This Week's CULTURE QUIZ: Connect the (Middle Eastern) Culture Concept with the Country!
'WASTA' in Saudi Arabia...'INSHALLAH' in Egypt...'MA'ALESH' in Morocco...the list goes on. But what do they mean?
Are you ready for this week’s CultureQuiz, where you’ll need to connect the cultural concept with the correct country? If you’ve played along over these last few weeks, you’ll recall that each week we look at a different region of the world, and all the cultural concepts for this week’s quiz come from the Middle East. I’ve chosen these concepts, as I do for all the Culture Quizzes, precisely because they result in behaviors that you are likely to see when doing business in these countries. When you understand why these concepts are so fundamental to the culture, you can prepare your own strategies and tactics for successfully managing them…at the negotiating table, at that global meeting, or when you’re planning a project with your colleagues abroad.
Below are this week’s five CultureQuiz questions, each featuring an important cultural concept from a particular Middle Eastern country, with four possible definitions (a., b., c. or d.) of the concept. But only one definition is the correct one! Test yourself today and choose the correct multiple choice answer for each of the following five Middle Eastern CultureQuiz questions! (The correct answers for paid subscribers follow the quiz,, so if you haven’t already subscribed to deanfosterglobal.substack.com, you can do so right here).
MIDDLE EASTERN Culture Concept questions:
INSHALLAH, throughout the Arabic speaking countries in the region…
a. literally means “if it is God’s will”, and is used often as a disclaimer for any statements of intent.
b. refers to the Muslim prayers recited during the period of time between sunset and sunrise.
c. represents the sense of community and brotherhood that exists between all the Arabic speaking countries in the region.
d. refers to the unusually cool weather that sometimes blows in from the north during the month of September, providing some longed-for heat relief.
‘WASTA’ in Saudi Arabia…
a. refers to the traditional male daily business dress.
b. refers to the requirement for every guest at the table to eat everything that is served to them on their plate.
c. is a term referring to an individual whom you need to know who will insure that things get done for you.
d. refers to the traditional female daily business dress.
‘BUQRA” in UAE…
a. is a kind of savory donut that is a very popular food used to break the Ramadan fast each night at sunset.
b. literally translates from Arabic into “tomorrow”, but it typically refers to an ambiguous timeframe that occurs any day after today.
c. is a derogatory term used by some Arabic speakers in Gulf Arabia to describe Arabic speakers outside of Gulf Arabia.
d. refers to a specific hand gesture used by drivers, especially in heavy traffic.
“MA’ALESH” in Kuwait…
literally means “get out of my face”, and is a harsh and negative statement used as an expression of frustration and anger.
literally means “I’ve just eaten, thank you”, and used usually as a way of not obligating someone to invite you to a meal out of hospitality.
literally means “no worries”, and is guaranteed to bring a smile to your Gulf Arabian colleague when you use it.
literally means “I could never do that”, and is a polite way of refusing to do something by alluding to the fact that you don’t have the authority to do so, even though you would like to help out very much.
“SABRA” in Israel …
a. refers to anyone in Israel who denigrates the Zionist mission of a homeland for the Jewish people.
b. is a derogatory term used by some Israelis of Eastern European heritage to describe Israelis of North African heritage.
c. an antique sword, unique to the region, the design of which is believed to have come down since Biblical times from the ancient Israelites.
d. refers to individuals born in Israel who behave according to the Israeli stereotype of being brash at first, then warm and friendly over time.
Easy? Hard? So, how many CultureQuiz Culture Concept questions did you get right? Here are the correct answers below…and the reasons why!
Here are your correct CultureQuiz ANSWERS:
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