The article ‘Individualist-Collectivist’ classifies cultures as individualistic and collectivistic. The main difference is that the smallest unit of survival in the individualistic culture is an individual, while in the collectivistic culture it is a small, or primary group. This group is usually the immediate family that represents the smallest unit of survival. Travelling, reading, and experiencing I am able to conclude that in general terms American culture classifies as individualistic, while the culture of my target language is more of a collectivistic. Luckily, I can relate to either since I view my culture as a blend of both.
I believe that Bosnian culture has a facade of individualistic culture, and the soul of the collectivistic kind of culture. Furthermore, the classification of culture in broad terms can be divided between the East and West. East would be more of a collective, family oriented type of culture, while the West represents individualistic approach. Also, I would like to emphasize that one should not generalize and ‘place’ every single individual who belongs to the either of these two types of cultures in the same ‘box’. I have met individuals from the West who are more of a collectivist mind-set than some people from the East. People are different and one’s personal background and life experience determines where he or she sees him/herself in terms of culture and identity.
The culture of my target language is a collectivist type of culture. Indians reflect this cultural aspect through their usage of suffix ji to names of people regardless on their gender. For example, when showing respect to a woman one would say Gitaji, while to a man it would be Puriji. While in individualistic cultures there are specific terms such as Mr., Mrs., and Ms. Another difference between these cultures is the presence (or lack of) personal space. In the US I would feel rude and inappropriate to approach a person to the same distance at which I would feel free and comfortable at home. This is not due to my personal discomfort, but my awareness of the other culture and me trying to adapt to it which is not always easy.
Differences in interpretations of time, gestures and manners, explain a lot about a certain culture. Furthermore, understanding these parts of nonverbal communication enables the learner to understand the ways in which people perceive time, each other, the world, and life in general. Nonverbal communication in collectivist cultures conveys a great percentage of the real message. It (nonverbal communication) is also closely connected to the usage of language and words in it as the example above demonstrates (ji vs. Mr., Mrs., Ms.).
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