Intercultural Communication of Japanese - Essay Example

? Intercultural communication of Japanese Exploring Japanese culture The day before spring break, I gave a call to my best friend Taichi Zac Kanemoto to have an biui giugig in f interview with him on the same day. He said he was free on that night and I felt lucky because he was often busy with his studies. At around 4pm, I arrived at his house, exchanged pleasantries an thereafter started the interview. During the interview, he appeared busy as he kept looking at the computer while asking some random questions such as whether we were having a quiz any time soon among many others that appeared up hazard. However, despite the oddity in his questions, I understood most of them because we belonged to the same class. The aura around the interview room was casual since he is my longtime friend, the interview was therefore not formal and we could not make any more organized than it already was. Additionally, the friendship made it possible for me to ask any type of question without appearing patronizing. Kanemoto is friendly and highly likable, this explains our long friendship and my freedom to ask him any type of question. He is also funny and tries to make everyone around him feel comfortable and relaxed. Throughout the interview, he kept distracting me without some of his hilarious outburst. On more occasions, he could sing in his native Japanese language, which sounded funny enough. He translated the wording of his songs and I could not help laughing since they sounded funny but meant much to him. Besides the interview with my friend, I have also taken part in a number of other Japanese’s cultural activities such as the dance with my other Japanese friend Soran Bushi. Despite the fact that they had practiced for more than a month, I played a role in the dance thereby earning myself relative exposure on the culture. From the interactions with the Japanese, I learned a lot about their culture that differs with other cultures as elaborated in the discussion below. Introduction Culture refers to the way of life of a particular society or group of people. Culture therefore encompasses such pertinent issues as the way, in which people eat, dress and worship among other important social practices. For a long-time, global regions were secluded which therefore resulted in the development of definitive cultural practices. It was therefore easy to distinguish a group from their cultural practices, which would differ greatly with those of others. However, through such concepts as urbanization and globalization, the world successfully became a global village one in which people easily interact with others. This resulted in faster communication and exchange of ideas through the modern telecommunication technologies such as the internet and mobile phones (Bradley, 2003). Currently the intense interaction among people has eliminated a number of cultural practices making people behave similarly. However, it is possible to differentiate people in terms of their cultural practices as each community even in the modern society still treasures a number of their indigenous cultural practices. One such community is the Japanese. Through an interview with a Japanese living in the United States of America, it became evident that the Japanese just as any other foreigner in the country exhibits unique cultural behaviors some as primary as the difference in their languages to other more essential personality differences arising from their unique culture. Such validate the claim that culture is an important aspect of life since through culture people determine their spiritual belief a key component of humanity from where people learn social values. Additionally, culture determines the food for a society (Berns, 2013). Different societies eat different types of food, which they handle differently in accordance to the dictates of their cultures. Japanese differ greatly with American, even those living in the country exhibit different behavior patterns from the Native Americans and other people from other parts of the world. The Japanese language sounds unique and is one of the most complex languages on earth. Spoken a little faster than other languages and in a lower tone, the language has a unique set of grammatical regulations, which ensure effective use of the different aspect of the language to ensure effective use. The language sounds similar to the Chinese and other languages around the Far East but each of the languages has different grammatical rules. Additionally, the Japanese have a number of other smaller dialects owing to their multi ethnicity. This further complicates their Japanese language, which tries to fuse the different native languages in the country. Through the interview with Kanemoto, the hilarious Japanese youth sang a number of Japanese lines and later interpreted the simple lines in the common American English. From his speech, it was evident that his first language interferes with his speech of the English language. He sounded more confident and sure of himself when talking in his native Japanese than when speaking English. Additionally, he would pronounce some of the English words poorly as though Japanese. This explains that culture's influence people’s ability to learn other languages. The different languages have different grammatical principles all of which interfere with the people’s ability to learn other languages. The effects of first language take longer to eliminate and therefore affects the ability to learn a second language. Kanemoto had lived in Japan for more than the first ten years of his life, this implies that he had spent a longer time speaking the language and could not therefore eradicate the effects of the first language easily. Additionally, he would say some words in his mother tongue a feature that portrays that he kept thinking in his first language and therefore found it easier to say the words in his first language. From the interview, Kanemoto reveals a number of essential issues about the Japanese culture. He reveals