LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 14:11 November 2014
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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M. S. Thirumalai
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Challenges of Intercultural Living and Service

Steve Eliason

Images of Culture

Abstract

Kraft (1997) uses two illustrations to describe culture and how it interacts with people in that society: “A culture may be likened to a river, with a surface level and a deep level” (p. 31) “We may liken the interaction between people and their cultures to that between actors and their scripts ...” (p.38). This paper discusses the notions of culture as river bed and as the script of a drama. Examples from intercultural living and serving in the Philippines are cited and explained. Factors such as Translation and Communication, Choice of Words and Sentences, Language Learning and Progress through Errors of Understanding, Worshipping at the feet of Science, and the need to Understand the Culture of the Community You live in – We Can Do It vs No, We Can’t! are focused upon.

Key words:

intercultural living, images of culture, translation and communication, errors of understanding.

Images of Culture

Kraft (1997) uses two illustrations to describe culture and how it interacts with people in that society: “A culture may be likened to a river, with a surface level and a deep level” (p. 31) “We may liken the interaction between people and their cultures to that between actors and their scripts ...” (p.38)

The image of culture as a river is used to differentiate between what we can observe and what is partially or completely hidden. If one assumes that what is seen is all that there is, we are consciously or unconsciously forced to interpret meaning through the hidden things of our own culture. This will likely result in misunderstanding because unconfirmed assumptions have a great potential for error.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Steve Eliason
Bethany Global University
6820 Auto Club Road
Bloomington, MN 55438
USA
stevejeliason@gmail.com
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