Page 69 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

54 Reading Between the Signs

are so precious that “there is minimal value placed on being ‘on
time’ to the next appointment, getting home to sleep, or even
finishing the immediate business at hand” (Smith 1996, 190).
Although DST is often used as the reason that meetings start
late, there are some instances where punctuality and even show-
ing up early are common in order to get a good seat. This is linked
to the importance of sight lines and having a good view of the
signing. It may apply, therefore, to signed or interpreted plays or
lectures.
There is also a cultural difference in timing between Deaf cul-
ture and hearing culture with regard to greetings and leave-tak-
ing. Hearing Americans practice a greeting ritual that precedes
our getting to the point: “Hi.” “Hello.” “How are you?” “Fine thanks,
and you?” “Not too bad.” And then on to the matter at hand.
Hearing leave-taking is more abrupt: “Great party. Bye.” Deaf cul-
ture reverses the pacing of these two interactions. After the hello,
they get right to the point without the warm-up and save the long
ritual for leave-taking. At a party or other large event, hugs, good-
byes, agreeing when to meet again, more hugs, a last bit of news,
and so forth can easily continue for half an hour.
Polychronic versus Monochronic
Polychronic and monochronic are terms coined by Edward T. Hall
to describe another distinction regarding time. In monochronic
cultures like the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and coun-
tries in Scandinavia, time is segmented linearly, and people tend
to focus on one thing or person at a time (witness our ever-present
date books neatly divided into hourly or smaller units that we
often assign one by one till our days are fully booked.) By sched-
uling our time so rigidly, we compartmentalize our life, trying to
make it manageable by concentrating on only one thing at a time.
This process has the side effect of reducing context as we sepa-
rate business from pleasure, family from friends, exercise from
daily chores, and so on. So deeply ingrained is our system of deal-
ing with time that we forget it is not universal. It seems the only
logical way to organize our lives in order to make sure that time is
not lost or wasted.
In polychronic cultures, such as those of Latin American coun-
tries and France, people and relationships take precedence over
agendas and schedules. People may carry on several conversa-
tions at the same time. This means that if an American is meeting

03 MINDESS PMKR 54 10/18/04, 11:23 AM