GRIFFITH GLEANINGS NOVEMBER
Laughs, challenges and discoveries are all characteristics of learning to communicate cross-culturally. Learning the words of a new language are only just the beginning. As we discover more about the Khmer language and culture we are starting to see some of these facets. Body language is something that can be just as different from one culture to another as the spoken words. Here in Cambodia the locals don’t use their hands to gesture like some of us Westerners. We were made aware before we arrived that certain types of pointing with our fingers and even feet can be offensive in the Khmer culture. It was fascinating for us to first observe how some Khmer use their mouth to point rather than something less subtle as a hand gesture. We have also observed Khmer people becoming distracted with how we like to “talk with our hands”. Humour can be one of those areas that is difficult to navigate. Humour can be an ideal way of breaking the ice in conversation in ones own culture, but humour is one thing that is often lost in translation. Deb had a recent experience sharing with our local Khmer friends about cooking a vegetarian dish. As she was listing the ingredients in Khmer she realised she had just used the words for spiders (bpeeng bpee-ung) when she meant to say tomatoes (bpayng boh). Everyone laughed. Laughing is easier with closer friends as they know us better, but sometimes we are laughing at different things, which makes us all laugh again. Our humour needs to be subdued a little as we grow in Khmer friendships. In many Asian cultures honour and shame is more important than in Western culture. When it comes to humour it is important that it doesn’t cause shame or loss of face in our Khmer relationships. Navigating cross-cultural communication often has a lot to do with balancing taking some risks, being sensitive to the locals as well as learning from mistakes.
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