American Culture vs. African Culture

American Culture vs. African Culture

Today things are so very different everywhere, especially in different cultures. American Culture in comparison to African Culture. The African Culture is very diverse. Each of the African countries is a mix of tribes, with each having their unique language. There are many different African languages. African is a polychronic culture, some of the characteristics include, they are easily distracted, changer plans often, build lifetime relationships, are just to mention a few. American culture is monochronic culture, they concentrate on jobs, do one thing at a time, engage in short term relationships are just a few of the characteristics. It is also a High-Context Culture same as the African culture. They use non-verbal communication. Very little meaning is expressed through words instead, gestures, facial expressions, silence and relationships among communicators, have meaning. In those High-Context cultures, meaning can be expressed through many different things such as age, gender, family background title and affiliations, also through individual’s network of friends and associates. In M-time, the American culture, meetings and events are scheduled, one thing at a time. People like to concentrate on one task before moving on to something else and will get angry if someone tries to get them unfocused by bringing up a subject that is not related to the current task. In P-time, the African culture, people are not slaves to time and are easily distracted and are usually very tolerant to distractions. Also, schedules are not as important and they are also very frequently broken. Very often P-time people are late for appointments or may not even show up at all. They also find it very simulating to think about several different problems at the same time, and also feel very comfortable carrying on two or three conversations simultaneously. However when monochronic people and polychronic people interact, the end result can be very