Problem Speaking only Kuna will increase cultural stress.

Appenxix N 311

d. The necessity of setting a limit to the exceptions

You are human, and unless you set a limit to your ―exceptions,‖ you will find that you start to use the language less and less. It is hard to speak Kuna all the time and experience the frustration of not being able to communicate properly, but this ―forcing‖ of yourself to speak it will make you use what you know and ―dig‖ for what you don ‘t know. Therefore, adhere rigidly to your limits

2. Keep others talking

In learning Kuna, an important part of the process is ―listen, listen, listen.‖

a. Reason

This is useful in several ways: 1. Hearing the language in its natural context gives good reliable correlation between the situation and the appropriate intonation, grammar and vocabulary. 2. You increase your ability to divide up a torrent of speech into meaningful pieces so that you understand what is being said. 3. You increase your ability to visualize the situation under discussion without having to go through some intermediate language. 4. Constantly hearing the intonation and grammatical patterns tends to reinforce them in your own mind. 5. Hearing a word used in different contexts helps define the area of meaning of a word, e.g., neg is found to mean ―house or building.‖ It is also used to refer to the ―village‖ as opposed to the surrounding countryside or a ―field.‖ It is also used as a ―place‖ in general. b. Problem The problem is that in Kuna, like most languages, you have to show your interest in what is being said by responding in the appropriate way, or the person will feel that you aren ‘t interested and stop talking. In Kuna, this is done by so-called conversation sustainers such as mmmm, ajáj, or repeating the last important phrase of what was being said. These conversation sustainers should be used right from the beginning, starting with the more simple neutral ones such as mmmm and injecting them at random until you can distinguish the appropriate places to use them.

3. Plan your contacts

We have probably all, at some time or another, experienced the embarrassment of being with somebody, either in or outside of our own culture, when neither we nor they knew what to say. The memory of the heavy and embarrassing silence tends to stay with one a long while. The way to avoid this is to plan your contact with the other person. If the person comes to see you, run through your prepared conversation and allow him to say what he wants to say. As soon as the conversation shows signs of winding down, you should be ready with some planned activity such as looking at a magazine or photos with him or having him watch you make something. When you visit another person, have a conversation prepared, even if it is only two or three exchanges to start with. Once you have said what you prepared and the conversation shows signs of slowing down, say goodbye and leave right away. The people you visit might think your visit short, but that is better than the embarrassment to them of a long silence.

D. Techniques

1. Listening

Kuna culture offers tremendous opportunities for listening. The culturally acceptable loudness level norm for Kuna is loud; i.e., it is much more culturally acceptable to speak in a clear, loud voice than in English. To talk in subdued tones would indicate that possibly you are trying to hide from others what you are saying. That would mean, by implication, you are not speaking well of others. 312 Language Learning

a. Opportunities

1 Visiting Visiting can be used for listening hearing the language practice. a Visiting others As you make your round of visiting each day Kunas appreciate a daily visit, follow one of the other men or women from house to house. This is quite acceptable and affords you the opportunity of hearing the same person relate the same content the day ‘s activities to house after house. Then, the next day, follow someone else. When someone has arrived from a trip, go and visit him and stay around as he relates his trip over and over again to a succession of visitors. b Visitors to your house After normal courtesies have been extended, often the visitor will visit or talk with only one member of your family. The inactive member can then listen and get in hearing practice without having to worry about replying, e.g., the husband listens as the wife takes care of medical needs. Or the wife listens as the man talks with her husband. If your visitors have been given photos or magazines to look at, you can listen as they discuss it among themselves. 2 Meetings The village meetings give a great opportunity for listening. The temptation is to switch off when you can ‘t understand. However, by concentrating, you can learn much of teaching style and patterns. You can learn discussion patterns too. Occasionally, if a problem arises with somebody violating the law and customs of the people, you can hear accusations, denials and counter-accusations and authoritative judicial announcements as the chief acts as judge. You cannot concentrate for hours on end. Nobody can. So, when you feel your concentration slipping, ―switch off‖ the speaker and relax your mind. After a break of about five minutes, ―switch on‖ again and start listening. Stretching your legs and a breath of fresh air can help too. You will notice it is quite cultural to excuse yourself from the meeting for a couple of minutes. 3 Work parties Kunas are a community-oriented society and as such, often work together doing house-building, town clean-up, etc. By taking part in these, you can obtain excellent opportunities for listening. It is quite cultural to be present at a work party and not lift a finger to help, if you are not one of those assigned to the job. If, however, the whole community is involved, it is better to join in as you can.

b. Methods

1 Tracking The most profitable way is to track the speaker. This device is fully discussed in Section 9.2. 2 Active listening A less profitable way is to listen actively. Sometimes it ‘s just not wise to track the speaker, so this is the best you can do. Think about what you are hearing. Don ‘t only pay attention to the content or meaning of what is being said, but also to the way it is said. Sometimes you should concentrate on everything that is being said. Other times you should select a particular feature and zero in on that, e.g., where a listener inserts a conversation sustainer, or if there is some pattern to how one of them is used.