Not a Wrong Culture, Just Different
Introduction : Intercultural communication in the era of globalization that has developed, has become an inherent part of daily life. This interaction can occur anywhere such as in the field of education or even in the field of work. It is because of this interaction that the ability to adapt when communicating with people who have different cultures. This is very important because the speaker must be able to avoid misunderstandings that are likely to cause discomfort or even lead to conflict.
Misunderstanding is a situation where 2 speakers say the same thing but in different cultures. For example when we say “cincin” in Indonesia it means ring, but in Japanese it means male genitals. If we experience that situation, it can be awkward moments or in severe cases it can be a relationship breaker between two speakers. There are many reasons for this misunderstanding, one of which is the lack of learning about other cultures. Other people may learn that learning about other cultures is not important but if they are involved in the intercultural world, especially formal ones, then they will know the importance of learning about other cultures.
In a video entitled "Funny, But True: Cultural Differences", there are several examples of misunderstandings involving two different cultures. In the first clip, a man visiting Italy appears to be interested in a local woman. Because of this interest, he puts chrysanthemums on her scooter in the hope that she will like them. Little did the tourist man know, the flowers symbolize sadness and mourning. The moment became even more fitting as a truck accidentally hit the woman's scooter and knocked it over. Suddenly, the locals put chrysanthemums on the doorstep of the woman's house because they assumed that it was the site of the accident but, when someone was about to sow flowers at the woman's house, the person was shocked to see that the woman came out of the house unharmed.
In the second clip in the video, it is shown that a washing machine manufacturing company has experienced an increase in sales in the Indian region. So, the boss of the company chose one of his staff to come to India to find out why their sales had increased so much in India. Once the staff member had arrived in India, he looked up the address of the place that had bought the washing machine from the staff member's company. After he asked one of the locals there, he was directed to the store. The staff was shocked to see that the washing machine used in the store was used to make juice, not to wash clothes.
The third clip shows an elderly person, possibly from Japan, traveling on business or having business in one of the European countries. Out of habit, he fell asleep on the MRT and leaned on the shoulder of the person next to him. The person next to him also follows the old man for the purpose of seeking attention from the woman next to him, he should know that it is not a custom in their culture, but he feels okay because the old man is doing the same thing. On the other hand, the woman felt uncomfortable because someone was leaning on her shoulder.
In the fourth clip, this is something that happens very often in China, where many people from outside China come to China not knowing the Chinese food culture. The clip shows a person who may have come from Europe having a meal together to discuss business. In China, if one finishes the meal, it means that the person being entertained is not enough. Therefore, from the clip, the European was surprised that the food was ordered again and again. He was not aware of the culture and seems to have regretted finishing his meal.
The last clip shows a clip of Americans playing golf with Japanese people. In America, if someone hits the ball with a hole in one, they should be rewarded with a drink, but in Japanese culture, if someone hits the ball into the hole first, they should give their friends a drink. In the clip, the American hit the ball first, and he was very happy about it. Afterwards, the American was surprised because he was the one who was supposed to be rewarded but instead he had to reward the Japanese.
Those clips can be hilarious, but on the other hand when it comes to intercultural interactions, it can be a bad example of not understanding the local culture. Due to not understanding the local culture, misunderstandings not only result in someone being embarrassed but it can sometimes be considered disrespectful by the owner of the culture. With these clips, it is evident that a lack of insight into other cultures is common. This habit must be changed, we must be able to adjust to learning about other cultures especially when we will interact with people who have that culture.
Conclusion
Misunderstanding in term communication between different culture does not mean other side is has done something wrong and other are right but it is because each region culture has been formed from various origins since long time thus no one should be blame for misunderstanding, surely those example on clip shown how severe misunderstanding can be but with those culture misunderstanding we can learn by become more open, empathic and willing to study more, we can create a bridge between region so we can comprehend each other, by learning how many times this culture misunderstanding often happen and trigger this kind of moment we can infer how important it is to study more about other culture, those clip only shows funny misunderstanding but there are some case for example smiling to other people in Indonesian is common but doing this in other country like Russia for example where smiling to stranger is considered impolite there are other case in german, north korea, and other middle east community, which is why in intercultural communication, learning other region culture is very important in order to avoid misunderstanding especially in certain country with very different and contrast culture.
