Reading

Most misunderstanding passenger

As the plane left runway, the German tourist bolted from his seat, shoving aside a flight attendant who tried to stop him He had to go to the bathroom, he later told a judge.

But on that January flight from Fort Lauderdale to Hanover, Germany, something got lost in the translation.

“The roof is going to go!” was what the flight attendant said she heard him say, as he made a sweeping gesture with his arms as if to indicate a gigantic explosion.

The plane was brought back to Fort Lauderdale, and the passenger was arrested on federal charges of interfering with a flight crew and making a bomb threat.

The tourist spent nine months in jail, until a German-speaking judge released him. Apparently, The German expression “then the roof flies” is slang for having to use the bathroom.

1. What was the reason for miscommunication?

2. Was the punishment fair? Why?

3. Why do language expressions like “The roof is going to go!” might become barriers in understanding messages?

4. How are such expressions called?

5. When is it proper to use them?

Case study

In your culture, how would you react if:

• someone arrived yearly for work? Exactly on time? 20 minutes late? One hour late?

• a train arrived at the station earlier than expected? Exactly on time? 20 minutes late? One hour late?

• a guest arrived for dinner 15 minutes earlier than invited? Precisely at the time specified by the host? 20 minutes late? One hour late?

Here are some American expressions that have to do with time. Which statements match up with which of these American values about time?

American Values

• Time is money.

• Time is a limited resource.

• Time is a valuable commodity.

English expressions

• Do you have any time to spare?

– Thank you for giving me your time.

– The plane lost time due to the strong prevailing winds.

– There isn`t enough time to do that now.

– How did you spend your free time?

– I need to put aside some time to catch up on my correspondence.

– Don`t waste my time making excuses.

– She`s investing a lot of time in her new job at the bank.

What are some common Russian/Kazakh expressions that reflect our society`s ideas about time?

Building intercultural skills

1. What kinds of personal power do you invoke with your labels?

2. Do you know how many language groups were represented in your institute?

3. Is it true to your opinion that when we lose languages we lose cultures?

4. As the use of e-mail and Internet chat rooms increases, certain communication styles will probably become more important because of the unique kind of communication involved in such text-based media. What is the preferred style for e-mail and computer-mediated communication?

5. Practice expanding your language repertoire in intercultural situations. When you speak with others whose first language is different from yours, speak more slowly, use easy-to-understand words and simple sentences, avoid slang.

6. Meet in small groups with other class members and come up with a list of general labels used to refer to people from other countries who come to Russia as immigrants. For each label, identify a general connotation (positive, negative and mixed). Discuss how the connotations of these words may influence our perceptions of people from other countries.

7. Standards of beauty vary widely across cultures, but people with the most symmetrical faces are more likely to be considered beautiful across cultures, regardless of supposed racial or cultural markers of beauty. Is beauty truly in the eye of the beholder?

8. Why do you think nonverbal communication is so necessary before (and after) we have the ability to communicate verbally?

9. Become more conscious of your nonverbal behavior in intercultural encounters. Practice your encoding skills. You can do this by noting the nonverbal behavior of others – their facial expression, gestures, eye contact. Check to see if their nonverbal communication is telling you that they understand or misunderstand you.

10. Choose a cultural space that you’re interested in studying. Visit this space on 4 different occasions to observe how people interact there. Focus on eye contact and personal space. Based on your observations, list some rules about proper nonverbal behavior in this cultural space.