Cultural Differences from an Interpreter’s Perspective

Working as an interpreter puts one between two cultures and provides a perfect window to observe intriguing cross-culture communication (conflict/misunderstanding).

Underlying linguistic differences aside, I would say, cultural conflict/misunderstanding usually derives from a rush to assume. People tend to assume others would take the same perspective and jump to conclusions too easily. Sadly, as the time-honored saying goes, when you ASS-U-ME, you make an a** out of you and me. In cross-culture communication, it seems too many donkeys are churned out against their free will.

Let me recall some examples of what I consider to be typical cross-culture misunderstanding.

1.       A visitor in Canada was playing with his granddaughter in a park. The granddaughter met a girl her age and they enjoyed each other’s company. The grandfather was happy to see the blossoming friendship, approached, and held both girls in his arms, telling them he wanted them to be good friends. In so doing, he might have, accidentally or otherwise, touched the other girl’s bottom, a behavior that may potentially be perceived as sexual assault.

Many children in China have the experience of being hugged, being pecked on the cheek, or having their cheek pinched by the parents’ friends or the family’s elder generation, as a sign of affection. Not aware of or sensitive to the cultural differences when they deal with children in another culture, parents (or grandparents) are at the risk of being frowned upon or charged.

2.       An international student from China used words along the lines of “I’ll kill you”, “I’ll kick you to death”, or “I’ll slap you to death”, rough and literal translations from Mandarin. Depending on the situation, this student may be charged with “uttering death threat”, as the words he used are, literally, a “death threat”. The only slight but potentially critical difference is: these “death threats” in Mandarin oftentimes (not always) serve the same purpose as the F word in English. More often than not, the utterer would not act on his promise. He may be saying that only to vent his anger, frustration or disappointment in this culturally-diverse world.

3.       In some Asian cultures such as Vietnam and some regions of China (I don’t want to simply generalize the whole China as it is too big and a surprisingly diverse culture), looking someone in the eye, especially if it is an elder, a senior, or someone in a position of authority, is considered rude. Actually, during the Taiping rebellion period in China, the rebellion’s supreme leader, Tianwang (literally translated as “Heavenly King”), made a rule in his palace that concubines should not look above the shoulder when talking to or being talked to by the Tianwang.

In Canada, looking downward or avoiding eye contact may be perceived as “being evasive”, possibly because Tianwang doesn’t have a status in Canada and therefore can’t vote.

This is a wonderful world most of the time, until you start to view it from the perspective of the few unlucky donkeys.