This is the second day of school. Thousands of students go to classes everyday. They came from different countries, belong to different ethnic groups, speak different languages and represent different cultures.
Yes, just look around. In addition to American students, you will see international students from all over the world. They look different and speak and behave differently.
The way people talk to and interact with others gives insights about their cultural values. Language-based norms reflect significant aspects of the structure of any society.
For example, what terms do you usually use to designate the person you are talking to? English has only one second person pronoun -- you -- which doesn't allow any distinctions concerning formality.
Such a distinction is very important in some other languages. The plural forms -- "vous" in French and "sie" in German -- are used to show respect either because the addressee has a higher social status or because the speaker does not have a close personal relationship with the addressee. The singular forms -- "tu" in French and "du" in German -- are used for people who are either close to the speaker or of lower social status.
When speakers of languages that have only one second person pronoun learn French or German they make typical mistakes in mixing the two pronouns. This means that in addition to learning the vocabulary and grammar of another language, you need to understand key aspects about the cultural structure of its speakers in order to be able to speak that language the right way.
Addressing people of higher status with their first names seems to be OK in the Western culture, but it is deemed rude in some other cultures. American students would freely say, for example, "Hi, John!" to a professor or "Hi, Kris!" to a chairperson. In contrast, Arab and Asian students insist on addressing people with their appropriate titles; "Dr. X," "Mr. Y" or "Mrs. Z."
In Saudi Arabia, students address professors with the formula Dr. + first name, such as "Dr. Muhammad." Using only the first name without "Dr." is not an acceptable and considered impolite. First name is used only to address a spouse, a classmate or a friend.
In some cultures kinship terms are used to address non-kin. In Chinese culture kinship terms could be used with seniors, juniors and even strangers to establish some kind of family solidarity. However, kinship terms of the father's family are used more than those of the mother's family to address non-relatives. Relatives on the paternal side in the Chinese culture are considered more important than to those on the maternal side which reflects characteristics of a patriarchal society.
I heard American students on campus use kinship terms to address other people. This is the way one of my black friends greets me when he sees me in the gym: 'Hey brother, how y' doin'?
There are many international students attending Ball State. Have you tried to talk to a classmate who looks from another country?
The Culture Exchange program is a weekly activity organized by The Center for International Programs on weekly basis. Students from different countries introduce their cultures in informal presentations. Ball State students are invited to learn more about different social traditions and cultural norms represented on campus.
Write to Fahad at fahad765@yahoo.com.
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