I frequently, naturally use my hands a lot whenever I speak, my maternal great g

Question:

I frequently, naturally use my hands a lot whenever I speak, my maternal great grandmother was Italian...?

my mother also has this hand habbit too, her mother doesn't, and her PATERNAL grandmother was an Italian immigrant

does this mean I have inherited this as an Italian trait?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Absolutely not. The need to communicate is a species wide "inheritance". The methods of communication, be it language (verbal and/or written) or expressive is learned.

The only natural communications we are born with are an expression of trouble/displeasure (the frown - crying) and happiness (smile - laughing). It is assumed that this evolved as a survival mechanism so an infant can communicate with it's caregiver. That is it. Every other form of communication is learned.

The 1945 study mentioned in another answer was actually a study of the retention of cultural learning of the exceptionally young even when removed from the environment at a young age. No, it's just your mannerisms. Idiosyncracies are hereditary. Your values are enforced by your environment. My father's family was mostly Irish. I am a head wagger. Yes indeed, Hand use is as inherited as eye color or hair color. People first noticed this in 1945, when Swedes started adopting Italian war orphans. Olaf Olafson, the famed anthropologist, made a study of it. But, like male pattern baldness, it sometimes skips a generation. Your children may be limited to what they can pronounce, leaving what they gesture to THEIR children.

I'm Irish. I drink a lot and tell long, rambling stories. All of my Irish ancestors did too. We don't use our hands, but we have such beautiful voices people don't mind. Listening to me talk is like listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing, except I tell dirty jokes and they don't. I can always count on Ted to have one hilarious answer per day.
In Wendy's humble opinion, I would not call this so much genetic as cultural. Italians seem to be known for being expressive, free with emotions, outgoing, exuberant. All of which I translate as positive and complimentary. I don't think there is one bit of any scientific evidence to back this up. I do think we are influenced by our ancestry in many ways.