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HAND
TALK, ITALIAN STYLE
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Gestures
of Italians, who often talk with their hands are like a second language
and one that foreigners often misunderstand. In 1994 Bruno Munari
saved the day for tourists and visitors to Italy with a guide to
gestures of the Italians. In an Italian nightclub where the music
is so loud that talking is useless, if you look around you will
see people communicating with hand signals. A guy looks at his date
and points his thumb downward toward his mouth; translation: “Would
you like a drink?” His date holds her hand to her waist, palm down;
translation: “No thanks. I’m starving”. Then she makes a scissors
movement with her two fingers; translation: “Let’s get out of here”.
If you see an Italian giving the “V” for victory sign, it means
“I need a restroom”.
Finger talk for the pause that refreshes …
Source: L”Italo Americano Newsletter
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DEMOGRAPHICS |
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According
to the 2000 census, Italian Americans are above average in their levels
of education, income and occupation. The vast majority (88%) live
in or near a big city, have small families (one child), low divorce
rates (8%) and white collar jobs (66%). Over 15.7 million people identified
themselves as Italian Americans in the 2000 census, a 7% increase
over the 1990 census. The census bureau estimates there are 26 million
Americans of Italian descent. Italian Americans are the fourth largest
European ancestry group after the German, Irish, and English population.
Italian Americans still strongly identify with their Italian roots.
Italian Americans are the only European group whose population has
increased since the 1990 census. Italian is the fourth European language
most spoken in U. S. homes.
The median age of Italian Americans is 34 years. Median income is
$61,300, while the national median income is $50,000. The number of
high school and college graduates exceeds the national percentage
as does the number with Masters Degrees. Only 4% of Italian Americans
are immigrants while 96% were born in the United States.
California has the third largest Italian population with over 1.5
million. About 5% of Californians is of Italian ancestry. Out of the
fifty U.S. metropolitan areas with the most Italian Americans, Sacramento
ranks number 32 with 100,000 Italian Americans residing there. New
York ranks the largest with 3.4 million Italians. San Diego ranks
19, Los Angeles ranks 5, and San Francisco ranks 6.
The 2000 census underscores the enormous gap between who Italian Americans
really are, and how they are portrayed by the entertainment, advertising,
and news industries.
Source: Italian Cultural Society
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