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Body language is very important in Italian communication, as Italians are among the most emotionally demonstrative cultures (in fact, I chose to focus my presentation this week on body language and hand gestures, especially in business settings). Family is the most important affiliation in Italian society. In general, there is much less "personal space" then we're used to in the US, and pushing/shoving/crowding is not considered particularly rude. (After I returned from living in Italy, I had to dial down my aggression level when riding the metro in Washington DC!) Introductions are especially key. Cheek kissing is common among acquaintances, with pairs kissing once on each cheek. Handshakes may also be long. You will often see men ambracing, and two men or two women are perfectly comfortable walking arm in arm together. Eye contact is also important. To call over a waiter, you must make eye contact and raise your finger--otherwise, they won't bring the check. In terms of boundaries, Italy also has a very flirtatious culture, which is widely accepted. A particularly unusual custom is that without fail Italians clap when their plane lands!
Hebrew is mainly spoken in Israel, where one culture is hard to define. The culture of Israel is a mixture of all the cultures brought by the immigrants throughout the years. However, some general assumptions can be made.
Israel is more monochronic and collectivist. Several studies found that the Jewish Israelis are far more monochronic and less collectivist than their Arab Israeli peers.
Hands can speak in Israel!
1-Hand out in a pinched formation: means wait a second.
2-Two hands in pinched mode-talking about something very specific.
3-Twisting hand to the side of the head: Means you are stupid or crazy.
4-Shaking the head and saying "why, why, why": means what I just did was incredible, no?
I have 170 flashcards with words on them so I know 170 words
My goal is to keep learning about ten a day to 50 a week. Its too low, so no not to high.
I have not been reading but today my language partner (
Rohina Sediqui |
made me read out loud and I know all the letters really well she said. I read about culture of Iran but should I read a children's book?
I met with a new partner:
Rohina Sediqui |
we went over the alphabet as it is in written form different than by itself, the seven that don't connect. How to say I am american, I am iranian, I am afghanistani, how to say I study, I study electrical engineering, except, family, nephews, everbody, all, husband, spouse
she taught me that there are four "hidden vowels" or short vowels that go onto below and look like squigglies
I learned some vocabulary: transliteratted: was-a-ghan (vocabulary), tamreenha
gufto-go: conversation (talking)
film: sounds same =
dastori= instructions
ta la fuz = pronunciation
far hung = culture
durk-e khawandan: to understand to read
My goals for the next two weeks are learning how to introduce my family members, asking for time, and be able to lead a simple conversation with my language partner. I will use the dictionary to learn family members and their professions. For this goal, I will record a video with pictures of my family and I will talk about each one.
I currently learned the numbers in Hebrew, so I need to learn how to tell the time (they use the numbers and "quarter-past, half past, etc.). I will also watch videos of simple conversations in Hebrew and use computer programs to find information on this topic. I will record a video with my language partner where I will introduce myself, ask about the time, and carry out a small conversation.
To evaluate my progress, I will rely on my language partner to help me evaluate my success.
I found these readings on how we process and analyze language to be particularly interesting. I suppose that when we’re really studying a language in depth (whether it’s our native language or something new) it’s helpful to understand the most fundamental processes. The chapter “How the Brain Handles Language” reminded me of my AP Psychology class in high school. I remember learning about the relationship between Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, and language disabilities then. I also thought the section about the neurological processes involved in tongue slips was very interesting. It’s a situation that seems so random, but is actually very formulaic—and when I was reflecting back on the times that I’d recently made tongue slips, that pattern was pretty clear to me. The chapter discussing semantics was interesting too. I enjoyed the notion of the naturalist approach vs. the conventionalist approach. I certainly think that there are words that sound like what they are (not just onomatopoetic words)—shampoo, tub, and windshield are all ones that come to mind, but those could just be my own personal associations J
I thought the discussion of monosemic words and collocations were particularly applicable to our study of new languages. Monosemic words are so helpful in learning new languages, since they only have one use! Since collocations are groups of lexemes working together they allow us to understand language by prediction (such as what words go together). Additionally, because these collocations are understood by everyone in a given language (and are not made by personal association), they can be relied upon. I think they’re helpful building blocks of phrases to master!
Cross-cultural communication is extremely important and inevitable in today’s age of globalization. One will likely have to interact with members of another culture at some point, whether this is in a business, school, or travel setting. I studied this topic in depth in one of my Leadership Studies courses (Leadership in International Contexts) by looking at Hofstede’s analysis of the different cultural dimensions (in addition to the other dimensions laid out in the readings here). The cultural dimensions of learning a language are usually not based on the actual words of the language but on all of the other types of communication that go along with it. Thus, it’s important to be cognizant of all forms of cross-cultural communication we’re presenting, and to be understanding, patient, and open when experiencing a new culture. These were lessons that I was told during my study abroad orientation and ones that we emphasized as international orientation advisors for exchange students back at Richmond.
