Literates working among Oral Cultures - SE Conference

8/7/2019 Literates working among Oral Cultures - SE Conference

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Literates WorkingAmong Oral Cultures

Dr. David SillsDr. David Sills

Associate Professor of Christian Missionsand Cultural AnthropologyBilly Graham School of Missions,Billy Graham School of Missions,

Evangelism and Church GrowthEvangelism and Church GrowthThe Southern Baptist Theological SeminaryThe Southern Baptist Theological Seminary


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What isa People Group? A people group isa significantly largegrouping of individuals who perceive

themselves tohavea commonaffinityforoneanother becauseoftheirshared language,religion, ethnicity, residence, occupation, classor caste, situation, etc. or combinationsof

these. Thelargestgroup within whichanidea canspread asa without encountering barriersofunderstandingoracceptance.


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Nigeria by Political Boundaries


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Nigeria by Ethnolinguistic Boundaries


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The numbershavefaces,

and thefaceshave names. Thereare 27,000 ethnicgroupsin the

world Every day 40,000 children dieofhunger

and starvation-related diseases 6,000 persons diefrom thelackofclean

drinking water


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Brazils kids Twelvemillion childrenliveon thestreet Seven

million c

hildren w

ork

fu

lltim

e Halfamilliongirls undersixteenare

prostitutes, manysold in coastal citiesaspartofa vacationpackage

Onein three Brazilian children will diebefore theageoffifteen


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DURING THE LAST HOUR

1,945 children died ofpreventable causes 1,625 children wereforced toliveon the

streets becauseofdeathorabuse ... 115 children became child prostitutes ...

66 c hildren underage 15 wereinfected withHIV ... 23 c hildren were killed in war ...


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M

issionaryM

ath Ofthe 6,913 knownlanguages, only 411

havea Bible, 1,068 haveaNT, and manyhaveonlyportions.

70% ofthe Unreached ethnicgroupsarepreliterates.

75% ofEvangelical churchesarelocated inthe 20% ofthe world thatishighlyliterate.

Since Gutenberg, Christianityhas walked

onliteratefeet.


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World PopulationBreakdown

Here'sone way to thinkaboutour variouspeoples:

imagine theplanet's entirepopulationasa villageof1,000. The breakdown would be: 584 from Asia

124 from Africa

95 from Eastand West Europe84 from Latin America55 from theformer Soviet Union52 fromNorth America6 from AustraliaandNew Zealand


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Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communicationisan elaborate code thatis writtennowhere, known by none, and understood byall.Edward Sapir

ImportanceofNonverbal Communication: Nonverbal Communicationisall the typesof

communication that takeplacewithoutwords Mehrabian & Ferrisand Mehrabian & Wieneranalysisofmeaning communicated through facialand vocal expressions:

Facial Expressions: 55%

Paralanguage (theway thewordsare said): 38% Verbal (thewords themselves): 7%

Other research suggests thatabout 2/3 ofthemeaninginaninteractionis conveyed by nonverbal communication


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ImportanceofNonverbal Communication: 5 Reasons:1. Nonverbal communicationispresent everywhere

2.N

onverbal communication usually comesfirst3. Nonverbal communicationis especiallylikely to betrusted

4. Nonverbal communication canlead to

misunderstanding, especially when verbalmessagesaremissingorlimited5. Nonverbal communicationis especiallyimportantin

intercultural communicationsituations


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N

onverbal CommunicationNonverbal communicationmessagesmay: Contradict verbal communicationmessages

Complement verbal communicationmessages

Substitute verbal communicationmessages

Regulate verbal communicationmessages Accent ormoderate verbal communicationmessages


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BodyMovements: Fourmain typesofkinesic communication:

1. Emblems- Bodymovements that can be

translated into words thatare used tointentionally transmitamessage (handgestures)

2. Illustrators- A typeofkinesic behavior thataccompanies whatissaid verbally (pointing)

3. Regulators- Kinesic behaviors that controlturn-takingand otherproceduralaspectsofinterpersonal communication (gaze)

4. Affect Displays- Kinesic behaviors thatexpress emotions (smile)


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TypesofN

onverbal Communication Space: Proxemicsis nonverbal communicationinvolvingspace Time:

Chr onemicsis the wayin which timeaffectscommunication

Organizationoftime: Techn ical time- thescientific developmentofthe

atomic clock (nanoseconds)

Formal time- theprocessofseparating unitsoftimeinto days, weeks, and months Informal time- withina culture themoreloosely

defined conceptsofapproximation Touch: Haptics is nonverbal communicationinvolving

touching


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TypesofNonverbal Communication

Voice: Paralanguageis vocal communicationotherthan verbal content Art ifact: Anindividuals clothing, wedding ring,

personalpossessions, etc

Physical Appearance: Rule-governed culturalpreferences dictate the elementsofappearance thatare considered physicallyattractive


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C

ultureofLanguage Verbalstyle toimpress (Latino, Arabic)

Verbalstyles toassertand control (German, Irish,Israeli, Turkish) Verbalstyle that expresses toleranceforambiguity

(Swedish, Asian)

Verbalstyle that uses toleranceforsilence (Japaneseand manyother Asian) Verbalstyle that expectshighinformation (USA,

otherWestern countries)


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WhatCauses Illness?

Evilspirits Ger ms Imbalanceofenergy Soulfright

C

urse Broken relationships Bad luck


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What causesgood things?

