Communication Between Cultures

relationships, not tasks, are important.“A polychronic view of time sees the mainte-

nance of harmonious relationships as the important agenda, so that use of time needs

to be flexible in order that we do right by the various people to whom we have

obligations.”^163 These cultures are normally collective and deal with life holistically.

For P-time cultures, time is less tangible, and people are usually not in a hurry to

finish an assignment or chore. In addition, P-time participants can interact with

more than one person or do more than one thing at a time. Because P-time has this

characteristic of engaging in several activities at once, people of these cultures often

find it easier to employ“multitasking.”As Dresser notes, this trait“explains why there

is more interrupting in conversations carried on by people from Arabic, Asian, and

Latin American cultures.”^164 African cultures also place great stock in the activity

that is occurring at the moment and emphasize people more than schedules. The

person they are interacting with is more important than an event or individual that

is someplace else. In short,“Time for Africans is defined by events rather than the

clock or calendar.”^165

As we conclude this section on how time communicates, it is important to remem-

ber that specific settings and occasions can influence how a person“acts out”M-time

or P-time. In one context, you might be extremely prompt (M-time); in another situ-

ation, you might be multitasking or making a decision that what you are doing at a

particular moment is essential and hence postpone your next appointment (P-time).

Two cultural examples will further underscore the contextual nature of the use of

time. While Arab culture manifests all the characteristics of P-time cultures,“Mod-

ernization has influenced approach to time in the Arab regions, particularly in

regional business centers and other urban environments.”^166 Hall offers another

instance of how the setting can determine which orientation a person utilizes:

“The Japanese time system combines both M-time and P-time. In their dealings with

foreigners and their use of technology, they are monochronic; in every other way,

especially in interpersonal relations, they are polychronic.”^167

Table 9.1 summarizes the basic aspects of M-time and P-time. The table takes

many of the ideas we have mentioned and translates them into specific behaviors.

Silence

We conclude our analysis of the types of nonverbal messages by looking at how

silence can be an important component in intercultural communication. Within the

interpersonal setting, silence can provide an interval in an ongoing interaction during

which the participants have time to think, check or suppress an emotion, encode a

lengthy response, inaugurate another line of thought, call attention to certain words,

express various emotions, or indicate thoughtfulness.^168 Silence also provides feed-

back, informing both sender and receiver about the clarity of an idea or its signifi-

cance in the overall interpersonal exchange. In most Western cultures, talk is highly

valued, and as such, it is often difficult to determine the meaning behind someone’s

silence. It can be interpreted as an indication of agreement, anger, lack of interest,

injured feelings, shyness, a means of showing respect, contempt, or even a way con-

cealing the truth.^169 And reflect for a moment on the meaning of silence when young

children in the United States are given a“time-out”—a period when they are

expected to be silent and not have any sort of human interaction. Hence, many

Silence 331

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