MexicoIn lesser developed countries such as Mexico, time and money are independentquantities. Just because you have a lot of free time does not mean you can instead fill it up withwork and exceed in life. There are not as many job opportunities as in more developed countries,thus decreasing the importance of preserving time. They live at their own pace, not the onedictated by the machines and norms.There is a saying in Mexico,dar tiempo al tiempoor “give time to time.” Mexicans agreethat time is the most valuable thing a person has, but for a different reasons. They believe that itshould not be wasted to create “inorganic monetary units” and instead used to enjoy life. Lettingtime go is not a sin as it is for the US and Japan. Being late for an appointment is not asimportant as your social relations. If one needs to go see a family member or a friend whileknowing they have an appointment, they still go and see the person they want to see. There arefewer incentives in Mexico to be on time, for it is not required of them by the society nor will Itimprove their overall well being. They live with time.BurundiIn Central Africa, people are guided by the seasonal changes since they are anagricultural society. The obsession with the clock time did not yet catch up to them, nor will it dois in the near future. Appointments people make are regulated by natural cycland once againnot by a mechanical clock. How people relate to time is based on activities of the cows, sinand once againnot by a mechanical clock. How people relate to time is based on activities of the cows, sinand once againnot by a mechanical clock. How people relate to time is based on activities of the cows, sinP. 9

Perception of Time in Different Cultures

Perception of Time in Different CulturesRatings: (1)|Views: 20,010 |Likes: 56Published by ellenskiiSee more  to do better that everyone else, but rather as much as everyone else. Doing better disrupts theharmony and the natural order of things.The Japanese work long hours but the production is not as great as would be expectedfrom such a society. The reason for this is that work is not production oriented, but rather fulfilling your obligations to the society. However, time cannot be wasted. Free time is not whatAmericans regard as free time – leisure activity. In Japan, everything the people do is valued.Even empty space is not really empty. The wordma,or spaces or intervals between objects,signifies that there is no emptiness but rather the space is full of nothing. Time is important under any circumstances; it cannot be wasted by any means. A worker must always seem busy and likehe’s doing something, even though no actual job needs to be done at the moment. The yoka,or time left, is not regarded to be equal in value to working time. Because the Japanese view hardwork as a virtue, they have a notion of 

karoshi,or death by overwork. It is a quite common phenomenon, since hotlines have been established for people to call and talk to others if theythink they are in danger of overworking.Being fast is seen as being virtuous. If you move slowly in Japan, you are wasting timeand not fulfilling your obligations. They always have to keep busy, take as many work days as possible and as little vacations as possible. The only reason someone takes a vacation is if thedomestic market is down. In such a situation the need for consumers increases in order to pick economy back up, and the only time people buy things is when they have free time. At such aninstance, the government urges workers to take vacations and threatens them to lose their jobs if not done as told. The Japanese also have a low tolerance of tardiness. Their trains are consideredto be on time if the delay is less than one minute. For the Westerners, the accepted “on-time”notion is 1-14 minutes. If the train is 15 minutes late, it is only then delayed. This shows howimportant time is for the Japanese and how valued it is in the society.  MexicoIn lesser developed countries such as Mexico, time and money are independentquantities. Just because you have a lot of free time does not mean you can instead fill it up withwork and exceed in life. There are not as many job opportunities as in more developed countries,thus decreasing the importance of preserving time. They live at their own pace, not the onedictated by the machines and norms.There is a saying in Mexico,dar tiempo al tiempoor “give time to time.” Mexicans agreethat time is the most valuable thing a person has, but for a different reasons. They believe that itshould not be wasted to create “inorganic monetary units” and instead used to enjoy life. Lettingtime go is not a sin as it is for the US and Japan. Being late for an appointment is not asimportant as your social relations. If one needs to go see a family member or a friend whileknowing they have an appointment, they still go and see the person they want to see. There arefewer incentives in Mexico to be on time, for it is not required of them by the society nor will Itimprove their overall well being. They live with time.BurundiIn Central Africa, people are guided by the seasonal changes since they are anagricultural society. The obsession with the clock time did not yet catch up to them, nor will it dois in the near future. Appointments people make are regulated by natural cycles and once againnot by a mechanical clock. How people relate to time is based on activities of the cows, since  they are the most common animals and the easiest to relate to. When someone wants to make alate afternoon appointment, they say “I’ll see you when the cows go out.”Being precise is seen as too much of a hassle and is not looked favorably upon. An hour earlier or later does not really matter, since of someone said they will be at a place in the midday,they will be there. Even though making appointments at night gets difficult, they do not see aneed for quantities of time. They refer to a very dark night as the “Who are you?” night, since itis so dark they cannot see each other’s face. To make an appointment at night, they define onhow dark or light it will be at that time.This society has no need for the precision of a clock. They are driven by forces of natureand rely on their biological clock. There is no need to hurry, for what is there now will still bethere a few minutes later.The Piraha Tribe

