Oral Communication- tacit to tacit knowledge transfer

As I mentioned in my previous post, knowledge is mostly passed on through oral communication in Senegal. The efficiency of the process is mostly based on two main skills that locals have been able to develop over the years. Oral cultures develop two very important skills in people.

Listening is a "perceptual and conceptual ability or capacity to 'read' reality through the ear." This capacity extends beyond reading the sounds of the natural environment and into the skills of social intelligence, the ability to perceive and interpret social situations. "In daily life, it means applying the spoken word deftly to participate and survive in the community. An oral culture is a communal culture in a very special sense: it does not survive without the spirit of the community." (Fuglesang, 1982)

Memory is "the folklore of puns, euphemisms, colloquialisms, proverbs, songs and stories is more than folksy fun." (FAO, 2007) These various and entertaining forms have special functions in an oral culture. Eloquence and subtlety are valued, a well-phrased statement is remembered. People listen for hours to a good storyteller, mostly patriarchs who have a lot stories to tell and knowledge to pass on. Older people use proverbs to enlighten or comment on the happenings of the day. "Proverbs are ingenious mnemonic devices for communicating the insights and experiences won in the past." (FAO,2007)

The interesting part is that this implicit process is part of daily activities. It is not a burden put on individuals, rather each person understands the benefits of actively participating and fulfilling his/her role. As such, tacit knowledge is passed on from generation to generation.

There are however, glaring shortcomings in the process. In my next post, I will discuss the downsides of sharing knowledge solely based on oral communication...

Reference: http://www.fao.org/docrep/S3607E/s3607e02.htm

From Senegal To Montreal

I am originally from Senegal, a country in West Africa. I have traveled the world, and have been to many countries that are in much better economic conditions than mine. However, I have yet to see a more knowledgeable group of people than the old Senegalese men and women living there.

There, knowledge is part of tradition! It is mostly transmitted orally and through observation. At an early age, young people are taught the necessary skills to function well and be effective in society. The system is both formal and informal. People are assigned or inherit certain positions and become experts as time goes by. Training is provided to those who need it, but most of the learning is done through observation. People skills ends up being the most important quality one may have.


Throughout this blog, I will go more in detail about how knowledge is managed, created and transferred in Senegal; from a societal and organizational perspective. As someone who mostly lived in urban areas and has been in Montreal forever, I am constantly reminded when I go back home that graduating from great high schools and studying at a top university does not make me knowledgeable one bit...