Communication across cultures

Communication across cultures  

One of the biggest problems in this globalization world today is communicating across cultures at all levels. My wife was telling me how bad is the wound in her finger caused by cooking the other day but I thought she was asking me how the food for the dinner was. It was good that dinner was over or I might not even have one.  

This could be worse if we have to communicate in a different language across culture. One is probably blessed if he or she is born in a native English speaking country like UK, USA, Canada, and Australia. Otherwise, you must learn at least one foreign language which is English. A friend of mine told me the other day that just learning English is not enough nowadays.  You must pick up Chinese too if you live in the eastern part of the world and learn Spanish if you are in the other part of the western world.

Well, learning Spanish may be bearable, but what about Chinese. There are so many dialects in Chinese. Should I learn Cantonese or Shanghainese or Mandarin?   In a tiny land here in Thailand, there are at least 4 different major dialects not to mention half a dozen more of the hard to understand regional accents. How can Indian communicate with each others with so many dialects is really amaze me? And how about Lingo, Colloquiums, Jargons, Slang and what have you.

Teenagers in Thailand have recently developed their own new set of obscured vocabulary understood only among them. It took the Thai society or at least I myself a few years to understand what the word “Gig” or “Mouth” created by these youngsters mean. In August this Year (2007), the Thai national language group decided to gather a big portion of all these youngsters talk in to the new Thai dictionary. Well, “Gig” is a man or woman who is not your spouse but has a very special intimate relationship with. And “Mouth” means talk a lot. Even English dictionary is doing it too. The new English dictionary has words like “Google”, “Yahoo”, and many other internet newbie.  

Ironically, some words sound beautifully in one language can sounds disastrous in another language. The word “Pumpkin” in Thai sounds exactly the four letter words in English. The Chinese word in “Chewchow dialect” for “ear” sounds like the word “vagina” very rudely in Thai. A lovely Thai nickname ‘Tiu” means another four letter words in Cantonese. There are more like these and I can certainly write a book on it.  

If you are an interpreter or translator, you may have come across some words or phrases that are simply no appropriate translation. You can explain, citing examples and allegories, but still you can not come to the exact meaning of the word. A few Thai words certainly have this kind of characteristic nature. The most difficult one and essential is “Kreng – Jai”. 

“Kreng – Jai” is important and need to be tackled with care because it involves not only language but the understanding of the whole Thai culture and behavior. Many expatriates, missionaries, foreigners fail to understand Thai and the culture because they fail to understand this one single Thai word “Kreng – Jai” fully. Experts, Linguists, Expressionists, Sign & symbols reading have tried to put “Kreng – Jai” in one simple explanatory word or sentence or expression but has not been very successful so far in many years.    

In Thailand, you may not or can not do some certain thing even though you know it full well that it is right to do so because you simply have to “Kreng – Jai” another person. It is not a matter of right or wrong but the appropriateness of doing so. Many things that may seem to be straightforward, simple, and easy outside Thailand could be very complicated here in this land of smile if you do not handle “Kreng – Jai” rightly. Many times they can be escalated to be a life and death matters.    

If wife and husband can be so mistakenly wrong in certain conversation, how much more can nations do the same wrong with different languages and culture? Let us take cross cultures communication more seriously. Let us listen more and talk less, pay attention when listening, understand what is said before we talk. It may sound easy but it in fact takes a heap of efforts to do so. So let us all make best of our efforts in Communicating across cultures.