Intercultural Communications Experiences with the Indians and Japanese
Oral Traditions, Communications and Cultural Norms
Oral tradition is a very important part of the tradition of a society because it enables the members of the society to be familiar and well conversant with the history of their society and nation as well as the preservation of historical knowledge. Oral traditions consist of many forms through which the tradition and knowledge are passed on to the succeeding generation. The major forms of oral tradition include tales, fables, myths, music and dances (NCREL, PAR. 3).
America
The American oral traditions and culture have long been disregarded or passed on as superstitious myths. The Americans do not have any strong ties to culture and they mostly believe in the freedom of an individual or a group to express themselves in the way that they find appropriate and respectful. However, due to the influence and the power that the United States of America hold in the entire world, most of the developing and third world countries have adopted the American way of life and embraced it in their society (Crocker, 5). This includes the manner of speaking and relating to each other. For instance, most countries around the world use English as the official language which is the native language for the Americans. The American culture is much westernized like the European culture and allows for diversity and equality of the rights of all genders and member of the society (Crocker, 5).
Japan
The Japanese cultural setting is deeply rooted in the unity of the community and focuses on the country as a whole. The Japanese are patriotic and have a deep relationship with their family and society. As such, they have a tendency to be uncomfortable when around foreigners and they highly resist any changes related to their cultural beliefs. The Japanese have a high loyalty to the cultural believes and norms. It is better for them to sacrifice individual comfort or needs and conform to the virtues of the society. Individualism is not considered as a norm in the society. It is taken to imply that a person is selfish and disrespectful of the society (Kobayashi, par. 2, 3).
In Japan, every person is usually expected to conform to the societal norms and ways, although there are several exceptions through which the recent generation has intentionally used to mock the cultural conformity. In Japan, the group needs usually come before personal needs. As a result, the Japanese are usually guided by their cultural heritage in the way they communicate and translate oral communications in their relationships with people from a different culture. This is particularly the case with the Japanese Americans (Wood, par. 1-4).
American society on the other hand is usually guided by the strong values that it places on individualism and personal uniqueness. Even in the communication and personal relationships with people, the American culture encourages an individual to stand out from the crowd while the Japanese discourage this. In an exceptionally endogamous Japanese society, understanding was not dependent on literal talking but communication was greatly made possible through a shared communal understanding that did not involve words. Too much speaking in Japan is associated with either immaturity or empty hardheadedness and more so has to do with women. Furthermore, little verbal communication such as silence is taken to imply incompleteness or lack of satisfaction in the manner of communicating (Wood, par. 1-4).
Difficulties in communicating with the native Japanese are mostly encountered in their non receptive nature to strangers. They believe that they are not supposed to interact with other people, save for fellow Japanese. Therefore, approaching them is a problem as majority of them will shun away because it is not a cultural norm to welcome foreigners in their land (Acevedo, par. 3- 5). However, the literates are a bit different as they have learned that other people are just like them and they are transforming their society positively by embracing change by not only welcoming foreigners but also pursuing further studies in the foreign countries, for example, America. The Japanese American students will initially have the tendency to keep to themselves or just relate with their fellow Japanese when in the classroom and also try to live together in a given estate so that they can maintain their home culture. But with time, this behavior has also been decaying and there is quite a good number who live just like the Americans, with only a few cultural values (Acevedo, par. 3- 5).
Appearance in the work place A way of communication
The Japanese people believe that the appearance of a person, especially in an official setting is very important. According to them, it is a perfect way of communication. For example, any person who is not dressed officially in a business setting is perceived as less serious. This trait is the same even with the American culture, and all the others across the globe. However, the ladies are not supposed to wear trousers in the office setting. It doesn t matter whether the trouser is an official one. This is because the men are usually disgusted by these kinds of women. Therefore, it becomes difficult for the Japanese men to interact with ladies from the other cultures who do not find wearing trousers as offensive. Though indirect, it communicates a message, that such kinds of ladies are disrespectful. On the other hand, it is not wrong for the American ladies to wear trousers at their places of work (Williams, Japan).
