This article demonstrates how misunderstandings rooted in the differences between the asylum-seeker's and the official's cultural background can seriously distort the process of communication during the asylum-hearing and thus impair the ability of refugees from Third World countries to make their asylum-claims credible.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AgarM.1977“Ethnography and the Addict”. In Readings in Anthropology.Guildford, CT: Duskin. Pp. 59–65
2.
BickleyV.C.1982“Language as the Bridge”. In Cultures in Contact. Edited by BochnerS.Oxford, New York, Toronto: Pergamon Press. Pp. 99–125.
3.
BohannanP.1965“The Differing Realms of the Law”, The Ethnography of Law, supplement to American Anthropologist, 67(2): 33–42.
4.
DanetB.1980“Language in the Courtroom”. In Language, Social Psychological Perspectives. Edited by GilesH.Oxford, New York, Toronto: Pergamon Press. Pp. 367–376.
5.
Evans-PrichardE.E.1940The Nuer:New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
6.
FurnhamA., and BochnerS.1982“Social Difficulty in a Foreign Culture: An Empirical Analysis of Culture Shock”. In Cultures in Contact. Edited by BochnerS.Oxford, New York, Toronto: Pergamon Press. Pp. 161–198.
GeertzC.1973The Interpretation of Cultures.New York: Basic Books.
9.
GilsenanM.1976“Lying, Honor, and Contradiction”, in Transaction and Meaning. Edited by KapfererB.Philadelphia: Institute for the Study of Human Issues. Pp. 191–219.
10.
GluckmanM.1955The Judicial Process Among the Barotse of Northern Rhodesia. (2nd ed. 1967). Manchester: Manchester University Press.
11.
GombrichR.F.1971Precept and Practice.Oxford: Clarendon Press.
12.
GoodmanN.1978Ways of Worldmaking.Hassocks, Sussex: Harvester Press.
13.
GumperzJ.J.1982Discourse Strategies.Cambridge, London, New York: Cambridge University Press.
14.
HallE.T.1977Beyond Culture.Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books.
LindE.A., and O'BarrW.M.1979“The Social Significance of Speech in the Courtroom”. In Language and Social Psychology. Edited by GilesH., and ClairR.N.St.. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Pp. 66–87.
17.
Mir-DjalaliE.1980“The Failure of Language to Communicate: A U.S.-Iranian Comparative Study”, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 4: 307–328.
18.
ObergK.1960“Culture Shock: Adjustment to New Culture Environments”, Practical Anthropology, 7: 177–182.
19.
ParkinsonM.1979“Language Behavior and Courtroom Success”. Paper presented at the International Conference on Language and Social Psychology, University of Bristol, England. July.
20.
PospisilL.1971Anthropology of Law.New York: Harper & Row.
21.
SchererK.R.1979“Voice and Speech Correlates of Perceived Social Influence in Simulated Juries”. In Language and Social Psychology. Edited by GilesH., and ClairR.N.St.. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Pp. 88–120.
22.
StarJ.1978Dispute and Settlement in Rural Turkey.Leiden: E. J. Brill.
23.
UNHCR 1979Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status.Geneva.