Just a matter of time... Chronemics

Time talks.  The use of time to communicate is called Chronemics.  This understanding varies between different cultural groups.  Broadly, two concepts determine a culture's use of time, Monochronic, one time; or Polychronic, multiple times.

Monochronic cultures understand time to be linear, ongoing, and universal.  It can be compartmentalized, segmented, and is easily measured.

Polychronic cultures stress that the involvement of people and the completion of work is as important as the rigid adherence to schedules.  Time is not necessarily measurable.


In class, we demonstrated that our perception of P-Time as being inefficient can be incorrect.  It's just that the focus is on human connection and interaction and not the clock.