Intercultural Communication and Translation News

A survey released today suggests that intercultural skills would have helped troops in Iraq. In stark contrast to the ‘Rumsfeldian’ “shock and awe” approach promoted in the run up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the results demonstrate an appreciation by the layman that the “hearts and minds” approach will ultimately see success in the country. The shift also reflects the increasing priority for the modern day military to understand and communicate effectively with locals when in foreign countries rather than simply exercising force.

For the last few months the cross-cultural communications consultancy Kwintessential have been holding an online survey asking the question: “Do you believe that intercultural training could have benefited troops in Iraq?” Of the responses to date, 83% answered positively. The idea behind the survey was to examine whether 1) people appreciate or believe that the “hearts and minds” approach is now also crucial to winning conflicts in the modern age and 2) if intercultural training or skills are being taken seriously as a requisite for personnel working in foreign environments.

Voices and actions from within the U.S. military increasingly highlight the need to equip troops with intercultural skills. Major programmes concerning Arab culture, Islamic etiquette, gender issues and language have been designed and initiated. “Cultural understanding is a weapon,” Edward Slavis, a Marine captain, announced when instructing approximately 150 troops from the 1st Radio Battalion and 1st Reconnaissance Battalion preparing to depart for Iraq in February 2007. “You need to prepare for the war of ideas and beliefs through cultural learning and understanding.”
The British military establishment also seems keen to provide their men on the ground with similar skills. “Getting it right makes a massive difference. They [meaning the Iraqis] are very forgiving of language errors, but cultural mistakes are unforgivable. We make soldiers question why the Arabs behave in such a way and question their own perceptions,” commented Unit Education Officer, Captain Pete Henning.

As well as cultural awareness training, troops are also being given language training. In December 2006, Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli told Baghdad-based journalists that a poll conducted amongst 1st Cavalry Division soldiers following their 2004 deployment to Iraq highlighted how important they believed language skills to be. On top of actual language learning the military has also invested heavily in all sorts of translation gadgets to help troops speak to locals.

What are Intercultural Skills?

Having intercultural skills means one possesses the ability to successfully communicate with people from other cultures. Such a person captures and understands, in interaction with people from foreign cultures, their specific concepts in perception, thinking, feeling and acting. They appreciate how to mould their behaviour and communication style; they appreciate different approaches to life whether it is punctuality or the processing of information. In essence they are able to work effectively out of their cultural comfort-zone.

Intercultural skills are of importance to anyone working internationally, whether it is government, business or military personnel. Demand for intercultural communication skills are increasing as globalization continues and organizations start to realize that there are barriers and limitations to what people can do when entering a foreign territory. Intercultural communication training, skills and knowledge essentially help people understand one another better to avoid confusion and misunderstandings.

As with anyone working internationally, intercultural skills are crucial for military personnel. They have to not only work with people at diplomatic and military levels but more importantly with people on the street. It is creating a sense of trust at this level that ultimately leads to better performance on the ground. This believes, Kwintessential’s Middle-East expert Neil Payne, is where the U.S. military has thus far failed. “The American way and the Arab way can be very different.” he explains. “Many of the troops going into Iraq probably did not appreciate the local culture in any sense or form. Having a basic appreciation of Islam, its laws, its etiquette and how genders interact is crucial. For example troops were entering people’s houses and sometimes mosques with shoes on – which is a serious no-no. In terms of communication, I doubt many understood the need to protect people’s face and honour through discreet and indirect forms of communication. It would be fair to say that many an Iraqi has been rubbed up the wrong way through being shouted at and shamed in public.” Other issues mentioned by Payne include a lack of understanding in respect to how local hierarchies operate, tribal allegiances and the importance of relationship building. “Through cultural awareness you build bridges a lot faster whereas without it you sometimes get nowhere near laying the first brick.”

About the survey:

The survey was conducted on the Kwintessential website from September to November 2007. The results accurately reflect the opinions of a significant number of the thousands of visitors visiting the site daily. Steps were taken to ensure multiple votes were impossible to make by the same individual.

The use of information technology within human resource (HR) management has increased greatly during recent years, with most organisations now using technology to some extent in their management of HR.

Some believe that HR practitioners have become more focused on adding strategic value within an organisation and becoming a business partner to line managers. A number of authors have suggested that technology may be used within HR to facilitate this shift in the role of the HR function, including Edward Lawler and Susan Mohrman in their 2003 Human Resource Planning article, ‘HR as a Strategic Partner: What Does it Take to Make it Happen,’ and Samir Shrivastava and James Shaw in their 2003 Human Resource Management article, ‘Liberating HR through Technology.’ However, HR functions also have been under pressure to reduce costs and make efficiency savings, sometimes achieved by outsourcing parts of the function, but often through streamlining the transactional aspects of the work by means of call centres, self-service, and a greater use of new technology.

Read more> Expatica 

A British Airways check-in clerk who was suspended for refusing to conceal a small crucifix on a necklace at her post at Heathrow Airport has accused her employers of having a “culture of hostility” to Christianity at an employment tribunal.

When Nadia Eweida was suspended, without pay, in September 2006, she claimed it was her human right to express her faith by having the crucifix on display. She returned to work this February after BA revised its uniform policy.

