Nonverbal Communication in Arabs Culture

An individual’s religion can also have an impact on the way they communicate. Eye contact could be an

In a lot of cultures touching is considered to be disrespectful and rude but in on our culture it is not a bad thing, it is etiquette. When we first meet someone, whether it is someone of the opposite sex or same sex, at a family gathering or social event they are often greeted with a hug, handshake, or a kiss on the cheek. If you walk in to a scenery of Cubans and do not greet them in any of those forms you are considered to be rude. Touching is a demonstration of affection. It is not taboo and does not carry a sexual connotation (Cuba, 2017). When someone in our culture goes to see a healthcare provider we like to be greeted by our formal name and with a handshake(Graham and Ritter, 2017). That is a respectful and professional way to approach us and makes us feel comfortable. When we feel comfortable in our environment it makes the appointment go by smoother and we are

Nydell, Margaret K. (. K. Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times. Intercultural Press, Yarmouth, ME, 2006.

In some cultures touching and hugging is a big part of their lives. How you touch someone says a lot about you. The way you touch someone says a lot if you touch them loving and comforting it shows you are kind. If you touch them too hard and hurt them, people are going to be afraid to touch you when they see you. In the United States we always shake hands with people when see them or meet someone a new person. That says you are friendly but not always in a good way. We shake hands with a lot of people and sometimes we don’t really want to see that person any more.

Students will be asked to explained what Araby means, and to what area the term Arabia applies to geographically and culturally.

We are comfortable near friends and relatives, but maintain some distance when interacting with strangers. However, we are brought up to consider strangers as friends until the evidence indicates otherwise (Cramer, & Cramer, 2010). This explains our custom of immediate and beyond-the-surface communication with strangers and our willingness to bond with them. We also favor direct eye contact over indirect. We use direct eye contact during conversations as a sign of trust, respect and interest towards the speaker. However, we avoid eye contact with people in authority to show respect and attentiveness. Our personal relationships with people of the same age group are very informal, but we are very respectful to foreigners. A strong emphasis is placed on family, which is the source of identity, emotional and physical support and protection against life challenges. This is the intense sense of family belonging that is limited to family and close friends. Therefore, people that don’t belong to our family or circle of close friends are slow to be

Arab Americans and Muslim Americans can at often times be viewed as one in the same, which can be confusing for the average person. Each culture has their story and ancestral root that can be traced from different countries spanning from the Middle East to North Africa and into the Persian Gulf. This is one of the reasons why Arab Americans and Muslim Americans aren’t the same will be discussed further. The second reason is Muslims are people who follow a religion called Islam. It is because of their Islamic faith that denotes them as Muslims. Addressing both cultural groups and understanding each has their own ethnic values, morals and traditions with different religions contributing that they are not homogenous will help guide counselors

Body language (the process of communicating nonverbally through conscious or unconscious gestures and movements). People all of the world use body language or gestures to communicate nonverbally. I personally think that nonverbal communication and body language are one of the biggest barriers in communication especially between one culture to other. Body gestures can be misinterpreted as rude or disrespectful depending on the country, region, or even the city you’re from.

Just as much as touch deprivation symptoms vary throughout life stages, the frequency of touch varies among gender and also varies according to what is and is not socially acceptable across cultures. To explain a bit, research findings suggest that touch among male friends is less common than that among female friends primarily due to the fact that male to male touching is commonly perceived as sexual whereas such is not the case among women. According to Berger (2002) the exception to males touching males in public is among the Arabs, who are known to hold hands or embrace a member of the same sex in a public setting (p.23). Conversely in the United States and most other countries, men customarily shake hands

I used to think that all people and countries speak Arabic language because I born in Arabic country “Yemen”. I didn’t know anyone that speaks different language or even speak different accents of Arabic. The school that I went to they didn’t teach English language. The education in Yemen is not very good like in the United States or as in the other Arab countries. For that reason, I face a lot of obstacles when I came to the United States with both the Arabic accents and the English language. Believe me a lot of things that happened to me that you will never imagine it, so here where my story begins.

The native language is Egyptian Arabic. It is known as the second language by many Arabs.

Arab people stem from many different regions including 22 countries: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen ("Arab American," 2014). The Arab culture include several ethnicities such as Shias, Sunni, Druze, Ismalites, and Nusayr (Matusiak, 2013). It is important to know Arabs are not a race, but a diverse culture ("Facts about Arabs," 2014). The Arab people are measured as being among the “most educated” population with a higher percentage of college educations than the American population (Matusiak, 2013). Family is important in the Arab culture. Many Arabs live within close proximity of family and have close relationships ("Arab American," 2014).

As the empire expanded and more people learned Arabic, it was easier to communicate. Information

To be considered Arab, you or your ancestors live or lived in the Arab world and speak Arabic. The “Arab world” is made up of 22 states and territories whom are part of the Arab League. However many people in these states do not consider themselves Arab, thus the Arabic language is the unifying factor among the Arabic people. A lot of the individuals who speak Arabic today are very diverse. There is a myriad of dialects of Arabic and over 150 million people speak it. Twenty-five countries consider Arabic an official language (even if few are fluent in it). They vary from African to West Asian countries, however Arabs also live as minorities in many other nations. For example, the United States (Banks, 2009).

First of all, it is impossible to talk about groups of people without generalizing. At this point it must be emphasized that there is not just “one” Arab culture or society. The Arab world is full of rich and diverse communities, groups and cultures. Each of the Arab countries has different perspectives. That’s why differences exist not only among coun- tries, but within countries as well. With 22 countries formed, the Arab region has in some parts the same religious, politics and