In English-speaking countries, intensity is a sign of being low-class. People who speak loudly, excitedly, wave their hands around a lot, make a lot of ruckus, exhibit a lot of public emotion are more likely to be found in a trailer park than at an expensive restaurant or a social gathering of academics.
People of higher social classes, on the other hand, speak monotonously, don’t gesticulate very actively, and exhibit muted affect in public.
In Russian-speaking societies, it’s the other way round. Unless they get violently drunk, the humble classes speak quietly and monotonously, their public affect is flat, their speech is uninflected, their movements are constricted. One of the reasons they get drunk is to allow themselves to step outside of these boundaries.
Members of intelligentsia, on the other hand, speak loudly, excitedly, their emotions effervesce, they easily become overwrought. They make more noise discussing Silver Age poetry than an episode of Maury. Emoting in a public space is an entitlement of their social status.
This is a result of a very different philosophy of social class. English speakers value self-control and self-discipline so much that it becomes its own reward. Russian-speakers impose self-control as punishment on the less deserving.
Clarissa's Blog 
Russian president ‘whoismisterputin’ gesticulates a lot, especially with his eyebrows, though not only that, – simply because his vocabulary is very poor. He is not quite fluent in Russian, hence his speaking problems. I am saying this as a professional linguist.
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His speech is monotonous, his affect is flat, his movements are constricted, plus his vocabulary is not very rich – the guy is obviously from the humble social classes. 🙂
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Yes, he is from the class rightly called ‘bandits’. 🙂
But there is a brilliant Ukrainian word that can hardly b translated into English, and it’s ‘syavka’.
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In English speaking countries, people of high status i.e. university professors cannot only not speak and gesture loudly but also must watch their vocabulary.
“A professor at Laurentian University has been removed from teaching an introductory psychology class after requesting that students sign a waiver agreeing to his use of vulgar language.
Dr. Michael Persinger was yanked from the class two months after providing students with a “Statement of Understanding” that contains a list of 27 words, from “politician” to the F-word to “Satan” to a homophobic slur.”
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/01/05/laurentian-university-prof-yanked-over-waiver-to-students-warning-of-crude-language-in-class.html
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Fiddlesticks, that’s downright silly!
Did they hire Dr. Ned Flanders, professor of dum-diddly-ology as his adjunct replacement?
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I’m glad nobody has heard of my signature class on regional swear words in Spanish.
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\ I’m glad nobody has heard of my signature class on regional swear words in Spanish.
Is it a real class or are you joking?
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Absolutely real. It’s not a whole course but just a 1 – hour class. It’s unfair to let students out into the world without teaching them how real Hispanics speak. 🙂
But I always make them beg me for it.
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Interesting. I’m a reserved introvert in a loud Cuban family, sometimes I feel like a weirdo because I’m not loud and gesturing like crazy when I talk. I took an online test which is supposed to determine your inner nationality and the first time said I was English, the second time German and the third time Dutch. Would that be considered high status or low status in many Hispanic cultures?
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Well, ladyfiaran, you don’t come across to me as an introvert in the vast majority of your comments on this website — and I mean that as a sincere compliment! 🙂
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I meant talking to people face to face, it’s easier for me to communicate online but I have trouble talking to people face to face
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What’s wrong with being an introvert? I’m the biggest introvert on the planet, and it’s quite a nice thing to be.
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I know, I like being an introvert. I hate being around people who chatter like magpies and have nothing to say, I like my peace and quiet. Us introverts are deep thinkers and creative, we may not talk much but we have interesting things to say. If this sounds weird, I’m kind of drunk and I just watched Yellow Submarine 😁
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Well, neither of you ladies, ladyfiaran or Clarissa, are the least bit introverted, at least when comes to talking back on this website to commenters who challenge you.
That’s what makes it such a pleasure to to engage people with you, even if I occasionally get out of line! 🙂
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Typo correction: “To engage people like you,” of course.
You’d think I’d have learned by now not to keep hitting this keyboard past my bedtime. Well, the full moon’s up in Arizona. Goodnight!
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Loud confidence is in fact the English way …
As for various forms of “jazz hands”, not so much.
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