Literates Working Among Oral
Cultures
Dr. David Sills
What is a People Group?
• A people group is a “significantly large
grouping of individuals who perceive
themselves to have a common affinity for one
another because of their shared language,
religion, ethnicity, residence, occupation, class
or caste, situation, etc. or combinations of
these.”
• “The largest group within which an idea can
spread as a without encountering barriers of
understanding or acceptance.”
Nigeria by Political Boundaries
Nigeria by Ethnolinguistic Boundaries
The numbers have faces, and the faces
have names.
• There are 27,000 ethnic groups in the world
• Every day 40,000 children die of hunger and
starvation-related diseases
• 6,000 persons die from the lack of clean drinking
water
Brazil’s kids
• Twelve million children live on the street
• Seven million children work full time
• Half a million girls under sixteen are
prostitutes, many sold in coastal cities as part
of a vacation package
• One in three Brazilian children will die before
the age of fifteen
During the Last Hour
• 1,945 children died of preventable causes
• 1,625 children were forced to live on the
streets because of death or abuse ...
• 115 children became child prostitutes ...
• 66 children under age 15 were infected with
HIV ...
• 23 children were killed in war ...
Missionary Math
• Of the 6,913 known languages, only 411 have
a Bible, 1,068 have a NT, and many have
only portions.
• 70% of the Unreached ethnic groups are
preliterates.
• 75% of Evangelical churches are located in
the 20% of the world that is highly literate.
• Since Gutenberg, Christianity has walked on
literate feet.
World Population Breakdown
• Here's one way to think about our various peoples:
imagine the planet's entire population as a village
of 1,000. The breakdown would be:
• 584 from Asia
124 from Africa
95 from East and West Europe
84 from Latin America
55 from the former Soviet Union
52 from North America
6 from Australia and New Zealand
Nonverbal Communication
“Nonverbal communication is an elaborate code that is written
nowhere, known by none, and understood by all.” –Edward
Sapir
• Importance of Nonverbal Communication:
– All types of communication without words
– Mehrabian & Ferris and Mehrabian & Wiener analysis of
meaning communicated through facial and vocal expressions:
• Facial Expressions: 55%
• Paralanguage (the way the words are said): 38%
• Verbal (the words themselves): 7%
– Other research suggests that about 2/3 of the meaning in
an interaction is conveyed by nonverbal communication
Nonverbal Communication
Importance of Nonverbal Communication: 5 Reasons:
1. Nonverbal communication is present everywhere
2. Nonverbal communication usually comes first
3. Nonverbal communication is especially likely to be
trusted
4. Nonverbal communication can lead to
misunderstanding, especially when verbal messages
are missing or limited
5. Nonverbal communication is especially important in
intercultural communication situations
Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication messages may:
– Contradict verbal communication messages
– Complement verbal communication messages
– Substitute verbal communication messages
– Regulate verbal communication messages
– Accent or moderate verbal communication
messages
Nonverbal Communication
Body Movements:
• Four main types of kinesic communication:
1. Emblems- Body movements that can be translated
into words that are used to intentionally transmit a
message (hand gestures)
2. Illustrators- A type of kinesic behavior that
accompanies what is said verbally (pointing)
3. Regulators- Kinesic behaviors that control turntaking and other procedural aspects of interpersonal
communication (gaze)
4. Affect Displays- Kinesic behaviors that express
emotions (smile)
Nonverbal Communication
Types of Nonverbal Communication
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Proxemics is nonverbal communication involving space
Time:
• Chronemics- the way in which time affects communication
• Organization of time:
– Technical time- the scientific development of the atomic
clock (nanoseconds)
– Formal time- the process of separating units of time into
days, weeks, and months
– Informal time- within a culture the more loosely defined
concepts of approximation
– Touch: Haptics is nonverbal communication involving touching
Nonverbal Communication
– Voice: Paralanguage is vocal communication other
than verbal content
– Artifact: An individual’s clothing, wedding ring,
personal possessions, etc…
– Physical Appearance: Rule-governed cultural
preferences dictate the elements of appearance that
are considered physically attractive
Culture of Language
• Verbal style to impress (Latino, Arabic)
• Verbal styles to assert and control (German, Irish,
Israeli, Turkish)
• Verbal style that expresses tolerance for ambiguity
(Swedish, Asian)
• Verbal style that uses tolerance for silence (Japanese
and many other Asian)
• Verbal style that expects high information (USA,
other Western countries)
What Causes Illness?
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Evil spirits
Germs
Imbalance of energy
Soul fright
Curse
Broken relationships
Bad luck
What causes good things?
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God (gods) favor you
Blessed because you did something good
Good karma
Fate
Good luck
Natural outcome of hard work
What causes hardships?
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Punishment for doing wrong
Part of life to be expected
God trying to get someone’s attention
Fate
Don’t exist unless you think they do
Natural outcome of one’s lifestyle
What is the purpose of life?
