Passage 7 D ifferent Meanings of Tim e
Time communicates inmany ways.The time of the day when something is done can give specialmeaning to the event.
In the West it is not customary to telephone someone very early in themorning.An early telephone call—maybe before breakfast—shows the caller has something important to you and it needs immediate attention.The samemeaning is given to telephone calls that aremade late in the evening or at night—normally after abouteleven o'clock.So the time chosen to telephone someone can tell us how important the call is.
If a late telephone call is regarded as a cause for concern，imagine the excitement and fear that could be caused by a crowd of people arriving at one's door in the middle of the night.This，in fact，is what happened to a factory manager from the United States when he was on an island in the South Pacific.The locals had a problem，so they had a meeting to discuss it and when they reached a solution they went to tell themanager.Unfortunately，this meant waking him up at two o'clock in the morning—a very serious matter for an American.Not knowing the local customs and thinking that there was a big fight，themanager called the army.It didn't occur to either the manager or the locals that in different cultures parts of the day have differentmeanings.
Time plays an important part in social life.In the United States guestsmight feel that they are not highly regarded if an invitation to a dinner party is only given a few days before the party date.In other countries，however，itmight seem foolish tomake an appointment a long time in advance because people are likely to forget.
The meanings of time differ in different parts of the world.This can lead to misunderstandings between people who treat time differently due to their backgrounds.Many Westerners value promptness and punctuality.For example，people who are not prompt or punctualmay seem to others as impolite or irresponsible.It is very impolite to keep someone waiting，especially a business partner.Even if you are just a few minutes late to an agreed meeting with a friend，you are expected to make a short apology.If you weremore than ten minutes late itwould seem very impolite and so amore detailed reason should be given.
Thisway of treating time is quite different from some other culture and this helps to explain the unfortunate experience of an American official who was working in a foreign country.After his arrival the American made an appointment to see a Minister in the government of the country which he had come to work in.The Minister's secretary suggested that the proposed time was not very convenient，but the American kept on at her until an appointmentwasmade.
The American arrived a little early—hisway to show respect—and hewaited.The hour of themeeting came and passed，and after waiting fifteen minutes the American made sure that the secretary and the Minister knew he was waiting.How felt that he had to do something to solve the problem.However，he carried on waiting until he had been there for forty-five minutes.By this time the American was feeling very insulted.To an American there is no amount of apology that canmake up for having towait outside an office for one hour.Yet in the Minister's country a forty-five minutes’wait was quite normal.Thus when the American left the office，leaving an angry message for the Minister，his actions were a little rude and surprising from the local point of view.
Since time makes such a difference in different cultures，communication can be difficult.Ifwe keep this in mind，the people of the world will understand each other more easily.
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时间的不同含义
时间以不同的方式传递信息。做某件事情在一天里所处的时间会给这件事情赋予特殊的意义。
在西方，人们习惯上不在清晨给别人打电话。清晨接到的电话（也许在早餐前）表明对方有非常重要的事情对你讲，而且这件事需要立刻处理。夜晚或深夜（通常约半夜1点以后）也被赋予同样的含义。因此，选择何时打电话可以告诉别人该电话的重要程度。
如果深夜的电话被视为引人关注的话，试想一群人在半夜时分涌到你的家门口可能带来的那种喧闹和恐惧。事实上，这正是一位美国工厂主在南太平洋岛上所碰到的事情。当地人遇到了一个问题，并召开了会议进行讨论，当他们找到了解决问题的办法后，就去告诉这位美国工厂主。然而，这也意味着需在凌晨2点钟吵醒他。这对美国人来讲是一件非常严重的事情。由于这位美国工厂主不了解当地的风俗，以为发生了严重的斗殴，所以他通知了军队。无论这位美国工厂主还是岛上的雇员都未意识到在不同的国度，一天里不同的时间段有着不同的含义。
时间在社会生活中具有重要意义。在美国，如果被邀请的人在宴会的前几天才收到请柬，那么，被邀请的人就会感到未受到足够的尊重。然而，在其他国家，如果提前很长时间与别人预约可能会显得愚蠢可笑，因为人们可能会因时间太久而忘记了约会。
既然时间在世界不同地方的含义不尽相同，这就可能会在因文化背景不同而以不同方式对待时间的人们之间产生误会。比如，许多西方人重视准时和正点。因此，不守时的人就会被别人视为不懂礼貌或缺乏责任心。让别人，尤其是让生意伙伴长时间等待是非常失礼的行为。即使你与朋友约会迟到了几分钟也应该作简短的道歉。假如你迟到了10分钟以上，那就是十分失礼的行为，为此你应该做出较详细的解释。
西方人这种对待时间的态度与其他文化大不相同，这有助于说明一位在国外工作的美国官员的不愉快经历。这位美国官员到达那个国家以后，就约见该国的一位政府部长。部长秘书提示他的预约时间不太方便，但这位美国官员不停地要求部长秘书，最后部长秘书同意了美国官员提出的约会时间。
这位美国官员提前几分钟到达了会见地点，以示对政府部长的尊重，并静候着。会见的时间到了，又过去了。又等了15分钟，这位美国官员设法让部长秘书和部长本人知道，他正等候着与部长会晤。与此同时，他感到必须想办法结束这个等候的局面。尽管如此，他还是继续等候着，并一直等了45分钟。到了这个时候，这位美国官员感到他受到了极大的侮辱。对一个美国人来说，无论多少道歉也不能弥补被迫在别人的办公室外面等候一个小时所感到的侮辱。然而，在那位部长的国度里，45分钟的等候是十分正常的事情。因此，当这位美国官员愤然离去，并给部长留下一张表达愤慨的字条时，他的行为在当地人看来有点莫名其妙和粗鲁失礼了。
既然时间在不同的文化里有不同的含义，交际就可能发生困难。如果我们牢记这一点，那么，世界上不同国家的人们之间就会更容易相互理解。