Summer travel often includes international travel, exploring countries and cultures very different from our own. This brings lots of wonderful new experiences and memories. It can also expose us to potential communication challenges both with language and cultural differences, making us feel like a fish out of water.
What can you do to help your travels go more smoothly?
- Do some research into what’s considered polite vs rude.
- Learn at least a few polite phrases in the language of the country you will be visiting.
- Build some flexibility into your timing or schedule.
Here are some examples to highlight some cultural differences:
Hugging
- Japan = couples only
- Hungary = for condolences or seeing someone after a very long absence.
A casual, friendly hug as a greeting would not go over well in these countries!
Cleaning Your Plate
- India or Japan = a sign of respect, they don’t like wasting food
- China = a sign that you are still hungry.
Slurping your food
- USA = rude
- Japan = slurping noodles is a sign that you are enjoying your meal and is a signal of respect.
“Thank you”
- most Western cultures = used frequently and often as a sign of gratitude or appreciation.
- India = reserved for formal occasions, and if used in a more casual setting it can be taken as a rather rude.
Using Language to Your Advantage
I was blessed with the opportunity to go on an African wildlife viewing safari in Tanzania with my family a while back, and I wanted to be polite and learn a few phrases in Swahili, the local common language in Tanzania.
Thankfully I had a friend who did work in Eastern Africa and was fluent in Swahili, and she was kind enough to give me a tutorial. She taught me that the polite greeting (equivalent to hello, how are you) is Hujambo, and the polite response is Sijambo (I’m fine) – FYI Jambo is the shortened, more familiar version (Hi!).
Upon meeting our guide for the first time, I greeted him with Hujambo. His face lit up with pleasure, he responded with Sijambo, then promptly launched into a string of rapid Swahili! I hastily indicated that I wasn’t that fluent, and we laughed a bit.
But that set the tone for our entire time in Tanzania – we took the time to get to know his language a bit and made it a point to get to know the people a little as well in every camp we stayed in. As a result we made friends along the way.
Language Differences Can Also Happen at Home
Language and cultural differences can also impact us at home, as more and more people move and travel around the globe. You might work with or live by someone who grew up in another country and speaks another language.
If they are speaking in your native language and seem like they are speaking at a lower educational level than you would expect, consider the fact that they may be dealing in a second or third language and needing to translate everything in their head before they speak.
- Be patient and slow your speaking speed a little bit – not in an exaggerated way that makes them feel like you think they are stupid, just not at the rapid rate that tends to blur the pauses between words.
- Just because they may not have the words easily say what they mean does not mean they do not understand you fully. Speaking a language can be harder than reading or understanding a language.
I encountered this when I worked at the circus. We had people from 20 different countries all working together. I was lucky – most of them spoke at least some English.
I interacted with the head horse guy multiple times a day, and he was Polish. His English was quite good and most of the time we communicated with relative ease. Then we encountered a situation where he didn’t know the English vocabulary to describe what he needed – and I knew absolutely ZERO Polish!
Thankfully we both knew a spattering of German, and he was able to communicate what he needed in German in a way that I could understand him. We had a good laugh over that situation! Broken elementary school German saved the day!
Pace Yourself
Timing and the pace of a culture may also vary from what you are used to. Especially in countries that have very hot climates, people tend to move at a slower pace, and often the middle of the day is too hot to be out and about. Shops may close mid-day but be open late into the evening. This may also be reflected in the language – starting with niceties and small talk instead of leading with a direct question or request.
Tips to navigating language and cultural differences:
- Do some research in advance about what is considered polite behavior.
- Learn some basic phrases in their language.
- Speak clearly at a moderate pace.
- Avoid slang and idioms, they often do not translate well.
- If a larger, more complex word doesn’t seem to make sense, try a simpler version.
- Take the time to be curious about the people you meet.
- Be friendly and gracious in your interactions.