Living and studying in Italy made me very aware of some of these differences. Italian culture is much more polychronic and external than American culture. On any given morning, when I would leave my apartment for the bus stop at the same time every day, sometimes the bus would come within 5 minutes and sometimes it would take 40 minutes. Time is not to be rushed. People linger over meals and enjoy each other’s company. Relaxation and enjoying life are emphasized. Additionally, a lot of things are viewed as beyond one’s control. I often really enjoyed this approach to life. It was much less stressful and invited me to live in the present moment fully. However, it could also be extremely frustrating, such as when I got up early and walked 40 minutes to my teaching internship only to find the school closed for an obscure holiday/strike/students just decided not to show up that no one had thought to notify me of ahead of time. I had to take an internship seminar along with actually completing an internship, and these cultural differences were ones we discussed frequently. On the opposite side of the coin from Italy in terms of these dimensions, I traveled to Austria and Germany. These countries are more monochromic than the US, and much more so than Italy. This was thrown into sharp relief in a funny way when I was traveling with my family by train to southern Austria from Florence. We had four trains canceled in the same day within Italy due to delays and a variety of other circumstances, but as soon as we crossed the Austrian border everything was a model of efficiency! Other cultural dimensions play a part too. I had a German friend at Richmond who I wasn’t sure was that friendly at first—she was very aloof and after we became closer she was extremely direct. Fortunately another American friend who had spent significant time in Germany informed me that those trait manifestations were just cultural differences. I think that cultural differences are one of the most important things to keep in mind when learning a new language, but also the most interesting.
today we read farsi and wrote farsi from hearing. we learned how to say have fun when departing; we were tested on our spelling because we had learned yesterday which letters connect and which don't. In culture I learned that the meem letter is not written as it is typed. I learned that hastam and astam have the same meaning and are used interchangeably. we practiced pronouns: I , you, them we he/she. we learned question-mark sawolia. Since there are no vowels in persian, we learned there are accent marks, zabar, zer, and pesh.
ever heard of the Hawaiian good luck sign?
we Americans don't kiss or hold hands. unless romantic
some american's want you to "look me in the eyes when I am talking to you"
when you are in trouble your parents do this?
This reminds me of a book I had to read for political science by cognitive linguist and professor of linguistics, Dr. George Lakoff. The title was Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate.
We didn't talk about internal and external locus of control in class because we were concerned with the words that people use and the values associated with them. It is true we found that there are
http://chalk.richmond.edu/langtech/sdlap/figuringforeignersout.pdf
In sociology class we learned that the same phrase How are you doing in buddhist cultures has a more literal meaning and that inquisitors are actually interested in how you feel and expect an honest answer. In America, it usually means "hi"
what do I know about Persian culture? There are at least 3 countries that speak Persian: Iran is only one, but...
"Indirect Communication – Iranians tend to have a very indirect communication style and rely
heavily on nonverbal cues and figurative forms of speech. This is a means of saving face
when communicating and maintaining individual honour. This aspect of Iranian culture has
to be carefully considered when doing business, because a direct refusal, for example, can be
interpreted as rude and impolite.
Hospitality – As in many other Middle Eastern countries, hospitality is a key value in Iranian
culture. Showing generosity and displaying welcoming behaviour is used as a way to
measure a person’s reputation and character. It is essential to accept hospitality always when
offered. Otherwise, it can be interpreted as a severe loss of honour for the person you are
doing business with.
Working practices in Iran
• The working week in Iran begins on Saturday and ends on Thursday. Friday is a
Muslim holy day for Iranians which should be respected when scheduling
meetings. Working hours tend to be from 9am to 5pm. Be aware of Muslim
holidays like Ramadan and schedule business meetings around them.
• Iranians have a flexible attitude towards time. Therefore, foreigners should not
expect meetings to always start and end on time; even though Iranians will expect
punctuality from them. Being patient and including some extra time in your
schedule can help business relationships.
• Muslims will pray five times a day. This routine may interrupt business schedules
so consider this when making business appointments with your Iranian colleagues.
o Structure and hierarchy in Iranian companies
• In Iran most companies have a top down hierarchy. Decisions are made by
directors and initiative and input from employees is not always welcomed.
