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ENHANCING CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN INTERPRETING – CULTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND SLOVAKIA
Abstract
Cultural competence of interpreters (understanding and explaining different cultural settings during interpreting) can be improved by the study of cultural similarities and cultural differences. Nowadays, English is one of the most frequent foreign languages to interpret from/into in Slovakia. That is why we decided to describe manners of communication and summarize significant non-verbal (and marginally verbal) characteristics of the selected English-speaking countries – the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada – and Slovakia. We gathered and analyzed information in the context of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory. We found out that cultures using the same language (or belonging to the same language family), score similarly in Hofstede’s dimensions and they are alike in many aspects. Due to a high score in Power Distance dimension, some people in Slovakia understand and accept hierarchy in the society. On the contrary, English-speaking countries – who score a lower score in this dimension – believe that inequalities amongst people should be minimized. They do not highlight personal achievements, and they do not pay much attention to academic titles. Instead, they address people by their first names and make the atmosphere more personal and informal. The article aims to help interpreters to understand behaviour and the way of communication of their speakers and listeners from the mentioned countries and thus to understand their motivation which is mainly given by their cultures.
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