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Serve others
Make your next life better
Make your ancestors’ lives better
Be self-fulfilled
Serve God, give God glory
No purpose other than pleasure
Reproduce
Cause of Illness & Treatment
Evil spirits
Biology/germs
Imbalance of energy
A curse
Broken relationships with
people, nature, gods
• Soul fright
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• Appease or rid yourself
of evil spirits
• Medicine, surgery
• Balance energy
• Remove the curse
• Restore relationships
• Have the soul returned
The 10/40 Window
Countries in 10/40 Window
Afghanistan
Algeria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Benin
Bhutan
Burkina Faso
Cambodia
Chad
China
Cyprus
Djibouti
Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gambia
Gibraltar
Greece
Guinea
GuineaBissau
India
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Jordan
Korea,
North
Korea,
South
Kuwait
Laos
Lebanon
Libya
Macau
Mali
Malta
Mauritania
Morocco
Myanmar
(Burma)
Nepal
Niger
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Portugal
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sudan
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United Arab
Emirates
Vietnam
Western Sahara
Yemen
10/40 Window Statistics
• Unreached and unevangelized: 95% of the people
living in the 10/40 Window are unevangelized.
Many have never heard the Gospel message even
once.
• Poverty: 85% of those living in the 10/40 window
are the poorest of the world's poor.
• Population: 2/3 of the World’s population lives
here in 1/3 of World’s land mass.
• World religions: Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism are
centered in the 10/40 Window.
The Physical Need . . .
• ...There are over 400 mega cities (cities with more
than 1 million people) in the world today. 300 of
these cities lie within the Window.
• ...The Window contains the majority of the world's
least evangelized mega cities. Of the top 50 cities on
this list, all 50 cities are in the 10/40 Window
• ...More than 97% out the poorest of the poor live in
the Window.
• ...On average, people living in the 10/40 Window
exist on less than $500 per person per year.
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~samkong/mission/1040.php
The Challenge
• Throwing a stone in a pond ripples that pond
only. To impact another means moving out
of your comfort zone.
• Languages must be learned
• Cultures must be learned
• Non-verbal communication
• Literates have to learn how to communicate
with oral culture peoples.
Translation Needs
• There are 6,913 languages cataloged in the world.
• To learn a language that has not been reduced to writing,
develop a system, teach it to the people, translate and
present a Bible takes 20-30 years depending on the
language.
• Over 2,700 languages have been identified as priority
languages and it is estimated that it will take 287 years to
get them a Bible.
• Oral methods are essential for reaching 70% of the
unreached peoples of the world today.
It’s not wrong, it’s not stupid, it’s
just different!
• Ethnocentrism – is the practice of judging the
values, languages, standards, characteristics, etc. of
another culture against one’s home culture.
– The other culture is usually seen as inferior.
– Intercultural workers should recognize their own
ethnocentric tendencies.
– The ugly American is alive and well!
Gestures
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Okay!
Victory or peace
Pointing with index finger
How tall?
Come here
Giving the back
Pointing with feet
The twelve signal systems
• Verbal – speech
• Written – symbols
representing speech
• Numeric – numbers and
number systems
• Pictorial – 2 dimensional
representations
• Artifactual – 3 dimensional
representations and objects
• Audio – use of nonverbal
sounds and silence
• Kinesics – body motions,
facial expressions, posture
• Optical – light and color
• Tactile – touch and the
sense of feel
• Spatial – utilization of space
• Temporal – utilization of
time
• Olfactory – taste and smell
CULTURE SHOCK!!!
• It is inevitable but is rarely fatal.
• Occurs when two or more cultures collide.
– Oriental students in Costa Rica.
– Hot climate cultures vs. Cold climate cultures.
• Learned worldview cues no longer function
• Multilevel, multifaceted, & goes both ways.
• Many have tried to define but it’s primarily an
emotional reaction to a shaken world.
Culture Shock Stages
• Culture Surprise (Tourist/Honeymoon)
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Sights
Sounds
Smells
Money
Customs
• Lasts from a few weeks to a few months
– How long you will be there
– Why you are there
Culture Shock Stages
• Rejection Stage
– Islands of the home culture
– “Us” and “We” vs. “Them” and “They.”
– Caricature and ridicule of nationals
• This stage can last from a few months to a couple
of years. It depends on:
– How quickly you bond with the culture.
– How quickly you learn the language.
– How well you can remember why you are there.
Culture Shock Stages
• Recovery
– Cultural assimilation (going native)
• Sounds great but not healthy
• God made you who you are
– Cultural acceptance and adaptation
• Bonding with the culture, humor, friends
• It’s not wrong, it’s not stupid, it’s just different.
– Culture tension/stress
• Always on a slow burn.
• Nationals are never accepted as equals
Culture Shock!!!
• Reverse culture shock sets in when you return
home.
• USA is parents’ home, not the kids’.
• Prices, options, waste, wealth.
• Priorities and preferences.
• Phrases, clothing styles, dangers, etc.
• Not fatal either, forewarned is forearmed!