• When addressing an Iranian colleague or client you have just met, it is crucial that
you use the correct title and are formal. The appropriate title for men is “agha”
followed by the last name while women should be addressed with “khanoom” and
the last name. Once the relationship becomes less formal, your Iranian counterpart
will probably call you by your first name.
o Working relationships in Iran
• Personal relationships are very important in Iranian business culture. It is common
to build a close personal relationship before starting to do business.
• Nowadays, an increasing number of women are working at all levels of business in
Iran. Nevertheless, there is still a very traditional understanding of gender roles in
Iran which should be considered when doing business as a woman.
Iranian Business Part 2 - Doing Business in Iran
o Business practices in Iran
• Greetings in Iran are usually initiated with a handshake between men. If a woman
is present, wait until she initiates a handshake. “Salaam 'Alaykum” (peace be upon
you) and the response “Alaykum As-Salaam” (and upon you be peace), or the short
form “Salaam” are common greetings in Iran."
taken from:
Figuring foreigners out article:
I think this is a very interesting article to read, and it is not only useful in learning a foreign language, but also will be useful in the future business world, such as cross cultural business management. Culture is a knowledge we can use to interpret our social behavior. It is shared and adaptive. This will definitely be helpful when we try to learn a language. The language can illustrate the complexity of culture's effect on behaviors. Different cultures express their emotions or feelings differently through languages. Like when I try to learn Korean, it is more easier for me to learn than learning English because Korean culture and Chinese culture are very similar in some cultural dimensions.
We both have high power distance, low individualism. We both donot express our feeling directly through language, and we are more likely to hide our emotions( neutral). In addition, culture values can help us to better understand the meaning of the conversation when we speak a second language, and avoid flaws and misunderstanding during conversations.
The reading from "Figuring Foreigners out" gives good explanations and examples of Individualist vs. collectivist, monochronic vs polychronic, internal vs external, direct vs. indirect communication, and nonverbal communication. As an individual who lived in three countries and met people from many more, I can only say that the reading is completely right. Most people you meet from the same culture will act very similarly, whether it is about speaking loudly or believing that they can achieve anything they set for. However, there is always one individual that breaks those stereotypes of the culture.
Languages are tools we use to communicate with each other. It is not surprising that each language is strongly related to the culture where it is spoken. However, it is difficult to say whether culture affects language or vice versa. Nevertheless, cultural dimensions are very important when learning a language. Idioms represent one of the most suitable examples were culture and language cross. Idioms are usually based on a historical event, a legend, or a song or movie that is famous in a specific culture. It is rare to find idioms that are shared globally.
Many people find language an culture directly related. That's the reason when immigrants try to reserve their culture in a foreign country, language is one of the most important aspects they reserve. It is no surprise that one would need to immerse into the culture of the target language in order to become fully aware of the language and to be comprehensive when speaking to a native speaker.
Therefore, it is necessary to learn more than vocabulary and grammar when learning a language. It is important to learn what is acceptable in the culture of the target language, what different gestures are good and which ones are considered disrespectful. After all, language is more than just spoken words; it is every gesture we make in order to communicate.
I scored my Korean competency based on the Levels of Competence sheet and the results are as follows:
Interpretative // Listening - Beginning 2; Reading - Beginning 2
Interpersonal // Speaking - between Beginning 0 & 1
Presentational // Speaking - between Beginning 0 &1; Writing - Beginning 1
As expected, my interpretative skills are more advanced than my interpersonal and presentational skills. My specific learning goals are as follows:
- Broaden my vocabulary (some choice topics: cooking, vocabulary found in the elementary textbook dialogue I am using)
- Speak more Korean, especially following along with characters in K-dramas to better my enunciation
- Write more Korean, even something as simple as writing song lyrics (since songs tend to be easier to understand than texts and written Korean is more difficult than spoken Korean)
I will utilize things that are of interest to me as sources of motivation; that is, Korean dramas and K-pop music.
After checking my level of competence, I am, as expected, a beginner0 in Hebrew in interpresonal communication, interpretive listening, interpretive reading presentational speaking, and presentational writing. I met with my language partner and we worked a bit on the alphabet and my learning plan. My goal for the semester is to learn the alphabet (read and write), greetings, and give a short presentation about food, music, and soccer. My ultimate goal is to speak the language fluently.
I will first work on the alphabet and greetings, and then move on to talking about my family and what they do. I will then attempt to have a simple conversation with my language partner or a friend who speaks Hebrew. I also have to learn about food, buying and describing food. To be able to talk about soccer, I will spend some time learning the positions and names of plays. I would also like to learn to speak about the weather, sports, health, and hobbies. My last two tasks are learning how to use the phone, formally and informally, and learn the travel signs.