According to the Japanese people, any lady who wears high heeled shoes is also disrespectful. The message sent across to the Japanese men is that these ladies are not submissive. Additionally, they crave for power and want to dominate over the men, which is against the Japanese culture. The American culture has got no attached meaning to all these. A woman who wears high heels is only seen to be fashionable. In fact, there exists no unequal treatment of men and women in their society. All the men and women are considered to be the same. There are even leadership positions which are held by women (Williams, Japan).
The Japanese people are not fond of communicating using gestures. Their culture demands that the only way communication is acceptable is when they talk. Otherwise, using dramatic movements, gestures and facial expressions will be perceived as a weird way of communication. It will only distract them, which means that in a work situation, the Japanese would not concentrate on the instructions being given. This will also apply in an interview. The interview panel ought to be cautious when hiring Japanese nationals, as the use of gestures will distract all their concentration. Pointing is also forbidden in the Japanese culture. Facial expressions are common with the American people. This is especially so when someone is trying to emphasize a point (Williams, Japan).
An employer should therefore be very careful when dealing with the Japanese employees. Ordinarily, the Japanese people come from densely populated regions. Therefore, they have a tendency of creating their own spaces. This is also seen in the places of work. The Japanese prefer to work in privacy therefore, the management of a company should always ensure that their offices are spacious enough, so as to perform effectively. For the Americans, it is a requirement to have a comfortable working position. However, the issue of space is not cultural, like in the Japanese culture. When dealing with a Japanese workmate, it is always advisable to avoid smiling. This is because it has got a double meaning in their culture. It can either be a symbol of anger or joy. Therefore, one should be cautious when dealing with them, as they can easily misunderstand smiles as a form of facial expressions. Smiling has only got one meaning in the American culture, which is happiness. It is very rare for a person to smile when he or she is angry, not unless the smile is sarcastic (Williams, Japan).
The Japanese people value business cards. They term them as meishi. They appreciate very much when they are given business cards in a working environment. However, the business cards have to be printed on one side using the Japanese language. This applies even to the Japanese nationals who are fluent in English. If a person from Japan gives a business card with all the details, one should not put the card in the wallet immediately. One should first read the details of the cards so as to make sure he or she has internalized them. Careful examination of the card is a sign of deep respect. The official greeting of the Japan people is through bowing. However, some of them give handshakes, though weak ones. A person from a different culture should not perceive the weak handshake as a sign of disrespect, as their culture demands so (Williams, Japanese).
On the other hand, the American people are not so sensitive to the mannerisms like the ones the Japanese have related to the business cards. As long as they have the business card with them, they can always look for the details later. Additionally, the business card is normally written in English, and all the titles and locations are stated. The official greeting is a handshake. In official setting like interviews and in work places, there is no need for handshakes, as it seen as casual (Williams, Japanese).
India
The culture of the Indian people is significantly evident in almost every area of life. It is possible to tell that a person is a native of India after interacting with him or her for a short while. They are very loyal to their culture and most of these cultural norms and behavior are founded on the Hindu religion. It is not a cultural norm in India for the females to shake hands with the males unless in exceptional situations where the males extend the hand first. The females shake hands with the females and the males with the males. In addition, they also believe that there is a spirit that controls the mannerisms and behavior of every person and the way they relate with other people (Indian Mirror, par. 3). For instance, they avoid the use of abusive language and arguments with other people because they believe that such actions displease the spirits that are present in the society. This explains the reason as to why the Indians are generally calm and composed and less likely to cause trouble as compared to other people. The oral traditions and communications are usually through the spoken word of mouth as well as through the tales and fables and Indian sayings and proverbs. Songs and Indian dances are also a major channel via which the oral traditions are passed on in India (Budelman, par. 2-3).