The Piraha Tribe which is located in the Amazon rainforest is the only culture in theworld that does not have a creation myth. They have no numbers or a written language for thatmatter wither. They do not have past tense. Everything exists in the present. If it is not here rightnow, then it does not exist.The language of the Piraha tribe is very limited, consisting of humming and whistling.They do not write and do not memorize things. These people don’t tell stories of their ancestorsand very few can remember their grandparents’ names. Since they have no way of talking aboutthe past, it ceases to exist. This, they have no stories of where they came from or how the worldwas created. All they say is “The world is made.”  Time is a quantity beyond their grasp. They rely purely on nature and their instincts, withwhich they are greatly intact. There are no numbers to give time value to. The only word theyhave for a quantity ishoi,or small, little in amount, close to one. They don’t see a need to definetime, and have been able to survive for centuries without this notion.The Piraha refer only to the immediate personal experiences. They are not interested inthe past nor the future. They live here and now. Everything is anchored in the present. They donot try to control nature nor organize forces beyond their grasp like the modern societies do.They are content with today’s day and live without a tomorrow in mind.Levine, Robert. A Geography of time.New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1997.Richard Whipp, Barbara Adam, and Ida Sabelis. Making Time.New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 2002.Zimbardo, Phillip and John Boyd. The Time Paradox. New York: Free Press, 2008.Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto.New York: Penguin Books, 2006.Lightman, Alan. Einstein’s Dreams.New York: Warner Books, 1994.

  The American time is linear time. We see time as one continuous motion forward,without stops or breaks. This creates a sense of responsibility for fulfilling all the stops along theline in order not to let anything just pass by. Americans want to grasp everything they possiblycan and have fear of losing time.JapanJapan’s time perception is based mostly on cultural norms and values rather than oneconomic notions. However, during the times when Japan was still considered to be a poor andtechnologically superior, not working until you had absolutely no strength left was a sin. Thiscountry was relatively late in modernizing but very fast in doing so.In Japan, working is everything. There is no fine line between work and play like there isin the US. Their workday does not have a rigid starting and ending time. They have beensocialized to work as hard as they can and never take breaks for personal reasons. Since they areso used to always being occupied, they have concepts such as Nichiyoy byouor “SundayDisease” and Kyuujitu byouor “The Holiday Syndrome”. The Japanese actually experience physical pain when have nothing to do. It seems as if while working, they enjoy life, but once outof work, they cannot stand it.The workaholism of the Japanese stems from the notion of  giri,

or one’s duties andobligations to the society and its expectations. They like everything to be planned out and put inan orderly manner. Commitment to a company doesn’t begin and end at a specific time; it is anever ending responsibility. One cannot put himself before the group, for that disrupts theharmony, or thewa. Social harmony predominates speed and competition. It is not as important  to do better that everyone else, but rather as much as everyone else. Doing better disrupts theharmony and the natural order of things.The Japanese work long hours but the production is not as great as would be expectedfrom such a society. The reason for this is that work is not production oriented, but rather fulfilling your obligations to the society. However, time cannot be wasted. Free time is not whatAmericans regard as free time – leisure activity. In Japan, everything the people do is valued.Even empty space is not really empty. The wordma,or spaces or intervals between objects,signifies that there is no emptiness but rather the space is full of nothing. Time is important under any circumstances; it cannot be wasted by any means. A worker must always seem busy and likehe’s doing something, even though no actual job needs to be done at the moment. The yoka,or time left, is not regarded to be equal in value to working time. Because the Japanese view hardwork as a virtue, they have a notion of karoshi,or death by overwork. It is a quite common phenomenon, since hotlines have been established for people to call and talk to others if theythink they are in danger of overworking.Being fast is seen as being virtuous. If you move slowly in Japan, you are wasting timeand not fulfilling your obligations. They always have to keep busy, take as many work days as possible and as little vacations as possible. The only reason someone takes a vacation is if thedomestic market is down. In such a situation the need for consumers increases in order to pick economy back up, and the only time people buy things is when they have free time. At such aninstance, the government urges workers to take vacations and threatens them to lose their jobs if not done as told. The Japanese also have a low tolerance of tardiness. Their trains are consideredto be on time if the delay is less than one minute. For the Westerners, the accepted “on-time”notion is 1-14 minutes. If the train is 15 minutes late, it is only then delayed. This shows howimportant time is for the Japanese and how valued it is in the society.  MexicoIn lesser developed countries such as Mexico, time and money are independentquantities. Just because you have a lot of free time does not mean you can instead fill it up withwork and exceed in life. There are not as many job opportunities as in more developed countries,thus decreasing the importance of preserving time. They live at their own pace, not the onedictated by the machines and norms.There is a saying in Mexico,dar tiempo al tiempoor “give time to time.” Mexicans agreethat time is the most valuable thing a person has, but for a different reasons. They believe that itshould not be wasted to create “inorganic monetary units” and instead used to enjoy life. Lettingtime go is not a sin as it is for the US and Japan. Being late for an appointment is not asimportant as your social relations. If one needs to go see a family

member or a friend whileknowing they have an appointment, they still go and see the person they want to see. There arefewer incentives in Mexico to be on time, for it is not required of them by the society nor will Itimprove their overall well being. They live with time.BurundiIn Central Africa, people are guided by the seasonal changes since they are anagricultural society. The obsession with the clock time did not yet catch up to them, nor will it dois in the near future. Appointments people make are regulated by natural cycles and once againnot by a mechanical clock. How people relate to time is based on activities of the cows, since