While we were discussing the Kluckhohn chart in class, it became clear to me just how different the Armenian and American cultures are. I had always known, but this chart was pretty much “left side is America, and right side is Armenia.”
That said, I am an Armenian who was born and raised in America, and it is
very interesting to see how I have as a result been raised in both cultures, and
how confusing it is for a child who is just learning their manners. When I was
younger, my parents had always taught me to say “No, thank you” if the host at a
dinner party offered me something. Then, as I was used to that, my parents told
me it was okay to have something, and it could be my choice, not just what I
thought would be easiest. That was unreal to me, and when I think back on it
now, it is a result of growing up in both cultures.
I spent the summer in Armenia, and I lived in an apartment in downtown
Yerevan and worked at the Armenian International Magazine, which was also
located in downtown Yerevan. I became one of the Armenian people, a deghatsi as
they are called, and was therefore forced to accept the Armenian culture as my
own. Not the Armenian culture with the American culture, but purely the Armenian
culture as it stands alone.
As an American, I am very used to people saying exactly what they want,
and there is no “playing around the bush.” In Armenia, however, it is a very
high-context and indirect communication culture, in which people do not always
say exactly what they mean, rather it is up to the person to take what is said
out of context. This was very difficult, because not only was I not used to
this, but as a culture Armenian puns and sayings are quite different than
Americans. In addition, although I speak Armenian, the Armenians use a lot of
Russian in their language, which was a barrier that I came across as well.
Time is not much of an issue there. The Armenian people are neither seen
rushing to work, nor are they in a rush to go anywhere. Armenians are late
everywhere as a culture, and that is completely understood. It is also common
for someone to be on their way somewhere, and they run into someone on the
street, decide to have coffee with them, and continue on their way to their
original destination. That may seem rude in America, but in Armenia that is the
way of life. There are exceptions to this, however: I was planning to meet the
family with whom my cousin stayed with when he was in Armenia for two years. Had
I been late to their home, it would have been rude. However, even though I was
there at the same time that the rest of the family was told to be there (it was
a big family dinner), I was there for two hours before anyone else showed up.
I’m not sure if I put it on myself to be on time otherwise it would be rude, or
if they really would have been offended if I, as their guest, was not on time.
That is one thing that I am still not sure about, and I don’t think I will ever
know because I do not live there and in fact am not one of them.
Armenians are indeed very past-oriented. Many people still live in the
villages where their families have been for hundreds of years. I visited Talin,
a village near Yerevan, with the same family that I just mentioned. Their family
has lived in Talin for centuries, and they took me to the village cemetery,
where they told me the story of each of their relatives buried in that cemetery.
It was amazing to me, because while in America there are families buried
together, the whole cemetery, and in fact the whole town, is not made up of
predominantly one family, and each person’s history is not something that is
usually talked about. The stories of the village came out through that cemetery
and it was fascinating.
In addition, and this happens to Armenians all over the world, not just
in Armenia, when Armenians meet other Armenians, one of the first questions they
ask is “Vor deghits ek?” which translates to “Where are you from?” After the
Armenian Genocide, Armenians ended up around the world. Where one is from tells
a lot about them, and each of those Armenian sub-cultures have a stereotype in
themselves. Some stereotypes are that Armenians from Iran tend to sing when they
speak and Armenians from Lebanon like to hear themselves talk. It is interesting
though, because when Armenians meet each other and they ask where the other is
from, they more often than not know someone from the same village, and sometimes
they end up being related! In America, there is no such relationship. There may
be people who are from the same city, but rarely do they know the others
relatives. This is also different than America, because one of the first
questions they ask here is “what do you do?” That is rarely an issue in Armenia,
where you are from is much more important.
The dominant American culture and the dominant Armenian culture are like
night and day. Americans tend to be very time-oriented, and doing-oriented, and
they worry more about what is going to happen in the future than what happened
in the past. Americans are a very low-context and direct communication society
as well, where they let people know what they want, and when they want it, no
ifs, ands or buts about it. When Americans say they will be somewhere at 3:00,
they will be there at that time, if not a little bit early. All of these are
unheard of in Armenia. The culture is much more laid-back there.
Armenians in Armenia tend to think of America as a place where money
grows on trees and that life is so easy here. This, of course, is not true, and
when Armenians migrate to America, they have a hard time converting to the
faster-paced lifestyle. To Americans going to Armenia, however, it is like a
vacation. Although I was working, it was the same way for me.
Now although the two cultures are at opposite ends of the spectrum, the
Armenian pop culture very much wants to be American. For instance, the most
popular Armenian pop singer, named Nune Yesayan, comes to California to film her
music videos. In addition, upon her return from an extended visit to the states,
she had an interview on a popular Armenian television station, in which she
forgot what the word “challenge” was in Armenian. The Armenian people at my
office went crazy, and I’m sure other Armenians did as well. They were appalled
that she spent three months in America and “forgot” her Armenian. Nune, however,
in addition to many other popular Armenian singers, feels that the way to become
more marketable is to model herself as an American.
In terms of the cultures being able to work together, I feel that in
Armenia the American life is understood to an extent. They understand the pop
culture, listen to its music and watch its movies, but they do not understand
the day-to-day life and how fast-paced it is because that is something they have
never been exposed to. However, I feel that the governments, besides the fact
that the Armenian government is faced with corruption problems and the American
government is not, can work together quite well, and that the higher up you go
in Armenian social status, the more they understand the American way of life and
that they would be willing to give and take a little to fit in if necessary.
Public communication needs to have an understanding of the other culture, and
this is more with American culture in Armenia because the Armenian culture is
not much of an influence here.
The main languages spoken in Armenia are Armenian and Russian. If someone
goes to Armenia only speaking English it would be extremely difficult to get by.
Therefore, the language barrier is something that would need to be taken in
account. Government officials can speak English but on the streets it is never
spoken. Although many Armenians live in the city, a majority has been raised in
villages with their families. It is also important to incorporate that in public
communication in order for the Armenians to relate. Family is extremely
important there.
When the two countries do business that is how it is done: each country
understands the other, and the differences in the culture, and this needs to be
done in order for anything to be accomplished. If they do not try to understand
each other, there will be no respect, and there will be no desire to accomplish
anything. I feel that in order for any kind of international corporations to
work, they need to completely understand or at least be willing to learn and
understand the culture that they are working with because although there may be
amazing ideas on the table, nothing can be accomplished if everyone’s mindset is
completely different.
Ani Jerikian
Class of 2005
Prof. Zaharna, International Public Relations
American University
LiLani01@aol.com