Language and Culture

During my past six months here in China I have observed and read up about a "few" differences between language and culture in regards to the West and the East. Here is a metaphor to help understand how these two things function together and separately.

1. Language is flesh, and culture is blood. Without culture, language would be dead; without language, culture would have no shape.

2. Picture an ice berg. Language is only part of the tip that is above water; the greater part, lying hidden beneath the surface is the invisible aspect of culture.

3. Add another component of communication. Communication is swimming, language is the swimming skill and culture is water. Without language, communication would remain to a very limited degree; without culture, there would be no communication at all.

Another example of the two thought processes:

Western medicine divides the human body into different parts and treats them accordingly. In a Western hospital, patients have to go to different departments to get treated and lots of different tests are done to come to a conclusion. A traditional Chinese medicine doctor, however, looks at the patient as an organic whole, always taking into consideration the connections of different parts of the body. As a result, a patient suffering from a severe headache may get some foot treatment, as some acupoints are believed to be connected with certain parts of the head. This difference reflects the differences in the world views and thinking patterns of the two cultures. (Intercultural Communication)

I recently was sick with the stomach flu and felt that I should see a doctor to make sure it wasn't anything serious. Luckily there is an international clinic here in Kunming that has western doctors who speak English. I am very grateful for this because otherwise, I would have had to gone to the Chinese hospital. I am not afraid of Chinese doctors but they do things very differently than western doctors. For example, Chinese doctors give their patients an IV for everything and I mean everything. My friend had to get a couple of screws removed from his ankle, (he broke it a year ago and had the screws put it), and he was stuck in the hospital for 3 days with an IV, for a simple ankle surgery. Chinese doctors also give tons of antibiotics for everything. I am sure if I had gone to the hospital for a simple stomach flu I would have been given an IV, lots and lots of pill and probably would have been ordered to stay overnight. Thankfully it was just the stomach flu and I was better after a few days. The western doctor just told me to rest, drink lots of fluids and eat simple foods for the next couple of days...and all was well :)