1. Literates Working Among Oral Cultures
Dr. David Sills

2. What is a People Group?
A people group is a “significantly large grouping of individuals who perceive themselves to have a common affinity for one another because of their shared language, religion, ethnicity, residence, occupation, class or caste, situation, etc. or combinations of these.”
“The largest group within which an idea can spread as a without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance.”

3. Nigeria by Political Boundaries

4. Nigeria by Ethnolinguistic Boundaries

5. The numbers have faces, and the faces have names.
There are 27,000 ethnic groups in the world
Every day 40,000 children die of hunger and starvation-related diseases
6,000 persons die from the lack of clean drinking water

6. Brazil’s kids Twelve million children live on the street
Seven million children work full time
Half a million girls under sixteen are prostitutes, many sold in coastal cities as part of a vacation package
One in three Brazilian children will die before the age of fifteen

7. During the Last Hour 1,945 children died of preventable causes
1,625 children were forced to live on the streets because of death or abuse ...
115 children became child prostitutes ...
66 children under age 15 were infected with HIV ...
23 children were killed in war ...

8. Missionary Math
Of the 6,913 known languages, only 411 have a Bible, 1,068 have a NT, and many have only portions.
70% of the Unreached ethnic groups are preliterates.
75% of Evangelical churches are located in the 20% of the world that is highly literate.
Since Gutenberg, Christianity has walked on literate feet.

9. World Population Breakdown
Here's one way to think about our various peoples: imagine the planet's entire population as a village of 1,000. The breakdown would be:
584 from Asia 124 from Africa 95 from East and West Europe 84 from Latin America 55 from the former Soviet Union 52 from North America 6 from Australia and New Zealand

10. Nonverbal Communication
“Nonverbal communication is an elaborate code that is written nowhere, known by none, and understood by all.” –Edward Sapir
Importance of Nonverbal Communication:
All types of communication without words
Mehrabian & Ferris and Mehrabian & Wiener analysis of meaning communicated through facial and vocal expressions:
Facial Expressions: 55%
Paralanguage (the way the words are said): 38%
Verbal (the words themselves): 7%
Other research suggests that about 2/3 of the meaning in an interaction is conveyed by nonverbal communication

11. Nonverbal Communication
Importance of Nonverbal Communication: 5 Reasons:
Nonverbal communication is present everywhere
Nonverbal communication usually comes first
Nonverbal communication is especially likely to be trusted
Nonverbal communication can lead to misunderstanding, especially when verbal messages are missing or limited
Nonverbal communication is especially important in intercultural communication situations

12. Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication messages may:
Contradict verbal communication messages
Complement verbal communication messages
Substitute verbal communication messages
Regulate verbal communication messages
Accent or moderate verbal communication messages

13. Nonverbal Communication Body Movements:
Four main types of kinesic communication:
Emblems- Body movements that can be translated into words that are used to intentionally transmit a message (hand gestures)
Illustrators- A type of kinesic behavior that accompanies what is said verbally (pointing)
Regulators- Kinesic behaviors that control turn-taking and other procedural aspects of interpersonal communication (gaze)
Affect Displays- Kinesic behaviors that express emotions (smile)

14. Nonverbal Communication Types of Nonverbal Communication
Proxemics is nonverbal communication involving space
Time:
Chronemics- the way in which time affects communication
Organization of time:
Technical time- the scientific development of the atomic clock (nanoseconds)
Formal time- the process of separating units of time into days, weeks, and months
Informal time- within a culture the more loosely defined concepts of approximation
Touch: Haptics is nonverbal communication involving touching

15. Nonverbal Communication
Voice: Paralanguage is vocal communication other than verbal content
Artifact: An individual’s clothing, wedding ring, personal possessions, etc…
Physical Appearance: Rule-governed cultural preferences dictate the elements of appearance that are considered physically attractive

16. Culture of Language Verbal style to impress (Latino, Arabic)
Verbal styles to assert and control (German, Irish, Israeli, Turkish)
Verbal style that expresses tolerance for ambiguity (Swedish, Asian)
Verbal style that uses tolerance for silence (Japanese and many other Asian)
Verbal style that expects high information (USA, other Western countries)

17. What Causes Illness? Evil spirits Germs Imbalance of energy
Soul fright
Curse
Broken relationships
Bad luck

18. What causes good things?
God (gods) favor you
Blessed because you did something good
Good karma
Fate
Good luck
Natural outcome of hard work

19. What causes hardships? Punishment for doing wrong
Part of life to be expected
God trying to get someone’s attention
Fate
Don’t exist unless you think they do
Natural outcome of one’s lifestyle