The case caused a storm and prompted criticism from then prime minister Tony Blair who told British Airways that its attempts to stop staff wearing the crucifix was a waste of energy.

Read more> British Airways 

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Unesco and internet standards body Icann will collaborate on global efforts to forge universal standards towards building a multilingual cyberspace.

The three agencies organised a workshop on the subject at this week’s Internet Governance Forum (IGF) taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The partners said multilingualism is a key concept to ensure cultural diversity and participation for all linguistic groups in cyberspace.

There is growing concern that hundreds of local languages may be sidestepped, albeit unintentionally, in the radical expansion of internet communication and information, they said.

“The discussions are going to help Icann to keep moving toward full implementation of Internationalised Domain Names,” said Paul Twomey, Icann CEO.

Following the evaluation of Internationalised Domain Names by Icann, internet users around the globe can access wiki pages with the domain name “example.test” in 11 test languages - Arabic, Persian, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Russian, Hindi, Greek, Korean, Yiddish, Japanese and Tamil.

Read more> Internet

Guanxi. It’s the first word any businessperson learns upon arriving in China. Loosely translated, guanxi means “connections” and, as any China veteran will tell you, it is the key to everything: securing a business license, landing a distribution deal, even finding that coveted colonial villa in Shanghai. Fortunes have been made and lost based on whether the seeker has good or bad guanxi, and in most cases a positive outcome has meant knowing the right government official, a relationship nurtured over epic banquets and gallons of XO brandy.

Now, like so many things in China, the old notion of guanxi is starting to make room for the new. Businesspeople—local and foreign—are tapping into emerging networks that revolve around shared work experiences or taking business classes together. Networking that once happened in private rooms at chichi restaurants now goes on in plain view—at wine-tastings for the nouveau riche, say, or at Davos-style confabs such as the annual China Entrepreneurs Forum held annually at China’s Yabuli ski resort. By tapping into these informal groups, Western companies can theoretically improve their understanding of the marketplace, hire the best talent, and find potential business partners.

Read more> Guanxi

A novel idea to capitalise on language skills held by police in Westminster could help soothe some of the tensions caused by fighting terrorism, a senior officer has said.

More than 300 officers in Westminster, central London, have volunteered to register their often previously untapped skills.

Police hope a new database of language and cultural skills aimed at improving communication between officers and residents will lead the way for forces across the UK.

Borough commander Steve Allen said there is a danger that diversity work is being “overtaken” by a focus on counter-terrorism.

Speaking about how the fight against extremists threatened to alienate some sections of the community, he said: “This is a real challenge, not just for us in Westminster but for us as a society.”

Read more> Westminster 

Yahoo! today announced the availability of a Chinese language version of Yahoo! Go 2.0 for Taiwan.

Yahoo! Go 2.0 is an innovative application, designed specifically for the mobile user, that allows consumers to personalize their mobile Internet experience with content from the entire Internet and a reinvention of mobile search via Yahoo! oneSearch.

The Chinese language version of Yahoo! Go 2.0 for Taiwan features a suite of widgets, including oneSearch, address book, calendar, Flickr photos, weather, news, sports and financial information.

“With the launch of a Chinese language version of the popular Yahoo! Go 2.0 service for Taiwan, millions of consumers now can have the full power of the open Internet in their pockets,” said David Ko, vice president and general manager, Connected Life Asia, Yahoo!. “With products like Yahoo! Go 2.0, we are focused on creating innovative mobile services that provide a positive user experience, fit the mobile device and put the user in control.”

Read more> Yahoo! 

 Dublin City University is to lead a €30m research partnership which hopes to develop the next generation of high-tech automatic language translation.

DCU will work in tandem with other Irish colleges in the five-year research project, which is being funded by Science Foundation Ireland.

SFI will contribute €16.8m in funding to the project, with international and domestic industry partners ploughing €13.6m into the venture.

The plan is that the research will transform the localisation sector of Ireland’s global software business. Localisation is the process of adapting things like digital content, download manuals and software to other languages and cultures.

Read more> Dublin 

Hundreds of European tourists have been refused entry to Libya after an unannounced change to passport rules.

From the evening of 11 November, visitors without an Arabic translation of their passports have been denied entry, even if they have valid visas.

Libya is the only Middle Eastern country to take such a step.

Correspondents say the sudden change of policy appears to go against Tripoli’s recent attempts to promote itself as a western tourist destination.

No warning of the change was given to foreign embassies.

Read more> BBC 

According to Neil Payne of cross-cultural training consultancy Kwintessential, business etiquette tips can be misleading. “If you go to Japan to do business, they don’t expect you to bow or exchange business cards in a particular way. They think it’s good if you do but they don’t expect it. They expect faux pas to be made by international business people just as business people here would.”

Payne says that the companies and individuals that come to him for training do not want etiquette tips specifically but rather how to build successful relationships across cultures. “A lot of what we do is based around team building. You might have a manager looking after teams based around the world and for them it is made more difficult because they are working remotely.”

There are plenty of etiquette guides out there if you do want a few handy hints on conducting business, although most people do forget them in the heat of the moment. Below are a few of the more unusual dos and don’ts for international business travellers.

Read more> The Times