Verbal and Body Differences In the Middle Eastern and Western Cultures

 

            A lot of people travel around the world. When they do, the first thing they notice is normally the politics and how much people are interested in it. Then, they focus on the things the populace eat or wear. Rarely do people concentrate on trying to figure out the difference in verbal and body languages in different cultures, which in turn puts them in a lot of embarrassing situations. I, on the other hand, think of myself as one of these rare people, because I look for these differences sharply. I came to figure out that there are some interesting differences between the Middle Eastern and Western Cultures, and that had I been given a choice, I would have chosen to be a citizen of the Western Culture. In this essay I will compare the verbal and body differences between this cultures and try to prove to you, why I think the Western Culture is better.

            First of all, these two Cultures differ in the way people enter a house. Now, in the Middle Eastern Cultures, people do this by taking their shoes off, generally at the steps, while in Western Cultures, they do this by simply tipping the hat, or if they were not wearing hats, a gentle nod of the head will suffice. Personally, I hate the site of filthy slippers and messy shoes at the front door. The odor is disgusting as well as the sight. A nod, or a tip of the hat, however, neither disturbs the eyes nor nose.

              Next, there is this great dilemma about the left hand in the Middle Eastern Cultures.  They would not eat, greet or touch people with their left hands since they think it ‘Unclean’. The Western Cultures, in contrast, don’t have any problems with their left hands. The reason I prefer this non-pickiness about the left hand is because it is humiliating to ask someone not to touch you, because you feel and think that their hand is ‘Unclean’. It is as if you doubted their overall cleanness. It is almost like if you were telling them, “Even though I saw you wash your hand just now, your left hand remains to be unclean, so do not eat, greet, or touch me with it. Unless you want to contaminate me; and you shouldn’t do that, because then I’d cry.”

            Furthermore, there’s this dissimilarity in the way people from other cultures talk to people. When the inhabitants of a Middle Eastern Culture try to prove a point, explain something, or generally want to tell you a story, they look directly in your eyes. The Western Culture natives, conversely, try to look anywhere but directly in your eyes. In my humble opinion, I believe that staring at the eyes is unbelievably ‘Scary’. Naturally, people stare at each other when they are mad. So it is obviously more respectful to look away rather than pierce your friend’s eyes with your own fixated eerie gaze. For instance, a woman accepting a proposal would not look the man in the eye and say “Yes.” Instead, she would answer while she is looking away.

            Also, when citizens of a Middle Eastern Culture are engaged in a conversation, they wave their arms frantically around. They do this to stress how they felt during a certain situation whereas the populace of a Western Culture tends to keep their arms immobilized at their sides. Think about it for a second, would you like to be occupied in a conversation with mad people waving their arms around wildly instead of paying attention to what is being said? You would be praying under your breath not to have your eyes gouged out, accidentally. I would not. I would much rather be engaged in a conversation where I’d be able to concentrate on the valuable information that is being emitted, instead of fearing for my valuable life.

            Moreover, the same gesture can mean exactly the opposite thing when considering these two cultures together. Tapping on the head twice, means “I am clever” or “I have a brilliant idea” in a Middle Eastern Culture, yet it means, “You are crazy,” “They are crazy” or “I am crazy” in a Western Culture. Now I have to admit that since both actions point to the head it can mean either ‘Clever’ or ‘Crazy’, but I stick to the latter one because of the following reasons. The first is that pointing to ones’ chest with their thumb is an even bigger indication of ‘Praising,’ i.e. ‘Clever’ and that you cannot call someone crazy by pointing at their chest. The other is that most people around the world tap their head and mean ‘Crazy,’ therefore, you’re going to be in trouble if you do it and mean ‘Clever.’

  In addition, the action that people in the Middle East use to mean ‘wait’ or ‘hang on’ is actually quite obscene in a Western Society. It is the action you use when you touch all your fingers, including your thumb together and move your hand up and down in order for people to wait for you. However, if you take a moment to think about it, you would realize that, even if you didn’t know that it was a vulgar gesture in the West, you would decide not to do it again since it looks grotesque.

  Greeting someone that haven’t been seen for a while, or an indication of plain happiness can differ massively between the two cultures. The Middle Eastern Culture tend to show off more emotion for greeting such a person by kissing the guy as little as thirty seven times! That’s not including, repeated hugs, kisses on the nose, forehead and sometimes shoulders as well. Westerners on the contrary settle for a tight handshake, a friendly high five or a gentle pat on the back. It’s a sign of high class to show respect to your friend, but it’s a sign of sheer brilliance to make someone feel happy, respectable, and most importantly, comfortable in a simple gesture.

  In conclusion, I have established the reasons which give me a motivation to prefer Western Cultures to Middle Eastern ones, and they are: the non smelly, and practically elegant way they enter someone’s home, how they are not picky about the ‘Uncleanness’ of the left hand, not staring when speaking and keeping their hands at their sides, the refined way they eat their food, and lastly, the admirable way they make the acquaintance of a dear friend.