The Brazilian Thumbs‐Up Gesture

Abstract

The thumbs‐up gesture, of probable European origin, is extremely common in Brazil where it has a variety of uses. A combined social interactional and ethnographic approach is used to show that the various uses of the thumbsup gesture are systematically related. The core paradigmatic meaning of the thumbs‐up gesture is "good," "positive," or "OK," and the core syntagmatic meaning is "social obligation met." Other meanings emerge from particular contexts in which the gesture is situated.

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