Page 66 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

Selected Topics in Intercultural Communication 51

proach, on the other hand, is more concerned with the sensory
input from the moment and the synchronicity of events that hap-
pen to occur together. We all utilize both of these approaches many
times a day, though we may have a preference for one over the
other (Ratiu 1996).
Let’s say that you have an interpreting job in a nearby big city
and need to figure out how you will get to your assignment. To
use the analytical approach, you could consult a map; call up the
public transit companies and inquire as to their schedule, routes,
and prices; then compare that information with the time, cost,
and convenience of driving yourself there. After setting up the
criteria for making your decision (i.e., less time, cheaper cost),
you would figure out which way to go. With a more intuitive ap-
proach, you would just leave your house and head in the general
direction of where you think the job is; you might ask some people
along the way for directions, and eventually you would end up in
the right place. Obviously the interpreting job situation seems to
be more suited to the analytical approach. If you happened to be
in Paris, however, and wanted to find your way to the steps of
Montmartre, you might have a much richer experience if you in-
tuitively “followed your nose” through the profusion of sights,
sounds, and smells that fill Parisian streets, pausing to admire a
pyramid of produce here, tasting a pungent goat cheese there,
and, if you were brave enough, trying to converse with some local
shopkeepers.
Now that we know we have the ability to function in either a
high- or low-context mode, despite our cultural tendencies, we
can be more sensitive in matching our behavior to the situation at
hand, whether that be eavesdropping, cheese shopping in Paris,
or interpreting in the courtroom.

Time Orientation
Imagine that you are a businessperson and have just gotten off a
plane after flying halfway around the world. You find yourself suf-
fering from jet lag in a new country. You walk out into blinding
morning sunlight, while every cell in your body begs you to find a
nice dark bedroom and succumb to slumber. Instead, you stumble
bleary-eyed into a busy bakery, hoping that some sweet pastry
can convince your brain it is really morning. You search for a
semblance of a line or a comforting red metal box that dispenses

03 MINDESS PMKR 51 10/18/04, 11:23 AM