Assignment #5: Cultural Impact on Communication.

The culture of Trinidad is very diverse. As a Trinidadian, the culture has a great impact on the way that I communicate, both verbally and non-verbally.

Although Trinidad is a "boiling pot" where many different cultures, religions and people come together as one, citizens of this country tend to be very rude & judgmental and form stereotypes & prejudices. Most of the time we don't like adapting to new things and form cliques with persons of similar religions, ethnicity and so on. Because of this learnt behaviour, I sometimes watch other persons "cuteye" (of different cultures, religions, ethnicity etc.) or even utter a "steups" if their accent sounds funny to me. I do this subconsciously and I really should break this habit.

Trinidadians are also very verbal and usually say what is on their minds. Persons have a habit of voicing their unasked opinions under their breath and I have picked up this terrible trait. In addition, it is not uncommon to hear someone yell obscenities about someone's mother out of their car windows, followed by a certain hand gesture after receiving a "bad drive". I am currently a learning driver and I am trying to stay clear of this horrendous trait.

Trinidadians are also renowned for the phrase "bonx meh nah". This phrase is uttered when a pedestrian is crossing the road slowly and an oncoming car is waiting to pass. As I have recently started to travel to school, on a bad day I would pick up this attitude, but on other days I would ne'er dare to intimidate taxi drivers in Curepe junction.

Lastly, Trinidadians are known for their late arrival. Usually if a person has to be at a place for a certain time, they would start to get ready at the time that they were supposed to arrive. Similarly, usually if I have to meet a friend somewhere, when they call to ask where I am, I would tell them that I am about fifteen minutes away, when in actuality I have just finished getting out of the shower. Even when I was in high school, I was late for classes probably about eighty percent of the time. Thankfully, I don't reach that late to classes in University because I have picked up a better sense of responsibility and punctuality.