India has in many occasions been referred to as the living Tower of Babel . On average, there are 15 national languages in India which are recognized by the constitution these are spoken in more than 1600 dialects. Adding this to the more than 900 million people population in India, these statistics make great sense. The official language of India is Hindi but English is the official working language. India has a broad variety of languages. In addition to English and Hindi, other popular languages in India include Guajarati, Kannada, Assamese, Konkani, Sanskrit, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugi, Marathi and Urdu (Indian Mirror, par. 6).
One major characteristic with the way in which the Indians communicate is the fact that the Indians just can t say no whether it is verbal or non verbal, the Indians will prefer to tell you what you want to hear instead of disappointing you by saying that something is not possible or is unavailable. This behavior ends up portraying a tendency to be dishonest and insincere although they usually do this in an attempt to avoid being rude by disappointing somebody (Budelman, par. 4). Therefore, because they dislike giving someone negative answers, the Indians at times give affirmative but mis-representative answers, while at the same time deliberately vague and avoid giving the specific details. Thus, this requires somebody to seek for non-verbal cues such as the reluctance in committing to specific time for a meeting or enthusiasm in the answers being offered for questions. This is the greatest challenge when communicating with the Indians because they are likely to provide wrong information which may greatly affect the way one relates with them. Successes in communicating with the Indians however is found in the fact that they are very welcoming and willing to provide a stranger with the best reception and information that they can (Budelman, par. 4).
Mannerisms A communication method
According to the Indians, it is very wrong for someone to beckon others. Additionally, wagging one finger is considered as an insult, and standing with the hands on ones hips is very wrong. All these actions pass a message, that the person is aggressive and angry. This is very different from the American culture. Whistling is also very wrong, especially in places of work. It is considered as a very impolite action and an insult too. To the women, it is considered as a sexual proposition or an insult. Whistling is just taken literally, where the meaning of humming brings a feeling of joy or relaxation. If a person in employed by an Indian national, he should learn the language to use. It is very wrong for an Indian to say no . This term has got very harsh implications. It is better for someone to respond I will try . It is perceived as a way of being polite. This is very important in the working environment, especially during negotiation processes in the communication field. On the other hand, the term no is just used to show the opinion of the person speaking (Williams, India).
The Indians are very cautious when it comes to giving titles at the work place. It is very important for people to refer to each other as Dr, Ms, Mrs., Mr., or any titles that they are assigned. This is similar to the American cultures, who also consider culture as very important. In cases where there are business luncheons organized by the managers in a work place, it is always expected that the workers should appreciate with the words thank you , as it is in the American culture. This is different in the culture of the Indians. This is because thank you is considered as a way of payment. Failing to say thank you in the American culture is perceived as unappreciative. It is a very important word to use it the day to day interactions, as it portrays respect (Williams, India).
Unlike the Japanese culture, it is not wrong for the Indian women to wear pantsuits in places of work. However, they should be conservative in the way they dress. The men are supposed to wear official suits and ties in their places of work. It is not wrong for them to remove the coats in cases of hot weather. This is the same with the American culture. The only difference is that the American women do not necessarily dress in a conservative way. They dress officially and decently (Williams, India).
Successes and failures in communicating with the Indian and Japanese
The Japanese are very conservative as far as communication is concerned . It is very hard for them to interact with strangers. These people are very unreceptive to visitors. It is therefore very important for organizations to ensure that they insist on loyalty to the company so as to achieve good results. This character of being introverts has been a disadvantage as far as business is concerned. The day to day interactions have also been affected. However, they are perfect when keeping the top secrets of any organization (Williams, Japan).
The Indians have a very close association between religion and their day to day living. Therefore, they require a lot of freedom of worship, which cannot even be restricted by the jobs that they do. All the same, they are very devoted to their work, and they ensure that the companies they are employed in make profits (Williams, Japan).
There are several ways through which the inter-cultural communication can be improved to avoid the problems associated with communicating with the people of different cultural backgrounds. Such include the use of translators, efforts to learn other languages, encouraging other countries where English has not yet been adopted to learn English as a second language since it is used by many countries in the world (Payne, par. 2- 4).
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