When we want to tell other people what we think, we can do it not only with the help of words, but also in many other ways. For instance, we sometimes move our heads up and down when we want to say "yes," and we move our heads from side to side when we want to say "no."
People who can neither hear nor speak (that is, deaf and dumb people) talk to each other with the help of their fingers. People who do not understand each other's language have to do the same. The following story shows how they sometimes do it.
An Englishman who could not speak Italian was once travelling in Italy. One day he entered a restaurant and sat down at a table. When the waiter came, the Englishman opened his mouth, put his fingers in it, took them out again and moved his lips. In this way he meant to say, "Bring me something to eat."
The waiter soon brought him a cup of tea. The Englishman shook his head, and the waiter understood that he didn't want tea, so he took it away and brought him some coffee.
The Englishman, who was very hungry by this time and not at all thirsty, looked very sad. He shook his head each time the waiter brought him something to drink. He brought him wine, then beer, then soda-water, but that wasn't food, of course.
He was just going to leave the restaurant when another traveller came in. When this man saw the waiter, he put his hands on his stomach. That was enough: in a few minutes there was a large plate of macaroni and meat on the table before him.
As you see, the primitive language of signs is not always very clear. The language of words is much more exact.
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