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“When we enlarge our view of the world, we deepen our understanding of our own lives.”

“When you learn something from people, or from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment to preserve it and build on it.”

We need to be very careful when we address another person by names. Sometimes it is really difficult to accomplish this simple task correctly. The first challenge is that the family name may come first or last, depending on countries and culture.

For the Chinese, the family name comes first (1 or 2 characters), followed by given names (1 or 2 characters). For example, the President of the People’ s Republic of China“Hu Jintao”, whose family name is Hu. In the UK, USA and European countries, except Italy, the family name comes after the given names.　For example, the name of one of my friends from the UK is“Stewart Gordon MacDuff”, where MacDuff is his family name.

In the Muslim world, children take the first name of their fathers as their family names. Therefore, in Malaysia, the name “Ahmad bin Ibrahim” tells us that Ibrahim is the first name of his father. The words“bin”for males and“binte”(in short“bte”)for ladies mean“son of”and“daughter of”respectively. Indians and Pakistanis have the same naming system; they may have“s/o”(son of) after their given names.

There is also another system where a person may have three words to his name, each carries specific meaning. The first word of name is the given name, while the second is his mother’ s family name and the last is his family name deriving from his father’ s family name. This can be found in the names of the people in the US, Philippines and other culture. For example, the second word“Fitzgerald”in the name of the late US President“John Fitzgerald Kennedy”is the family name of his late mother Rose.

Some ladies, upon marriage will take on the husband’ s family name or have the husband’ s family name added to her family name, with a hyphen between the 2 family names. Hillary Rodham Clinton (American) and Connie Wong—Pai (Chinese) are the two examples where the family names of these 2 ladies are Rodham and Pai respectively.

To avoid the embarrassment of being addressed by others with the wrong family name, some Asians would line up their name such as Jenny J Y Li, where her name written in the Chinese way should be Li Jingyi, Jenny.

There are still many other systems of names under different cultures. It is therefore very important for us to be extremely careful about various naming systems under different cultures.

Among family members and friends, the Americans generally use first name in addressing each other, even when addressing their elders. On the other hand, the Chinese would have a specific term for each and every member of the extended family tree, differentiating both the paternal and maternal sides. The younger ones have to address them correctly.

However, naming people can still be very challenging when it is outside the family. In different countries, Organizations and cultural backgrounds, the naming system can be very complex. Status does come into play and there are two (2) types, namely ascribed and achieved status.

Status is based on factors such as age, gender, wealth and education. Europeans and Asians place great importance on this when addressing people, using Mr./Mrs./Ms, titles such as Dr., Engineer, or their position in the organization. One can only use first names in addressing others when he is invited to do so.

Handshake is a universal form of greeting nowadays. However, there are differences and taboos one has to be aware.

British, American, Australian, New Zealander and Germans are known to shake hands upon meeting and departure. Shaking hands can be made several times a day in most European countries, whereas Asians and Arabs may continue to hold each other’ s hands at the end of the handshake.

Kissing on the cheek is practiced in many cultures, with the Scandinavians going for the single, the French for the double, the Dutch, Belgians and Arabs for the triple kiss.

In Eastern culture, one needs to be aware of the following points:

—Only shake the hands of a lady when she offers her hand. In the Islamic world, shaking hands between sexes is considered taboo.

—In Japan, a bow is considered respectful. The more junior in status will bow lower to the superior.

—In the Islamic world, the hand should be pressed to the chest after the handshake.

—Always shake with the right hand, especially in the Islamic countries.

Colour plays a very important part in different cultures. One has to be careful in the choice of colours for stationery, gift wraps, dressing,etc.,when meeting people from different cultural backgrounds. If one does not understand the symbolism of colours in their expression, one can make very big mistakes.

The author recalled when she attended a theme party organized by the government of Singapore, the dress code of which was Imperial China. The author chose yellow colour for her“imperial gown”,while the other people who were western educated wore black gowns which are symbolized as servants,maid or eunuchs in Singapore.Without knowing the symbolism, the author was laughed and teased at by others for being odd,but they shut their mouth immediately and were terribly embarrassed when the author told them the truth about what their dressing symbolized.

