INTERCULTURAL EXPERIENCES WHAT WORDS DO NOT SAY PERSPECTIVES FOR REDUCING INTERCULTURAL MISUNDERSTANDINGS
The Naxos Workshop The Alliance for a Responsible and United World ran into difficulties with cultural interpretation when they started having the "Platform for a Responsible and United World" translated into non-European languages. They began to realise that a number of words which recurred regularly in the Platform gave rise to serious misunderstandings in translation since the concepts which these words represented were either not known or were understood very differently in non-western languages. For this reason they organised a five-day workshop for a number of the translators as well as some resource persons on the island of Naxos, in Greece. Here they tried to come up with some ways of dealing with these difficulties. One outcome of the workshop was a small book entitled: What words do not say. The book was written by Edith Sizoo of the South-North Cultures and Development Network, the organisation which organised the workshop. It was published by the Fondation pour le Progrès de l'Homme (FPH) in Paris, one of the chief sponsors of the Alliance. What follows are excerpts from this book, taken from the preface, from the introduction and from chapter 5. The article concludes with some comments on the experience in Naxos by Gerald Wanjohi, Wajibu's publisher, who attended the workshop.
Words... fluttering like butterflies Detaching themselves from the cocoon where they were given life, words flutter away to the rhythm of the sound waves of our voices. When caught by others, their uniqueness fades away. For then, they are no longer our property. The original pattern of their meaning, nourished and enriched by whatever they have touched on their way, is transformed by the minds of those who capture them. They find themselves clipped, restricted in expressing the many connotations they carry with them. The capacity of expressing thoughts in a structured way by means of language is often thought to be what sets human beings apart from animals. It allows us to express our shared perception and experiences of the world around us in sounds and signs to which we have ascribed a meaning. And so, with time, a language grows into a complex whole of meanings which groups of people relate to being born, to living and dying, enjoying and suffering, making sense out of what happens to them.... But in a way, words are not only passive tools people use to communicate. They also 'act'. They clarify, conceal, seduce, deceive, attach, detach. They draw people together in mutual comprehension of what words say; or, conversely, drive them apart because of what they do not say. And when one takes one's mother tongue away from hearth and home to meet people whose language is also steeped in past experience in other places, it seems as if one loses hold of what one's words express. No wonder then that Asian wisdom says: the highest form of communication is silence, the second one is gestures; and only third come words. Intercultural enrichment starts with listening and observing, immersion in the world of sounds and signs and gestures, with searching for the common and the different, with learning before judging, enjoying before complaining, with finding out 'what's in a word'. For words tell different stories to different people....
Can one convey a culture in a language other than its own? Similarly, do numerous documents drawn up by international organisations for application anywhere in the world not suffer from the same shortcoming after translation into non-European languages? International communication conceals many pitfalls: concepts, ways of thinking and perceiving, taken for granted by a western mind, cannot be taken for granted by a Tanzanian or a Chinese person. For each language is embedded in a culture and is an expression thereof. And each word, far beyond its direct translatable meaning, is generated by a vision of the human being, of society, of the visible and invisible world....
