Download Palestine V. European American Culture

Missy Tatay
Communications
Br. Nich
Final Paper
Palestine Culture
To fully understand another person, it is important to fully understand their
culture and how their communication works. As a European American, I have
opportunities to interact with people of all different cultures. Since these particular
people have either grown up or have resided in America, it is usual to assume that
they share the same communication styles as other Americans. I personally am
guilty for judging others on how they interact and communicate with me, even
though I do not fully understand their culture. A friend of mine was born and raised
in America, but her family is originated from Palestine. The way Palestinians
communicate is much different than my cultures way of doing things. Palestine is
located in Israel therefore much of the country is divided by religion. Palestine tends
to be a Muslim country and the other half tends to be Jewish. Since there is a divided
country due to religion, the religious values are very strong and Palestinians tend to
identify with their religion as their culture. Understanding the beliefs of a Muslim
helps to understand those of the Palestinian culture. To gain a better understanding
of my friend and her family, it is important to understand not only her culture, but
her faith as a Muslim to assist in my communication skills with her and her family.
Through the use of the Globe Taxonomy I researched Palestine’s culture value
orientation, verbal communication norms, nonverbal communication norms, and
relational communication norms.
The Palestine proverb “the eye cannot raise above the eyebrow” effectively
sums up power distance in Palestine. (World 2012 ) The idea of obedience of the
sons to their fathers is something nonnegotiable in their culture. No one dares to
disobey or challenge his parents, father particularly. (Shahin 2005)The same
obedience applies in relations such as couples. The man is always the head of the
household and the one in charge. What the man says goes no argument. This can be
very different in the case of a European American household. As the father is an
important member of the family, he is not always respected as much as the father in
a Palestinian family. (Shahin 2005)Palestine is considered as a masculine country,
even though the percent of men and to women is about the same. In America it is
common to see a woman holding a higher job position in a company, but it is very
rare in Palestine for a woman to do so. (Shahin 2005)However, if a woman does
hold a higher position it is considered an exception or questionable. (Shahin 2005)
Men do not typically show sympathy and are very serious and firm in their
positions. A boss that is a European American might tend to joke around and have a
sense of humor around the office, where a man from Palestine would never conduct
such behavior. (Shahin 2005)Palestine tends to be a collectivist culture where the
term “we” is frequently used. This is because in Palestine, community and family are
very important to them, where as the average European American is typically an “I”
oriented person.
The Palestinian’s religious beliefs affect their entire culture and
communication behaviors. Majority of Palestine individuals are Muslim as they have
a strong belief in God, in their fate and in their destiny. (World 2012 )Therefore,
many of them have a general harmony concerning the future and trust in their fate
because they know nothing in life is guaranteed. The proverb, “Spend what you
have, then comes another” is how Palestine culture believes in the use of their
money. (Shahin 2005) It is frowned on in their society to drive an old car or live in a
house that does not look nice because they believe that everyone should spend their
money and not save. (Shahin 2005) Where as many European American’s tend to
save their money and prepare for the future. In American culture we live in a very
goal setting culture. Every action an American takes is a plan to better themselves
and their future and are always setting goals for themselves for the years to come.
Again, Palestine tends to be affected by their religion tremendously when
concerning interaction and values. Religious teachings have set certain laws and
values with ways of dealing with ambiguity and other unknown things that may
occur such as death and fate. This would show that Palestinian culture tend to have
a high uncertainty avoidance. (McKay 2009) Where as a European American would
tend to have low uncertainty avoidance since we live in a goal setting culture.
Verbal communication norms for people in Palestine tend to be affected by
their masculine culture. (Adler 2015)When conducting business they prefer not to
jump right into things and are quite hospitable. They would rather spend more time
greeting that person and exchanging small talk. (Shahin 2005) When conducting
small talk they tend to be opened to any questions except those regarding politics.
