Cultural Portraits has been written for those who work with persons who hail from foreign countries and whose cultures differ from ours. It provides a framework for developing cultural proficiency, thus bridging the culture gap in our changing environment that often results in miscommunication and, often, in ineffective productivity. Would you know that Chang Wu Jang's last name is Chang, not Jang? Or that handing something to an Arab with your left hand is an insult? Or that, at birth, a Chinese is one year old? Cultural Portraits answers hundreds of questions and empowers you with valuable information not only about cultural practices but with explanations about terms we hear daily (i.e., "jihad," "Sunni"). If you are a school principal, a corporation executive, a registrar, an institutional dietitian, a social worker, an immigration attorney, a policeman, a social security employee, a guidance counselor, a director of personnel in a factory, a professor or a classroom teacher, a foreign student adviser, a business man, or just a tourist traveling around the globe, there is something in Cultural Portraits to help you meet the needs of foreign persons without offending their sensibilities and sparing yourself embarrassment. The more complete and accurate information we have, the better we perform our jobs. In this book, you'll find brief, succinct information (i.e., caveats, educational systems, recording foreign names, forms of address, gender relations, diets, long and short dates, writing numbers, body language, punctuality, evaluating transcripts, national traits, et al.) which will compose for you the cultural portrait of any one of the 72 countries included in this study. Cultural Portraits is a valuable resource for resolving challenging issues and addressing cultural questions to help you do your job better and with renewed confidence, while fostering understanding for one another in today's complex world.
Comments from http://www.masterclassworkshops.com:
Donald Blair said, June 23rd, 2008
"This book is an invaluable resource filled with cultural information that must be in the hands of any business person or educator who comes in contact with English Language Learners!"
Barbara Frankel said, June 24th, 2008
"Cultural Portraits is a unique and fascinating resource book that provides insight into the cultural nuances of our neighbors far and wide.It will be a tremendous asset to a wide range of professions. This expertly written guide is user friendly and comprehensive in scope. Teachers,principals, executives, law enforcement officers,lawyers, social workers,human resource directors, I urge you to add this excellent book to your shelves."
CULTURAL PORTRAIT INFORMATION
This study is a distillation of hundreds of different—and often contradictory—sources. The information it contains is divided into several categories and presented in telegraphic style for the sake of brevity. Doubts about terminology may be dispelled by consulting the extensive Glossary:
Flag: The current flag of the country.
Maps: A smaller, global map and a larger one showing its neighbors.
Country: The current, official name of the country (in English and in the native language).
Location: A brief description of its location.
Size: A comparison with one of the United States to indicate size.
Capital: The name of the capital city (or cities), considered to be the political center of power.
Political System: The type of government that manages the country’s affairs and its administrative structure.
Race/Ethnicity: The ethnic makeup of the country’s population; if difficult to discern, then its racial makeup.
Language(s) spoken: The language(s) spoken and the alphabet(s) used to write it (them). Religion(s): The major religions practiced in the, and the % of the followers of each in relation to the country’s population.
Challenges: The conflicts or enmities that the country must resolve so that its citizens may live in peace: Such information could be valuable to someone who works with persons who have come from countries with conflicts and have brought with them ancient hatreds and rivalries.
Family: The type of family structure prevalent in the country, the hierarchy it obeys, and how surnames and property are conveyed to children.
Gender Roles: A brief description of gender roles in the country’s social structure, together with a set of “Gender Gap” (GG) figures to show the degree of equality that has been achieved between men and women in the country.
Proxemics: The distance ("proximity") kept between persons who socialize, often referred to as the “comfort zone.” Three distance positions are indicated here:
- Short--permitting interlocutors to touch, hug, and kiss each other;
- Moderate--enough distance to shake hands; or
- Considerable--which allows no touching at all.
This category also includes information on the all-important eye contact.
Caveats: Native practices, often related to deep culture, that one should know to avoid misunderstandings or offending sensibilities.
Education: Information on each country’s education requirements, diploma/degree attainments, grading scales for Secondary and Higher Education, teacher preparation, literacy, and length of academic year.
Dates: Pitfalls to watch for when interpreting short and long dates; for example: 1/12/82, the 12th of January, 1982 in the Us is the 1st of December, 1982 in Athens or Paris!
Numbers: The use of periods and commas to indicate decimals (DD) and thousands (TS) is not universal:$ 9,999 is nearly ten thousand dollars in the US but almost ten dollars in S. Arabia.
Time: Whether a country uses a 12-hr or a 24-hr clock (or both), and the relation of a country’s time zone to Greenwich Mean Time.
Name Structure: The names by which people identify themselves and the order in which names appear; what happens to a woman’s surname when she marries; how children get their surnames; and how people are to be addressed.
Diet: An overview of the country’s dietary practices (including items proscribed by religion).
Body Language: Gestures, body movements / positions that convey specific meanings, actions or practices which might be construed to be offensive or threatening in the country’s culture.
Punctuality: How the people of a country respond to deadlines and time schedules.
Cultural Patterns: Making every effort to avoid stereotyping, this category is a very subjective collage of attributes as it attempts to portray the collective psyche of the people of the country.
