Community Chat

[tansy]

Good food.

[Lila Belle]

Laughter

[MacDUFF]

@faeriemoon

I was thinking physics LOL.

[ChynnaBlue]

Money isn't universal. There are still cultures in the world that use the barter system and don't have currency.

America and western culture are not the whole of the universe.

[Bestdressed]

A hug 

[MacDUFF]

DNA?

[MacDUFF]

I know!!  Emoticons!  LOL!

[ChynnaBlue]

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@qualitygal wrote:

I think it might be music. Others might say love.

What say you?

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I understand why this seems appealing and I want to agree, but it excludes the hearing impaired who can't hear music. I don't think a true universal language would exclude people.

This seems negative, but maybe pain and suffering are universal. Everyone knows pain, either physical or emotional. People who can't feel physical pain are rare, but they do feel emotional pain. People who can't feel emotional pain are less rare, but they can feel physical pain. Feeling pain allows most of us to recognize it in others and that allows most people to feel compassion and empathy. Compassion and empathy make the world a better place and we would have neither if we didn't know pain and suffering,

[sailor_moon]

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@straykatz wrote:

A head nod....a yes nod means yes no matter where you go...and a no nod means no everywhere.  

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In certain countries, nodding your head up and down means no, and shaking your head from side to side means yes.

On the other hand, profanity gestures are probably more universal.

[ChynnaBlue]

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@sailor moon wrote:

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@straykatz wrote:

A head nod....a yes nod means yes no matter where you go...and a no nod means no everywhere.  

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In certain countries, nodding your head up and down means no, and shaking your head from side to side means yes.

On the other hand, profanity gestures are probably more universal.

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Yes, even a head shake is not universal. And neither are profanity gestures. A thumbs up is an offensive gesture in some cultures and using the US "OK" symbol is the same as the middle finger in other places.

I do communications and training for a global corporation and we are always very careful of the photographs and images we use in presentations. I have to be careful of pictures, word choices, and colors because of cultural differences.

If you are talking about a universal language, you need to expand the focus to think beyond the United States, North America, or the western world.