Concepts on making societal changes which caused problems of interpretation Since time immemorial people have sat together to make plans for their survival: where to gather food and water for now, what to plant for later. From experience they could foretell how long it would take for the rains to come and how long it would be till the dry season, they foreheard people or animals approaching from far, they forewarned one other of approaching danger, they foresaw future needs and provided for them in advance. People who in their languages do not conjugate their verbs in present, past and future, are not at all devoid of foresight. Foreseeing means acting on what past experience taught with regard to what can be expected so as to avoid disrupting the order of things. The unexpected is not in the hands of the human being. The basic difference between foresight and the modern idea of planning is the view of who controls future (expected and unexpected) events: unpredictable and imponderable forces in the super-and sublunary realms or human beings themselves? The concept of "planning" was born out of the desire to change, not to maintain. It translates the modern man's urge to 'shape' the future of humankind and of the earth, and to keep control over it. It fits into the linear conception of time which allows the time ahead to be 'measured' and 'strategies' framed on the time line to obtain something different from what is. The notion of 'strategy' chimes perfectly with the notion of 'planning': it stems from the language of warfare, and means to set out plans in order to attain a goal (which in warfare meant conquering the enemy). For planners, the main foe is the complexity of reality itself, the interweaving of all its dimensions. So it has to be sectioned, fragmented to be more easily grasped, engineered and directed. Is it surprising that the concepts of 'planning' and 'strategy' are hard to translate into African languages? The story goes that a village community in Cameroon had experienced the effects of changes brought about in the name of 'development'. These experiences made them decide to try and better foresee what could be expected from this idea. They were told that they could design a 'project', but had to frame a proper 'plan' if they wanted to obtain funding from donor agencies. As in their language no word had as yet been coined for these alien notions, someone explained to them what western people understand by these concepts. Their curiosity satisfied, they then 'translated' their understanding in their own words. Since that time, in this village, to develop has been equated with 'creating chaos', planning is designated 'dream of the white man', and project denotes 'asking money in Europe'. In this context it is easier to understand the sigh of an old African woman who observed: "Why do you, wazungu (white people) not try to understand the minds of Africans rather than their capacity to work? You don't understand that your words don't belong to our minds." Making changes, getting organised, changing lifestyles, taking initiatives, inventing long-term strategies: there are, in this world, many people who indeed wish the world would change, people who seek encouragement in their own daily struggles and prospects of hope for future generations, people who want to share and join forces. However, the ends for which and the means by which people are prepared to engage in concrete action cannot be separated from their own perspectives on the world, the future, the values and social practices they identify with. Nor will prospective action be separated from experiences in the past with similar calls (like those for "development"), especially when they are seen to emanate from "the North". This is a reality which cannot be ignored.
The disillusions of development "We must embark on a bold program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of the underdeveloped areas. More than half of the people of the world are living in conditions approaching misery. They are victims of disease. Their economic life is primitive and stagnant. Their poverty is a handicap and a threat both to them and to more prosperous areas." With one stroke of the pen the world was divided into two parts: the 'developed' and 'underdeveloped' peoples, the first ones actively striving for the good life, the latter passive, miserable, primitive, poor, victims and ... a threat to advanced societies. Thenceforward, 'development' meant ascending the ladder of technological knowledge and economic growth constructed by the United States and the rest of the those who had seen the light of rational western Enlightenment. If originally the verb to develop was an intransitive verb (a flower develops by itself), it has imperceptibly acquired a transitive meaning as well: those who were underdeveloped had to be developed. Four decades of 'development' efforts have had results. Literacy is higher than 50 years ago, especially among women; there are more roads, more hospitals, more cars and refrigerators, more industries. But there is also disillusionment and stringent criticism of how the ideals for a world without misery advocated by 'development experts' (cynically dubbed by some the 'missionaries of the new religion of the West') failed to materialize.
Reactions to western notions of 'planning' and 'development' by workshop participants "Proposals for changes to be made by society or humanity at large do not set people in motion in my cultural context. In our communities, a change of mentality is brought about by a change in social status in the community and is often accompanied by rites of passage." Diagama Elimane, Mauritania
