The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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FEATURES © DANA | DREAMSTIME.COM The English-speaking nations are timedriven. An 'ability' to ignore time can drive British people crazy prepared way from the head, where facts may be carefully contrived. Deadlines Learn to be less rigid about deadlines. The English-speaking nations are time-driven. We even have expressions such as 'time is money'. Other nations may be driven by other imperatives. For example, they may insist on achieving the highest standard of quality, even if it takes longer than originally estimated. A lack of punctuality and an 'ability' to ignore time can drive British people crazy. Even on the way to an important meeting, most Brazilians would stop to chat if they were to meet an old friend and would find it very difficult to interrupt the conversation. They would prefer to be late for the meeting, favouring relationships over punctuality. If you are in Spain, you will soon discover that mañana may mean 'tomorrow' to you, but to the Spanish it simply means 'not today'. Meetings In Britain, we have meetings all the time, and we follow a certain protocol, but it's not the same all over the world. When a European team was working on an aid project in Guatemala, after the first meeting, they expected minutes to be circulated. None came. So at the next regular meeting they explained that it was customary to write minutes and circulate them soon afterwards. Still no minutes. At the next meeting, they explained why minutes were important, not only for those who attended but also to reassure their masters back home about the work that was being done in Guatemala. The Guatemalans did not regard meetings as occasions for decision making, rather as Vol/52 No/4 2013 opportunities to get together and reinforce relationships. They could not understand all the fuss about minutes. So at the next meeting they arrived with the minutes already written – just to satisfy the Europeans. The lesson here is to establish how meetings are run – and for what purpose – when you are in another country. Communication I want to make two points here. The first is about the style of communication. Some nations, such as the Japanese and north Europeans, like facts and figures; others, such as the Americans, like emotional appeal and always open their presentations with a joke. It would be a mistake to use the American approach in northern Europe, and vice versa. The second point is about the use of language. Native English speakers use a lot of colloquial expressions that are meaningless to people from other countries. The expression 'out of sight, out of mind' was translated into Russian as 'blind idiot'. Sporting expressions should also be avoided: 'ball-park figure', 'level playing field', 'knock it for six'. To you, these expressions may seem commonplace but not everyone knows baseball, football or cricket. Colloquialisms get in the way of clear communication abroad. Face 'Face' is a concept that is second nature to Orientals but little understood in the West. At its simplest level, it is about never making someone else embarrassed or uncomfortable. But it is much more than that. 'Face' lies at the root of all business relationships in Asia, and is an essential ingredient in all social contact there. It is about giving respect and about not undermining someone else's self-respect. It is about acknowledging one another's place in society. It is so important, yet there is not one line about 'face' in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. A colleague was giving a talk in Asia and mentioned a common mistake people make. In typical British fashion, he said, 'Hands up anyone who has been stupid enough to have made that mistake'. Everyone in the room froze. No one even blinked an eye in case it could be interpreted as a public admission. They would have lost face. Learning his lesson, when he gave his next talk, he said, 'Hands up if, like me, you have been stupid enough to make that mistake.' This time, every hand in the room went up. They did not want him to lose face by being the only stupid one. Even when we try to get it right, we can get it wrong! It takes a combination of good selfawareness, cross-cultural knowledge and cultural sensitivity to be effective across cultures. If you want to get on in business across the globe, make sure you do your homework about the countries you will be visiting. Understand their values, what makes them tick and, above all, how they communicate; do they speak frankly or do they hint at what they mean? Few people take offence when a mistake is made and the intent is good. But when things get tough or are continually 'going wrong', we tend to revert back to our own worst stereotypes, and resentment begins to build. Don't take things personally; reach out and try to put yourself in others' shoes. Then you just might see a different world and enrich your own outlook. AUGUST/SEPTEMBER The Linguist 17