ESL21B 1761

Essay 1.2, Topic #2

July 6, 2007

Japanese Pattern

There are cultural patterns in the world. Each country has its own value,

communication style, and concept of time : from country to country, city to city, and

from neighbor to neighbor. When foreigners visit Japan, there are several waysWChoice to be

aware of in order to adjust more easily and avoid intercultural conflicts and

misunderstandings. These waysWChoice foreigners have to know are that Japanese tend to seek

harmony between people, they value politeness, and they are strict about time.

    First, in Japan, people try to be {***}MissingWa state of peaceful existence between people.

They usually were trained in their early age to repress their expression because they

want to avoid conflict ; also, it might be related to the second world war which brought

tragedy to Japanese. For example, I often look into my friend's face to make sure

whether his/her face looks angry or not while I'm talking to him/her. Likewise, not

only Japanese but also foreigners had better repress their repressionWChoice to avoid beingWChoice in

trouble in Japan. In contrast, according to the article "American Values and

Assumption", Althen discuss that "Americans are not taught, as people in many Asian

countries are, that they should mask their emotional responses. Their words, the tone of

their voices, or their facial expression will usually reveal when they are feeling angry,

unhappy, confused, or happy and content. For American, being honest is usually more

important than preserving harmony in interpersonal relationship." In addition, Japanese

don't like eye contact because eye contact makes Japanese feel this way someone reads their mindAwkward, as a result, it might be cause of conflict. On the other hand, in America, eye

contact is one ofAwkward communication styles. Althes discuss that "Americans can even make

their business counterparts in Japan uncomfortable with the kind of direct eye contact

that's normal here. Not only do most Japanese businessman not look at you, they keep

their eye down.", so foreigners don't need to worry about that too much. That is, the

reason why Japanese don't look at foreigners while they are talking each other isn't that

Japanese don't like foreigners. For foreigners, they had better never forget about that

while in Japan.

    Second, Japanese value politeness. Since they were childWForm, they were taught that

they{***}MissingW respect their seniors whoAwkward are parents, teachers, and friends or even others because

Japanese are strict about relationship between senior and junior. For example, if

foreigners have Japanese senior friends, foreigners have to say "Mr" fast when

foreigners call Japanese senior friends. If foreigners don't do that, it makes their seniors

so uncomfortable in Japan. In addition, when foreigners are invited to dinner in Japan,

they have to eat their own all mealWord Order with smile to be respectful toward the host even if

this meal was soCut terrible. Then, sometimes they are asked by the host "How's it?", and

the important thing they never forget is that they have to say "It's so testySpl. Although I'm

full now, I feel I can eat more only meal you cookAwkward." even if the meal was so testiness.

Also, another example of Chinese style is similar to Japanese style. According to the

article "Polite but Thirsty", Tang discuss that "You are invited to dinner at a Chinese

friend's home; the host will usually say "Sorry, there's not much food for you. It's just a

simple meal." even though the table is covered with a dozen dishes. What is more, in

China, at the table, when someone says, "Oh the food is so good. Your wife is really a

good cook", the answer is always something like, "Oh, no. The food is not good this

time. She's only a so-so cook. You over praised her." As they are, Japanese also even

express modesty as one of politeness.

    Finally, Japanese are strict about time. They dislike to wait for someone who is

late, so when foreigners make an appointment where they meet, foreigners have to be

there "five-MissingWten minutes early" or at least "be on time". However, if this appointment is

for Japanese senior, they have to go to thereAwkward quick "fifteen minutes early". Foreigners

never forget about respecting their seniors. In addition, Japanese often think how to use

time efficiently. For example, Japanese make a schedule to do something wisely, so they

hate to be frustrated in their scheduledWForm. For these things, foreigners have to be careful

about time when they meet Japanese. {***}ChoppyOn the contrary, according to the article "Time

Talks, with an Accent", Levine discuss that "Brazilian timepieces and consistently

inaccurate; and nobody seemed to mind. There is no dictionary to define time for them,

or for strangers who stumble over the maddening incongruities between the time sense

they bring with them and the one they face in a new land..."

    In short, Japanese patterns consist of three parts which are seeking harmony,

value of politeness, and strictness of time. It is important for foreigner to know that

because it helps them to be aware of in order to adjust more easily and avoid

intercultural conflicts and misunderstandings. Also, luckily, foreigners have enough

time to get used to Japanese patterns easily.