20. What is the purpose of life?
Serve others
Make your next life better
Make your ancestors’ lives better
Be self-fulfilled
Serve God, give God glory
No purpose other than pleasure
Reproduce

21. Cause of Illness & Treatment
Appease or rid yourself of evil spirits
Medicine, surgery
Balance energy
Remove the curse
Restore relationships
Have the soul returned
Evil spirits
Biology/germs
Imbalance of energy
A curse
Broken relationships with people, nature, gods
Soul fright

22. The 10/40 Window

24. Countries in 10/40 Window
Afghanistan Algeria Bahrain Bangladesh Benin Bhutan Burkina Faso Cambodia Chad China Cyprus Djibouti
Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Gambia Gibraltar Greece Guinea Guinea Bissau India Iran Iraq Israel
Japan Jordan Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Laos Lebanon Libya Macau Mali Malta Mauritania
Morocco Myanmar (Burma) Nepal Niger Oman Pakistan Philippines Portugal Qatar Saudi Arabia Senegal Sudan
Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Thailand Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Vietnam Western Sahara Yemen

25. 10/40 Window Statistics
Unreached and unevangelized: 95% of the people living in the 10/40 Window are unevangelized. Many have never heard the Gospel message even once.
Poverty: 85% of those living in the 10/40 window are the poorest of the world's poor.
Population: 2/3 of the World’s population lives here in 1/3 of World’s land mass.
World religions: Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism are centered in the 10/40 Window.

26. The Physical Need . . .
...There are over 400 mega cities (cities with more than 1 million people) in the world today.  300 of these cities lie within the Window.
...The Window contains the majority of the world's least evangelized mega cities.  Of the top 50 cities on this list, all 50 cities are in the 10/40 Window
...More than 97% out the poorest of the poor live in the Window.
...On average, people living in the 10/40 Window exist on less than $500 per person per year.

27. The Challenge
Throwing a stone in a pond ripples that pond only. To impact another means moving out of your comfort zone.
Languages must be learned
Cultures must be learned
Non-verbal communication
Literates have to learn how to communicate with oral culture peoples.

28. Translation Needs There are 6,913 languages cataloged in the world.
To learn a language that has not been reduced to writing, develop a system, teach it to the people, translate and present a Bible takes years depending on the language.
Over 2,700 languages have been identified as priority languages and it is estimated that it will take 287 years to get them a Bible.
Oral methods are essential for reaching 70% of the unreached peoples of the world today.

29. It’s not wrong, it’s not stupid, it’s just different!
Ethnocentrism – is the practice of judging the values, languages, standards, characteristics, etc. of another culture against one’s home culture.
The other culture is usually seen as inferior.
Intercultural workers should recognize their own ethnocentric tendencies.
The ugly American is alive and well!

30. Gestures Okay! Victory or peace Pointing with index finger How tall?
Come here
Giving the back
Pointing with feet

31. The twelve signal systems
Verbal – speech
Written – symbols representing speech
Numeric – numbers and number systems
Pictorial – 2 dimensional representations
Artifactual – 3 dimensional representations and objects
Audio – use of nonverbal sounds and silence
Kinesics – body motions, facial expressions, posture
Optical – light and color
Tactile – touch and the sense of feel
Spatial – utilization of space
Temporal – utilization of time
Olfactory – taste and smell

32. CULTURE SHOCK!!! It is inevitable but is rarely fatal.
Occurs when two or more cultures collide.
Oriental students in Costa Rica.
Hot climate cultures vs. Cold climate cultures.
Learned worldview cues no longer function
Multilevel, multifaceted, & goes both ways.
Many have tried to define but it’s primarily an emotional reaction to a shaken world.

33. Culture Shock Stages Culture Surprise (Tourist/Honeymoon)
Sights
Sounds
Smells
Money
Customs
Lasts from a few weeks to a few months
How long you will be there
Why you are there

34. Culture Shock Stages Rejection Stage
Islands of the home culture
“Us” and “We” vs. “Them” and “They.”
Caricature and ridicule of nationals
This stage can last from a few months to a couple of years. It depends on:
How quickly you bond with the culture.
How quickly you learn the language.
How well you can remember why you are there.

35. Culture Shock Stages Recovery Cultural assimilation (going native)
Sounds great but not healthy
God made you who you are
Cultural acceptance and adaptation
Bonding with the culture, humor, friends
It’s not wrong, it’s not stupid, it’s just different.
Culture tension/stress
Always on a slow burn.
Nationals are never accepted as equals

36. Culture Shock!!! Reverse culture shock sets in when you return home.
USA is parents’ home, not the kids’.
Prices, options, waste, wealth.
Priorities and preferences.
Phrases, clothing styles, dangers, etc.
Not fatal either, forewarned is forearmed!