There are many colours symbolizing different things in various cultures. The author would just list a few important colours below:

Generally, the red colour means good luck, celebration, success,

excitement, danger, stop, love and passion.

The Chinese and the Eastern countries use red on weddings.

But, in South Africa, it is a colour of mourning.

Gift of red Roses indicates love and respect.

Gold is a generally accepted colour for wealth, strength and good

life in both the East and the West.

In the East, this colour is proof against evil, for the dead, sacred

and imperial whereas, in the West it symbolizes hope, hazards,

coward, weakness and taxis.

Gift of yellow roses means friendship, joy and gladness.

In China and many Asian countries like Malaysia, Brunei, the colour yellow symbolizes royalty. Only the emperors can use colour yellow in China (during the imperial times), Malaysia and Brunei.

The yellow colour, however, means mourning in Egypt.

In the East, Green means eternity, family, prosperity and peace.

It is also the universal colour for the Islamic religion for perfect faith.

In Japan, it means life. However, in China a man is said to be wearing a green hat when his wife is cheating on him. So, be careful not to give hat that is green in colour to a Chinese.

In the West, it means spring, new birth, and especially in Ireland, it is the colour of the country which celebrates St. Patrick’ s Day.

In the East, Blue indicates wealth. In China, it means immortality

and in Iran, it is the colour of heaven, spirituality and mourning.

To the Westerners, Blue symbolizes depression, sadness, conservative and corporation. Elvis Presley had a song“Blue Christmas”indicating his Christmas was going to be lonely. On the other hand, Blue, especially dark blue, is the formal dress colour for the corporate world during interviews, meetings, conferences,etc.

—Purple/Violet Colour

In the East, usually it means Wealth, but in Thailand, it

symbolizes mourning and widows.

However, in the West, it means royalty.

This colour has both positive and negative meanings in the

Eastern culture. The negatives are unhappiness, death, mourning,

funerals. But, the positives are children, marriage, helpful people,

To the Western culture, the white colour symbolizes all the positives such as brides, angels, good people, hospitals, doctors and peace (in the form of a white dove).

This is the universal colour for all the negative things in both the East and the West. It means evil, bad luck, unhappiness, penance, mourning, and funerals.

However, in modern days, it is the fashionable trend for the younger generation to wear black.

When the author’ s friend was a teenager, in one incident he wore a black T-shirt with a white pair of trousers during the Spring Festival. He was immediately reprimanded by the elders in the family, and was urged to change to clothing of a more acceptable colour before going to visit their relatives.

Each country and culture has their own costume and dress code. It is always advisable that people understand and respect the dress code of the country that they are going to visit and make necessary preparation for it. As shown by the experience of the author above, it is still not a good idea nowadays for you to wear black or white clothes when you visit China during the Chinese New Year. Get prepared to have more clothes of red colour with you before your visit to China during that period of time so as to ensure that you will be more welcomed by your Chinese friends or business partners.　In general, the dressing in the East is more conservative, especially in the Islamic and the Middle Eastern countries. Ladies are expected to wear clothes long enough to cover their knees and elbows, and to have their hairs covered.

In the corporate world, the dressing code of most organizations is still either formal or smart casual. However, the dressing culture seems changing following the growth in the IT world which puts emphasis on innovation and creativity, and is flexible in the dressing code. In the IT business world, T-shirt, Jeans and sportswear are now more and more popular.

Consumption of Food and Beverage

Other than fast food outlets and pubs, the dining places in the Western community　tend to have a quiet and relax atmosphere, whereas the dining　places in the Eastern world are usually more crowded and　noisy, perhaps more energetic to certain extent.

Table manners are quite different,too. While the Westerners usually consume their food quietly, the Easterners tend to be more willing to slurp up their food and make burping noises to show that they are really enjoying the good food and showing their appreciation.

However, respect for the host, elders and senior ranks are common in both the East and the West culture, which is commonly demonstrated in the seating arrangement, etc.

In the West and some countries/regions in Asia like Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, punctuality is the norm to show professionalism and respect to each other. In Middle East, Latin America and most of Asia, there is fluidity where time is concerned.

There is a phrase“马上就到”in Chinese, translated literally to mean“the horse will arrive soon”.This phrase is quite a common response among Chinese when someone is being queried for keeping people waiting for him. The author always challenged such response as whether her horse was too young or old to carry her to arrive on time.

