Business and Finance

Understanding culture  Written by Stacey Kammerman
	What is Culture? Culture is a way of life.  It is defined by how people dress, their routine living habits, food preferences, the architecture of their houses or buildings, the layout of fields and farms, and systems of education, government and law.  It also refers to music, literature, and arts of a society.  It is an all encompassing term that relates to almost every aspect of our lives.
Culture Shapes Who You Are! Think about all the aspects of your life that are influenced by your culture and your beliefs; from the way we dress, our personal space, the way we greet people, work together, interact with family members, raise our children, etc.  As you can see, your culture greatly influences you and the people around you. Knowing Other Cultures Sociologists tell us that we can only understand another’s culture when we truly understand our own. The first step in understanding how the culture of others affects one’s thinking, values, beliefs, perceptions, and behaviors is to understand one’s own culture.   It’s important to realize that many of our beliefs about the way life is “supposed” to be are influenced by what we’ve learned growing up in one type of culture.  When we realize that we think a certain way partly because it’s all we’ve ever know, it’s easier to understand another person’s perspective from a different culture as all they’ve ever known Culture Influences Language Language is an integral part of culture and culture is integral to language.  Here’s an example: Recently a copier company brought a new copier to the market in Argentina.  The name of the copier was Roto which in Spanish means broken.  Additionally it is the name given to the lowest class of society in Argentina.  So, as you can expect the copier didn’t sell very well at all. The copier company could have saved a lot of money if they looked into the connection between language and culture before they brought their product to the market. Translation and Culture Translation is a fine art when it comes to having the true meaning conveyed.  Many times the exact translation of a word or phrase is completely different because culture influences how a language is interpreted.  Here are some mis-translations: Pepsi:  “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” Chinese: “Pepsi brings your Ancestors back from the Grave” Parker Pen:  “It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you” Mexico: “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant” The Coca-Cola name: Chinese: “Bite the wax tadpole” “happiness in the mouth” American Airlines: “Fly in Leather” Spanish: “Fly Naked” Dairy Association: “Got Milk?” Mexico: “Are you lactating?” Consider Culture when Learning a New Language When studying a new language, make sure to learn a little about the culture.  There may be important cultural practices or behaviors that will affect how you should speak and act.  For example: in some Spanish-speaking countries, it’s important to speak with your elders, a stranger or someone of authority with a certain form of the verb.  If you use the wrong form, someone may be very offended.   Now you know that culture affects language, behaviors, and many aspects of your life.  Culture is present in almost all that we do! I wish you great success!     Stacey Kammerman is the founder and CEO of KAMMS World Wide. KAMMS is an international publisher and distributor of job-specific language learning audio and video programs that help Spanish and English speakers immediately improve communication at work.   Stacey brings over 10 years of language teaching experience and language acquisition research to KAMMS Worldwide.  She uses this extensive knowledge and experience to create the most effective, comprehensive and easy to use language programs on the market.  Stacey is committed to ensuring excellence and accuracy in KAMMS job-specific language programs as well as providing exceptional customer service. Kammerman graduated from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey earning a degree in Romance Languages and Literatures and Latin American Studies.  In order to enhance her Spanish language ability and to experience the culture of Latin America, Stacey lived in Costa Rica with a host family, while attending a Spanish language immersion school.  Since then, she has visited and explored many other Spanish speaking countries including Mexico, Panama, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Stacey is an enthusiastic leader in her community. She has received the NJ Small Business Development Center’s Success Award in 2006, the NJ Association of Women Business Owners’ Teal Heart Award for Outstanding Service in 2007, South Jersey Magazine’s Top 10 Woman in Business in 2007 and Atlantic City Magazine’s Top 40 under 40 in 2008.    Stacey resides in Ventnor, NJ with her wonderful husband Chris and their three children, BriAnne, Haley and Shane.   Visit WWW.KAMMSWORLDWIDE.COM for more information