"There is an underlying assumption in the Platform that all (prospective) signatories come from backgrounds that feel a need to make drastic changes as suggested. Although respect for other humans is referred to throughout and the diversity principle indicates that the diversity of cultures and living beings is a great asset that should be protected and respected, there is scant mention of acknowledging and learning from ancient and indigenous wisdom. Perhaps a more suitable focus of the Platform would be how to aspire to, maintain and feel confident with traditional self-reliant ways, how to give compassion to all beings, and how to weave this wisdom together with appropriate modern technology, rather than succumbing to the desolate, modern self-destruction.... There are several mentions in the Platform of imbalance between rich and poor with the assumption that low income means poor quality of life. The farmer living on a patch of land producing most of what is needed for a family, a little excess for trading, but with a very low cash income, perhaps using a well for water would be qualified by most international statistics as leading a poverty existence. [As for me] I see it as an enviable life style that most of us today in our city boxes, not knowing where our water comes from nor our vegetables and fruits, can only dream about." Jane Rasbash, Scotland/Thailand
"In Kiswahili and Gikuyu there used to be no words for 'strategy', 'to challenge' and 'priority'. Now these have been invented as a result of the impact of Western culture." Gerald Wanjohi, Kenya
"Development means to have started on a road that others know better, to be on your way to a goal that others have reached, to race up a one-way street. Development promises enrichment, and for the overwhelming majority has meant in reality the progressive modernisation of their poverty. ...We have seen from experience that our capacities and skills are inadequate for satisfying our wants once they have turned into needs for industrial services. In the name of development, our abilities have been transformed into lacks. To produce the need for education and thus the scarcity of schools, our own ways of learning and the social recognition of our knowledge and wisdom were first depreciated and then prohibited." Gustavo Esteva, Mexico
"There are vast differences between the eastern and western ways of living. Given the insecurities, fears and constraints of the poorer part of the world, they are looking up to the western standard of living. And that is what they want, even if it is at the cost of losing their traditional value systems." Kiran Hassan, Pakistan
"It is not "we", our people, who have to change their lifestyles, but our governments should stop foreign companies, who are buying themselves into the local system, trying to seduce our people. The people's referendum in my country made it clear that people say no to ships coming into our ports carrying nuclear waste, bribing our governments to accept that. All this has gone past what people can handle." Pauline Tangiora, Aoteoroa/ New Zealand
"Many Africans believe that the adoption of western modernity and wage labour are at the root of social inequalities... Western lifestyles, thought, culture, capitalism are seen as the source of breakdown in the African family fabric, fraternity and solidarity. They are the root cause of major social upheavals... Capitalism is the mother of individualism, self-centeredness and competition. Capitalism cannot be dissociated from the uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources, monoculture, corruption, destruction, waste, destruction of the environment. Modernity as an attitude, a model for living, mindset and lifestyle is still a "white man's way." Theophile Amouzou, Togo
"In fact, it is only the West that agonises over development, whilst the deep-rooted ills of the so-called Third World societies cannot yet be expressed in words. And it will remain unvoiced as long as difference is not respected.... What Black Africa most urgently needs is sense-producing factories. Because Africa is undergoing a dual crisis: the western one (perversion of values, loss of direction) and its own (loss of identity, breakdown). We are being culturally neutron-bombed: everything remains in place, but what is human is killed. The production of sense (that is: of 'meaning' and of 'direction') is stopped dead." Oscar Bimwenyi, Congo.
Relations between cultures: the experience of Naxos,
by Gerald Wanjohi 1. At our first meeting we each had to select, through a draw, a secret friend. No one was to reveal who his or her secret friend was until the last day. However, one was to try to be close, attentive and kind to that friend without making it too obvious. This idea helped individuals to treat other people kindly, not only their secret friend. This was most noticeable during the discussion on the Platform during which people presented their opinions freely without trying to impose them dogmatically on others. There was no instance of anybody getting angry with anybody else, even though mistakes were made. 2. Our main sessions were preceded by a practical demonstration of cultural practices prevailing in our respective countries, such as greetings, folk songs, use of certain artifacts to cement social relationships, or to re-establish broken harmonies. From these sessions we came to learn that cultural practices of others are as good as ours, only different. By being exposed to these differences, we mutually enriched each other. 3. One evening we engaged in group painting. First, we had to agree on the theme. After that it was the question of each one in the group depicting the theme in his or her own way, never trying to correct or improve on what the other person had done. To me the group painting demonstrated something important for inter-and intra-cultural dialogue: to allow the other person to express herself from beginning to end before projecting ourselves. In summary, I would say that the lesson from the Naxos Group is that it is not enough to mix people of different cultures and expect them to react positively to each other. For that to happen, one must create appropriate and enabling structures. As a result of the way we were organised, I feel that our group constituted in miniature a responsible and united world. 1. Not all the quotations are from actual participants, some were sent in beforehand as comments by those unable to make it to Naxos.  A JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CONCERN Published Quarterly by DR. GERALD J. WANJOHI Likoni Lane - P .O. Box 32440 - Nairobi - Kenya Telephone: 712632/311674/312822 The Online publishing of WAJIBU is by Koinonia Media Centre. GO TO WAJIBU HOMEPAGE |