that Japanese are highly industrious and enterprising people. The Japanese are innovative; they have worked hard attempting to develop a strong economy for themselves in their country. Throughout their endeavors, Kanemoto asserts that the Japanese are schemers who show no regard for other provided they earn profit for themselves. Such a claim may be factual only that it is not attributable to any cultural practice since it is a personality issue. Anybody can possibly swindle another should the opportunity present itself. It is therefore wrong to assert that all Japanese are swindlers and fraud others in the process of conduction others (Agosto & Abbas, 2011). However, just as explained earlier, culture is shared widely by people living in a particular locale. This implies that if the community is full of conmen and swindlers who disguise themselves as business, they may possibly influence others thereby resulting in a society full of swindlers thereby compelling Kanemoto to assert that all Japanese are swindlers. For example, the American society consists of people who try to uphold integrity. Americans rarely take bribe and prefer obtaining legitimate services and product from credible outlets. This explains the extensive media campaigns and advertisements by public corporations in order to win customers. Americans pride in their strong economy and liberal social structure. This validates their demands for credible office holders in the institutions of governance. Such principles as integrity and patriotism are therefore taught in schools and form part of organizational culture in most of the businesses in the country. This therefore develops a consistent culture in the America. It coerces adherence to the integrity requirements. When Kanemoto therefore asserts that the Japanese are vile business people, he earns a degree of credence in his claim that such behavior is cultural. He explains the conservative nature of the Japanese culture explaining that in their country it is rare to divorce and that such practices occur only when the couple have failed to comprise one another. He ridicules the American society asserting that Americans divorce so often. This is again is another hasty generalization of his facts about his country and his fellow countrymen. Family composition and structure is a personal issue, which the couple discuss and resolve to put up with voluntarily. It is therefore inconsiderate to claim that Americans divorce commonly while Japanese do not (Foster, 1985). This also explains another pertinent aspect about the Japanese society. The society sounds conservative and therefore attaches more importance to the institution of a family. While he claims that they do not divorce as often as Americans do, he also acknowledges that such instances arise. In conjunction with this, he says it is impossible for one to get into a relationship with a woman he once divorced. This is purely an ethical and personality issue which has not connection whatsoever with the Japanese culture. Japan is a democracy and safeguards the rights of humanity. Japanese live in liberty enjoy such fundamental rights and freedom as the freedom of choice. The decision to divorce is a personal one and the government though its legal system safeguards such without showing alienation to the social beliefs as Kanemoto states. He compares the rate of divorce between Japan and the American community and declares that Americans divorce more than Americans do. Having lived in both societies, he is well placed to compare and contrast the social structuring of the two societies. Americans are liberal and believe in freedom. Additionally, they trust in their legal institutions and tend to solve most of their problems including domestic problems legally. This does not show a rot in the social structure but just as stated earlier, Americans strive to develop an integral society a factor that explains the numerous divorce cases that Kanemoto ascribed to in the interview. However, the fact that he notices the difference depicts his observant personality. The fact also indicates that he is still new to the American society and has not therefore assimilated into the culture. The cultural history of Japan and her peopling goes beyond the modern social structuring. Japan has had a strong relationship with her neighbors such as the Chicness. Through trade, the two countries have had a constant interactive relationship through which they traded goods and services and even cultural products. Japan consists of smaller islands a feature that developed particular cultural behaviors in the people. Most of them were anglers in the earlier times but through diversity and specialization, they ventured into commerce by exchanging products and services with their neighbors. Being largely an island the most common mode of transportation were ships and other water propelled equipment. Currently, there are a number of religion in Japan, a result of the liberal social structure developed by government through time. The subsequent interaction with other countries such as China, the country borrowed a number of social structures including the effective leadership and political system from the Chinese. This explains that culture is dynamic and as people interact, they drop such cultural practices that they consider unfavorable thereby acquiring new favorable practices. This explains the similarity between China and the Japanese social structure and cultural practices. Interactions bring people from diverse backgrounds together. Commercial interactions dictate that the people with their diversities work together by developing common practices among them. This compelled the Japanese to compromise some of their cultural practices as so did the Chinese. The result was a common social structure habitable by the different communities. As the world developed, Japan opened up to other countries globally thereby interacting extensively with other foreign communities from different regions across the world. Such an expansive interaction commonly aided by the