God (gods) favoryou Blessed becauseyou did somethinggood Good karma Fate

Good luck Naturaloutcomeofhard work


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What causeshardships? Punishmentfor doing wrong Partoflife to be expected God trying togetsomeonesattention Fate

Dont exist unlessyou think they do Naturaloutcomeofoneslifestyle


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Whatis thepurposeoflife? Serveothers Makeyour nextlife better Makeyourancestorslives better Beself-fulfilled

Serve God, give God glory Nopurposeother thanpleasure Reproduce


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CauseofIllness &

Treatment Evilspirits

Biology/germs Imbalanceofenergy A cur se

Broken relationships withpeople, nature, gods Soulfright

Appeaseor rid yourselfofevilspirits

Medicine, surgery Balance energy Remove the curse

Restore relationships

Have thesoul returned


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The 10/40 Window


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AfghanistanAlgeriaBahrainBangladeshBeninBhutanBurkinaFasoCambodiaChadChinaCyprusDjibouti

EgyptEritreaEthiopiaGambiaGibraltarGreeceGuineaGuinea-BissauIndiaIranIraqIsrael

JapanJordanKorea,NorthKorea,SouthKuwaitLaosLebanonLibyaMacauMaliMaltaMauritania

MoroccoMyanmar(Burma)NepalNigerOmanPakistanPhilippinesPortugalQatarSaudiArabiaSenegalSudan

SyriaTaiwanTajikistanThailandTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanUnited ArabEmirates

VietnamWestern SaharaYemen

Countriesin 10/40

Window


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10/40 Window Statistics

Unreached and unevangelized: 95% ofthepeoplelivingin the 10/40 Window are unevangelized.

Manyhave neverheard the Gospelmessage evenonce. Poverty: 85% ofthoselivingin the 10/40

window are thepoorestofthe world'spoor. Population: 2/3 oftheWorldspopulationlives

herein 1/3 ofWorldsland mass. World religions: Islam, Buddhismand Hinduism

are centered in the 10/40 Window.


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The PhysicalNeed . . .

...T hereareover 400 mega cities (cities withmorethan 1 millionpeople) in the world today. 300 ofthese citieslie within theWindow.

...T heWindow contains themajorityofthe world'sleast evangelized mega cities. Ofthe top 50 citiesonthislist, all 50 citiesarein the 10/40 Window

...Mo

re tha

n 97%o

ut th

epoo

rest

ofth

epoo

rli

vein

theWindow. ...Onaverage, peoplelivingin the 10/40 Window

existonless than $500 perpersonperyear.

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~samkong/mission/1040.php


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TheC

hallenge Throwingastoneinapond ripples that

pond only. Toimpactanothermeans

movingoutofyour comfortzone. Languagesmust belearned Culturesmust belearned

Non-verbal communication Literateshave tolearnhow tocommunicate withoral culturepeoples.


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TranslationNeeds

Thereare 6,913 languages cataloged in the world. Tolearnalanguage thathas not been reduced to

writing, developasystem, teachit to thepeople,translateand presenta Bible takes 20-30 yearsdependingon thelanguage.

Over 2,700 languageshave beenidentified asprioritylanguagesand itis estimated thatit willtake 287 years toget thema Bible.

Oralmethodsare essentialfor reaching 70% ofthe

unreached peoplesofthe world today.


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Its not wrong, its not

stupid, itsjust different!

Ethnocentrism is thepracticeofjudging the

values, languages, standards, characteristics, etc.ofanother cultureagainstones home culture. The other cultureis usuallyseenasinferior. Intercultural workersshould recognize theirown

ethnocentric tendencies. The uglyAmericanisaliveand well!


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Gestures Okay! Victoryorpeace Pointing withindexfinger How tall?

C

omehere Giving the back Pointing withfeet


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The twelvesignalsystems Verbal speech Written symbols

representingspeech Numeric numbersand

numbersystems Pictorial 2 dimensional

representations

Artifactual 3dimensionalrepresentationsandobjects

Audio useofnonverbal

soundsand silence

Kinesics bodymotions,facial expressions, posture

Optical lightand color Tactile touchand the

senseoffeel Spatial utilizationof

space

Temporal utilizationoftime Olfactory tasteand

smell


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C

ULTURE SHOC

K!!! Itisinevitable butis rarelyfatal. Occurs when twoormore cultures collide.

OrientalstudentsinCosta Rica. Hot climate cultures vs. Cold climate cultures.

Learned worldview cues nolongerfunction

M

ultilevel, multifaceted, & goes both ways. Manyhave tried to define butitsprimarilyanemotional reaction toashaken world.


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C

ulture Shock Stages Culture Surprise (Tourist/Honeymoon)

Sights

Sounds Smells Money Customs

Lastsfromafew weeks toafew months How longyou will be there Whyyouare there


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C

ulture Shock Stages Rejection Stage

Islandsofthehome culture

Us and We vs. Them and They. Caricatureand ridiculeofnationals

Thisstage canlastfromafew months toa

coupleofyears. It dependson: How quicklyyou bond with the culture. How quicklyyoulearn thelanguage. How wellyou can remember whyyouare there.


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C

ulture Shock Stages Rec overy

Culturalassimilation (going native)

Soundsgreat but nothealthy God madeyou whoyouare

Culturalacceptanceand adaptation Bonding with the culture, humor, friends Its not wrong, its notstupid, its just different.

Culture tension/stress Alwaysonaslow burn. Nationalsare neveraccepted as equals


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C

ulture Shock!!! Reverse cultureshocksetsin whenyou

returnhome.

USAisparentshome, not thekids. Prices, options, waste, wealth. Prioritiesand preferences. Phrases, clothingstyles, dangers, etc. Notfatal either, forewarned isforearmed!

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Literates working among Oral Cultures - SE Conference