Customer Reviews

Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot - And Cold - Climate Cultures

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sarah A. Lanier, Foreign to Familiar (Hagerstown, MD: McDougal Publishing,
2000), 128pp.

In her book Foreign to Familiar, Sarah Lanier seeks to aid the reader in
cross-cultural communication and relationships by highlighting the differences
between hot- and cold-climate cultures. While these concepts are unfamiliar to
most readers, Lanier quickly introduces and defines the categories before
discussing them in detail. Having lived in the Middle East, South America, Africa,
Europe, and New Zealand, Lanier (who is American) is certainly qualified to
address the issue. The reader gets the impression while reading that this book is
the fruit of her own experiences and frequent lectures on the subject in
different settings.

According to Lanier, "the population of the entire world can roughly be
divided into two parts. The two groups represented are 'hot-climate'
(relationship-based) cultures and 'cold-climate' (task-oriented) cultures" (15-16). Lanier
recognizes there may some overlap in the two categories, and cites one unnamed
person who suggested that she use the terms "hot/tribal" and "cold/urban"
(127). She also recognizes that personalities differ within each culture (128).
The primary distinction between the two cultures is that of relational focus as
opposed to task focus. Those in the warm-climates tend to emphasize the
relationships involved between individuals while those in cold-climates focus on the
efficient performance of tasks.

After defining the groups and explaining the primary relationship/task
distinction, Lanier spends the next six chapters explaining further manifestations
of the cultural differences. In Chapter Three, the focus is on direct versus
indirect communication. Chapter Four emphasizes the individualism of the
cold-climates over against the group-identity of the hot-climates. Privacy, highly
valued in the cold, is contrasted with inclusion as the norm in the cold-climate
in Chapter Five.

Chapters Six and Eight discuss two elements of society in which the
differences between hot- and cold-climates are very evident: hospitality and time.
Those with international travel experience will find themselves laughing with
familiarity as they read of Lanier's experiences. Of course, the hot-climates
demonstrate much more warm hospitality, while the cold-climates are extremely
conscious of time and planning.

In Chapter Seven, Lanier introduces a different distinction between cultures
which sometimes clouds the distinction between hot- and cold-climate cultures.
This distinction is between high- and low-context cultures. Drawing from
Edward T. Hall's Beyond Culture, Lanier defines the high-context culture as the
one which has a long history wherein traditions have become very formalized.
Low-context cultures are those whose history is briefer, whose population is more
diverse, and in which very few traditions have developed.

Some of the strongest points of Lanier's book are its brevity, clarity, and
engaging tone of Lanier's style. The reader is aware that Lanier is not writing
an academic treatise. Her aim is pragmatic. She delivers fully in Chapter
Nine, entitled "Practical Next Steps". Here simple steps are outlined to aid the
international traveler or other person who finds himself or herself developing
cross-cultural relationships. Perhaps the most beneficial element of the book
(whether Lanier or her publisher deserves this praise, the reviewer is not
sure) is the summary found at the end of each chapter. It is not as if the
chapters are so lengthy that this is a necessity, but the brief outline form of the
summaries makes relocating information very easy.

Unfortunately, Lanier does not point the reader to further information with
the exception of the brief mention of two sources. This is partly
understandable, in that the bulk of the book's content is based on lessons learned through
Lanier's experiences. Certainly since the time that she developed her ideas on
this subject, she has found other sources to which she could point those with
a hunger for further study. An annotated bibliography would be extremely
helpful in future editions.

This shortcoming notwithstanding, the book has made a positive contribution
to the field of cross-cultural communication. In Foreign to Familiar, Sarah
Lanier has provided a clear, brief, practical introduction to several key issues.
The book is written on the popular level, making it accessible to a wide
audience. This reviewer enjoyed the book and recommends it as a primer for anyone
involved in cross-cultural communication.

"Foreign to Familiar" is a short very easy to read book that really is far more helpful than I could have ever imagined. As an anglo who has had relationships with hispanics my entire life I thought I understood hispanic people pretty well. After reading the book I now understand why some of the most important people in my life have made such stinging criticisms of me. They believe I am selfish and egotistical, I believed that they couldn't make decisions, were foolish with thier money, and let their family take advantage of them. I now understand why my friends act the way they do and can begin to see myself through their eyes. I wish someone could have taught me this stuff 20 years ago.

As a college Professor, I have been using this book as a textbook to help my students learn how to communicate cross-culturally for almost 2 years now. It is a real eye openner both for students from Mid-America and for students from Latin America and Asia. It is so easy to be mis-understood. This study can heal the wounds and rejection that many people feel when they try to relate at work and in the community. Better yet, it can help us to prevent the hurts in the first place. I give it an A+.

This book really opened my eyes to the differences in various cultures groups and why communications were sometimes muddied or difficult. My job often requires communicating by mail or email with professionals in other countries, so this book has been a tremendous help in learning how to understand people in other cultures. The author breaks down the world's cultures into two basic categories: hot climate and cold climate. She then discusses the cultural differences in these two groups including the ways they communicate. The explanations on how time is perceived differently by each group and on indirect versus direct communications were so valuable! The book has changed the way I correspond with Africans, Hispanics, and Asians totally! Thanks so much, Sarah, for knowing how important this information was and for putting it into a book!

This is a succinct and accurate guidebook on the basic differences between cultures. The author has personal experience of many different cultures and offers a practical framework from which the reader can evaluate experiences in differing cultures. My husband and I use it much in our international work/travel situations, give it away often, and lend our own copy out frequently to those traveling in or moving to new cultures. Great resource.

As short as this book may be, the words and insight provided on these pages is essential for anyone from any walk of life entertaining the idea of world travel. It gives you something to work with in understanding other people's views. Excellent read!

Every one should read this book. No matter who you are or where your from it's an eye opener.

This is one book that I recommend to everyone I know who wants to understand more about themselves, their neighbors, and culture (and even those who don't! ;-) Far from the boring textbook format that we often see with books on culture, this is well written, concise, insightful...and fun. You don't know how many times I hear from someone I recommend the book to, "If only I would have known this before, I would have reacted differently!" or, "I never heard this before!"

I am also using this book for my ESL classes as well where I teach overseas, and the students love it. You really can't go wrong with this book.

This is an excellent book for anyone that deals with people of other cultures, whether you go overseas or have cross cultural visitors here in the United States. It goes a long way to helping us understand each other and from committing innocent mistakes in dealing with people from cultures that are different than ours. If you have people from other cultures coming to visit you, it would be good to send them this book to read prior to them coming. Or if you are going to visit people in another culture, you might send this to them to read prior to your arrival to help you both understand each other. It can prevent some embarrassing moments for both parties.

Sarah captures cultures in an easy story format that helps you relate and understand what the common culture misconceptions are. It allows you to see which culture climate you currently live in and how you can relate to those in other culture climates. It's quick to read, very enjoyable, and definitely informative for those desiring to understand differences in cultures. Definitely recommended!