use of the internet among other means of modern communication bring people together and compels the development of a common ground in which everyone has a relative familiarity. Additionally, the countries became liberal as modernization and urbanization expanded. This implied that different people lived together in common communities a feature that compelled cultural understanding among the people. The Japanese have borrowed cultures from regions all over the world. Currently they are identified by the use of small cultural baskets they hang on their shoulders. The use of such small colored bags has become a common norm in the country and a trademark of the Japanese. However, the basket was an initial creation of the Maasai a small tribe in Africa. This implies that the Japanese have interacted widely with people from every part of the world thereby expanding their cultural activities. From the interview, it becomes evident that culture dictates the food that a society eats. In his answers, Kanemoto compares the Japanese society to the American society; the difference is conspicuously evident and arises naturally. He alleged that in his country they eat raw horse-meat. Any animal and plant is arguably edible, this is evident as people eat different foods in different parts of the world. It is therefore not surprising that Japanese eat horses an animal that not very many people consider edible. He also explains that some people died from eating the raw meat. This explains that the food is not safe enough for human consumption; however, they prepare it effectively thereby eliminating its poisonous effects thereby feeding on it. This explains the relativity of societies since in amerce, several animal rights activists oppose the consumption of such animals. The American society is multi-cultural owing to the fact that the society harbors people from different parts of the world. This implies that some of these could possibly eat such strange animals. The Kanemoto’s portrayal of the Japanese society depicts a male chauvinistic society. Chauvinism is a cultural product borrowed and widely practiced in early societies. This refers to the state in which one gender considers itself superior to the other. For a long time, the male gender depicted itself as superior to the female gender thereby mistreating them in a number of ways. The Japanese society depicts this through Kanemoto’s analysis. He asserts that he is lucky he is a male. The sentence communicates deeply rooted gender disparity in the country. The fact that he attributes luck to his gender implies that the society must consider the female differently. However, he also explains that the Japanese society became more liberal too and therefore gives the girl child equal opportunity to their male counterparts. Such is purely cultural as societies showed favoritism to the male child throughout history. However, it would be unlikely for Japan to portray such simplistic cultural structure in the modern society. The development of a liberal social structure is a result of the private lifestyles that most people in the modern society prefer. In earlier societies, people lived communally sharing the essential components of the society. This implied that the society determined the composition of the specific homes and their structuring. Such a structure made it easier for a society to portray chauvinistic and favoritism features either towards or against a group of individuals. With modernization and the subsequent spread of urbanization, people diverse backgrounds began living together a feature that compelled the development of private lifestyles as people showed restrain in their social interactions with others. This way, the society reduced to the family level making it easier to control. Because of this, people began expressing their affection to the families showing equal treatment to the children in the family regardless of their sexes. From the interview, it is evident that Kanemoto exhibits a natural personality which clouds his judgement of most of the social features both in America and Japan. His judgement of the two places depends on his understanding of Japan, the society in which he grew up and therefore spent his earlier years. This prevents him from making objective judgments of the different regions. He becomes personal and emotional when describing Japan and the social structure. This naturally results in biases thereby eliminating objectivity. Additionally, he comes from a modern liberal family. He admits being shy basic factors, which influence his ability to carry out an effective assessment of the society (Watkins, 2009). His judgment of Japan is therefore opinionated but effectively map out the difference in the two societies. He has adequate knowledge of the two societies to pass a basic judgment of the two. In retrospect, the American society comprises of people from diverse backgrounds such as the Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese among other regions throughout the world. This explains the absence of a common cultural practice in the country. The United States of America is arguably the only country without a uniform cultural identity a feature attributable to the diverse population of the country. The presence of such results in the creation of a society in which everyone portrays a unique form the other but all have to live together thereby explaining the need for compromise in the cultural practices. References Agosto, D. E., & Abbas, J. (2011). Teens, libraries, and social networking: What librarians need to know. Santa Barbara, Calif: Libraries Unlimited. Berns, R. (2013). Child, family, school, community: Socialization and support. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Bradley, F. (2003). Effective transition from young man to manhood. London: Aspen. Foster, H. (1985). Postmodern culture. London: Pluto Press. Watkins, S. C. (2009). The young and the digital: What the migration to social-network sites, games, and anytime, anywhere media means for our future. Boston: Beacon Press. Read More