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Part of
Consensus and Dissent: Negotiating Emotion in the Public Space
Edited by Anne Storch
[Culture and Language Use 19] 2017
► pp. 123–140

Chapter 7
Programmed by culture?

Why gestures became the preferred ways of expressing emotions among the Hausa

The main thesis of this paper builds on my previous assumptions (Will, 2009, 2015) that in Hausa culture in general and in particular the value of kunya (shame, reserve, a sense of propriety, avoiding certain relations, actions and words) influences people’s behavior. The preferred, socially accepted form of expressing emotions is mainly through hand gestures, facial mimicry as well as paralinguistic sounds and formulaic expressions accompanying bodily movements. The paper describes an elaborate system of conventionalized gestures performed mainly by women. The contextual use of gestures is illustrated through fragments of films and novels. Although the primary function of the gestures is to express emotions, they play other roles: drawing someone’s attention, emphasizing a verbal utterance, contributing an additional, meaningful element to a given statement made or conveying a message that cannot be expressed verbally.

Keywords: communication, emblematic gestures, emotions, exclamations, Hausa culture, kunya , northern Nigeria, women
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The value of kunya and its impact on Hausa culture
  • 3.Gestures and paralinguistic sounds as indicators of emotions
    • 3.1Silent expression of emotions – gestures as suppressed words
    • 3.2Gesture and exclamation as a culturally accepted way of calling attention to something
    • 3.3Nonverbal outbursts of emotion: A cluster of gestures
    • 3.4A nonverbal component in an emotional utterance
    • 3.5Speech-synchronized gestures expressing emotions
  • 4.Summary
  • Author queries
  • Notes
  • References
  • Films and Recordings
Published online: 10 March 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/clu.19.07wil
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