across the globe, when it comes to depicting concepts via gestures, the actions used are universal.
New research by a Japanese academic using Japanese and English speakers, however, has cast doubt on this long-held belief.
Sotaro Kita, senior lecturer at the University of Bristol's department of experimental psychology, shows that British and Japanese sometimes use different hand gestures when expressing the same event due to linguistic differences.
Kita's findings have recently inspired a favorable response at the British Association's festival of science. He believes the study of gestures can have positive spinoffs both in business and education.