Culture refers to the customs, practices, languages, values and world views that define social groups such as those based on nationality, ethnicity, region or common interests. Cultural identity is important for people’s sense of self and how they relate to others. However, it could cause some problems if people of the same cultural group have their behaviour misinterpreted.
There was one time when I was standing in a train. When the train reached the next stop, two Bangladeshis boarded the train and stood beside me. I noticed that they were holding hands, I felt quite embarrassed then. Soon, they began to hug each other. It was then when I really could not stand it and I alighted the next stop. At that point of time, I thought they were homosexuals and being a conservative Singaporean, I am not that open minded. As I was the only youth on that train, I believed people of the older generation on that train would have the same feeling as I had. I guess the two Bangladeshis have no idea how the others view them. It was only when I spoke to my friends about this that I know it is a norm for Banglasdeshis men to hug each other with no homosexual connotations to it.
In conclusion, relationship between culture and communication is an intimate but complex one. Without communication such as human interaction and communication media, it would be impossible to pass along cultural characteristics from one person to another. As such, culture is transmitted and learnt through communication.
Hey Cai Jie,
ReplyDeleteI felt uncomfortable too when I first saw two Bangladeshi males holding hands. I became accustomed to it after seeing more of them doing the same and realised, "They can't all be gays right?".
I find it an admirable sight now as it simply a display of friendship. I assume that they do not find any homosexual connotations associated with it as the Bangladeshis have faced much hardship and struggles in their country too. They probably find such issues trivial compared to other critical issues.
People of different cultures have their own unique worldview lens. I feel only when we exchange those lens then we are able to have a more effective communication.
Hi Cai Jie,
ReplyDeleteI have observed similar situations like what you have described in your blog post. Initially, when I saw two men behaving like this I had similar reactions like you. Over time, I learnt that holding hands or hugging each other were ways through which they display their brotherhood.
I believe that our cultures have shaped our perception of intimate behaviour. I believe that most Singaporean Chinese are very reserved when it comes to such display of affection. So, we may misunderstand their actions. Therefore, learning more about their culture prevent any misunderstanding in the future. From this, we learn that it is important to know more about a person's cultural background before we react inappropriately and offend the other party.
Hey Cai Jie,
ReplyDeleteI guess most of us would encounter this culture shock when we didn’t realize that this is a norm to them. I was surprised too when I first saw it in Singapore. My first reaction was to look away quickly as I’m afraid they will think that I’m staring at them. It is when my teacher told us that this is their culture, then only we realized that we made a false judgment on them. However, I have a friend who still could not accept this fact and chose to believe that it is something not right. I think what is right and wrong in a culture is very subjective. No one can come out with a rule and list of the ‘right’ culture behaviors. And often what seems wrong to us may be due to the fact that we lack proper understanding.
In addition, I think knowing and accepting is two different thing, for instance my friend who is still critical of Bangladeshi men holding hands in public. By disapproving their behavior, this will pose a cultural barrier for communication as we’ll tend to stay away from them. Even if we couldn’t communicate verbally with the Bangladeshi due to language barrier, but I think we still can show respect through non-verbal communications such as giving them a smile. =)
Hey CJ,
ReplyDeleteAs my Team Plastic Bag group mates would already know, this is an issue that I have particular interest in. =]
Our foriegn workers are becoming the unsung heroes of our country and more effort is needed to welcome them into our society. And the first step is always to communicate.
Even before the language barrier can become an issue, thier unique behaviour and practices serve as an even bigger barrier in our communication with them. This, coupled with our skewed perspective of them, prevents us from accepting them for who they are.
Initially, I found such actions, as you have described above, unnerving too but as a society, I feel that Singaporeans have to step up efforts to be more accepting of our cultural differences and hence, open up the lines of communication! =]