(Shahin 2005) They tend to do this because they like to be more personable than
just sticking to the act of business. When a Palestinian offers their guest food or
beverage it is seen as rude if they do not accept. I learned this personally when
meeting some of my friend Jumana El-Ammori’s relatives. I had gone to visit them
after already eating dinner at my house and was not very hungry. When Jumana’s
uncle offered me food and a beverage and I politely turned them down, he seemed
to get upset and offended. In my culture when a guest turns food down, it is not seen
as rude, we just assume they are not hungry, so I did not expect her uncle to be so
offended. Palestine culture tends to be very direct with their communication. (Lustig
n.d.)When communicating they are direct and to the point. Therefore, when
conducting a conversation with them they are clear and objective. Jumana’s uncle
showed direct communication when we told me that I had hurt his feelings not
accepting his food. In my culture most people would walk around their feelings
instead of being clear and direct therefore they are not always obvious about their
feelings.
Palestinians, like most people, use gestures and body movement to
communicate. Some of their nonverbal communication is almost the same as
European American culture, but some differ which can cause confusion when
communicating with one another. One way they are the same as a European
American is that they conduct in the act of handshaking upon meeting someone or
when leaving. When someone from Palestine are angry or irritated, his or her
gestures indicating insults tend to not be used on those of another culture.
Depending on the circumstance and the country they are in, incorrect usage can lead
to serious incidents so they are taught at a young age to never show these gestures
when around others. (McKay 2009) This can help European Americans when
interacting with those from Palestine so they are not receiving insults while
interacting with one another. Some ways Palestinians nonverbal are different from
European Americans are when speaking with someone, it is considered as a threat,
when pointing your finger or pencil at someone. Where an American would tend to
point out of a normal hand gesture. If the OK sign is shaken at anyone in the
Palestine culture it symbolizes a sign of evil. (McKay 2009) If a Palestinian places
their right hand out, palm down, with fingers brought toward oneself repeatedly in a
clawing motion, he is showing a sign for calling someone to come. (McKay 2009)
Where a European American would typically wave his or her hand to gesture
someone to come over. Placing the palm of the right hand on the chest immediately
after shaking hands with another man, symbolizing respect. (McKay 2009) If I were
to shake hands with one from Palestine without being aware of those, it could looks
bizarre. Men in the Palestine culture tend to show grief and sadness while most
American men would hide their feelings. (McKay 2009) If an American smiles a lot it
shows that they are happy, but if a Palestinian smiles too often it is seen as a sign of
shallowness. The nonverbal communication Palestinian culture shows differs in
many ways than European Americans and can cause confusion when interacting
with one another.
Relational communication norms are not like European American’s norms.
They tend to be a more conservative country. (World 2012 ) For example, if a
Palestinian were to be with their significant other they would not find it normal to
publically display their affection. It would be more common to see two men holding
hands than to see a man and his wife conducting in hand holding. (World 2012
)Where as in a European American culture they would assume the men were
homosexual if they were holding hands but in Palestine culture it is seen as a
friendly gesture. According to Scott Fretzer author of World Book, Palestinians
would also be more likely to display anger rather than affection except if a female is
showing anger the men would automatically side with her in fear of attracting too
much attention. (World 2012 ) European Americans would rather show affection
than anger, although both are commonly seen in public.
When conversing with those of the Palestine culture it is important that we
understand that their social and communication norms are much different than
ours. Whether that be the way they dress, the facial expressions they give off, their
verbal communication or the way they interact with others. Understanding that
cultural traditions typically derive from their religion and family structure helps
influence a more effective way of communicating with those of the Palestine culture.
When my Jumana’s uncle was visiting I had a difficult time communicating with him
and understanding him. If I had understood their culture in more depth prior to
meeting him I believe I would not have felt as uncomfortable during conversation.
Although, we all communicate very differently we can still converse with each other
effectively just by understanding one another better. Even if one does not have a
friend of another culture I find it useful to be educated on other cultures because
you never know whom you will interact with especially in business.
Bibliography
1. Adler, Ronald. Looking Out Looking In . Cengage Advanage Books , 2015.
2. Co., A Scott Fretzer. World Book 2015 . Chicago : Spinescape , 2015 .
3. Lustig, Myron. Intercultural Competence . seventh . Pearson.
4. McKay, Matthew. Messages The Communication Skills . Oakland : New Harbinger
Pubns Inc , 2009.
5. Shahin, Mariam. Palestine A Guide . Northampton: Interlink Boooks , 2005.
World, Expert for th Real. Body Language Success . Nov 29, 2012
6. www.bodylanguagesuccess.com/2012/11/nonverbal-communications (accessed
April 15, 2016).