“To be or not to be” ,just to quote Shakespeare, where the appropriateness of touching a person during conversation is concerned, depends very much on the culture.

From the author’ s experience, touching is a no—no where Eastern culture is concerned despite of some exceptions. In the Western world, Italians, French, Latin American would touch each other when they talk. The British would not touch each other, unless on the sporting ground, where they even hug and kiss to celebrate success. These expressions are also being practised by the Australians and New Zealanders, and more and more common worldwide nowadays.

Touching is common in France, Italy, Greece, Russia, Spain, Middle East, India and certain Asian countries. The opposite is true for USA, Canada, Britain, Germany, Portugal, Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Hand gestures can be complicated. The same hand gesture can be complimentary in one culture, yet offensive in another culture.

In English speaking countries, this sign indicates it is OK, alright, correct,etc.

To Japanese, this sign means money, and if you are showing or shown this sign, it means money is wanted for payment, and for bribery.

To French and Belgians,“O”means zero and/or nothing. Thus, if when you want to compliment a chef about his culinary skills, please do not show the“O”sign.

In the Mediterranean region, it is a signal for a hole, so Greeks may think that you are telling them they are homosexuals, Turks and Latin Americans will take it to mean they are “arseholes”. It was reported that when the former President Richard M.Nixon went for a goodwill visit to Latin America with the intention to patch up some strained relations, he showed the“O”gestures as he stepped out of his Air Force One. He meant it the American way, without realising that he was perceived by the people waiting for him at the airfield that they were all“arseholes”. The locals booed and hissed at him, stunning him.

In the same way, the Arabs consider the“O”sign as a threat and/or an obscene gesture.

One has to be careful when showing this sign.

Commonly, the sign with the palm facing the people is taken to mean victory. But, if the sign is shown with the palm facing oneself, it means to ask the others to“up yours”,a very rude gesture.

However, in certain parts of Europe, the“V”sign with the palm facing oneself is still considered to mean “victory”, and in some other parts, it is taken to mean the number“two(2)”.You may now see how ridiculous it is when someone tries to express his dissatisfaction by showing the“V”sign, the people receiving the sign, however, think that he is informing them about winning a prize only because of the palm direction being wrong ; or in some circumstances, the bartender may give the person　two mugs of beer with the “V” sign that he is showing.

—The“Thumb-Up”sign

In countries under strong British influence for historical reasons, this sign means OK, good, best when the thumb is pointed upwards. However, if it is pointed with jerking movement, it means the rude“up yours”.On the other hand, if the thumb is pointed sideways, it means thumbing a lift, commonly used by hitchhikers. However, one should not show this“Thumb-Up”gesture in Greece, to the Greeks, it is an insulting“get stuffed”gesture.

When the Europeans count, the“Thumb-Up”sign is to mean“one(1)”, combining with the index finger pointing up meaning “two(2)”,and so on and so forth from“three(3)”to“five(5)”.

The British however, use the index finger to indicate“one (1)”, and “two (2)” on the middle finger. Thus, the“thumb-up”will mean“five (5)”.

—The American“Longhorn”sign

To the Americans, it is a sign of the Texas Longhorn Football Team supporter.　It is the sign with the index and little fingers pointing upwards, while the other fingers are in closed position, tips of the middle finger and thumb touching each other. But, this sign is can send someone to jail if shown in Italy. It is a sign to tell an Italian that his wife is cheating on him, similar to the meaning of“green hat”to a Chinese.

There are of course many other behavioural cultural differences, such as personal space, eye contact, use of words of the same language etc.

As we know, China is a country with a large number of ethnic groups and numerous dialects. When in the written form, all ethnic/dialect groups understand each other. However the same word and/or combination of word may carry different meanings. Take for example the two adjectives like“salty” and“wet”. When combined and pronounced in their own dialects, people from Southern Fujian would indicate a person being a scrooge, while people in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, would take it to describe a person being lewd.

As mentioned at the beginning of this Chapter, the author is trying to provide some snippets of cultural differences, which are by no means exhaustive. These snippets may then be some help to those people who may need to work and live in a multi-cultural environment.